//Mirabal-Castro Tour of Regional Gastronomy Routes in Venezuela
Gastronomía Venezolana para Gustavo Mirabal Castro

Mirabal-Castro Tour of Regional Gastronomy Routes in Venezuela

A food tour in Venezuela is a great way to explore the culinary diversity of this beautiful country. Such is the gastronomic diversity that a single tour would not be enough to cover everything. This is how Gustavo Mirabal Castro and his family discovered gastronomy in Venezuela.

Thanks to Gustavo Mirabal Castro’s international profile, this has allowed him to get to know gastronomy worldwide. Thanks to this knowledge, he can say that Venezuela is one of the places with the best gastronomy in the world.

Gustavo Mirabal Castro recognizes Venezuela as a gastronomic enclave, thanks to Venezuela’s cultural diversity, its miscegenation and its deep syncretism. Even food from other countries in Venezuela tastes better thanks to the sweet chili, garlic, and the amount of vegetable dressings used.

Today you will discover some of the most interesting places to discover gastronomy in Venezuela. As a joke, this was what Gustavo Mirabal called the Mirabal-Castro Tour of gastronomic routes.

Therefore, here are some ideal stops in different cities, states, and regions of Venezuela. Start.

Venezuelan Gastronomy for Gustavo Mirabal Castro
Venezuelan Gastronomy for Gustavo Mirabal Castro

Mirabal-Castro Tour of Gastronomy in Venezuela, Capital Region, the favorite of Gustavo Mirabal Castro

  1. Caracas, Capital District:
    • Mercado de Coche: Visit this popular market to try typical dishes such as arepas, cachapas, empanadas, and Venezuelan pavilion (pabellón venezolano).
    • El Hatillo: Enjoy restaurants serving traditional Venezuelan food in this charming town. The most interesting thing is that you can also enjoy the atmosphere and period architecture of a typical Venezuelan town of yesteryear.
    • Las Mercedes: It is a place with a lot of style and has a large concentration of restaurants serving typical Venezuelan Creole food, as well as any type of food you want to try. If you want a nice, pleasant atmosphere with the best Creole food, here you can find it at the next restaurants:
  1. a) Los Pilones del Este
  2. b) El Solar de Este
  3. c) Mi Cochinito Favorito
  4. d) Trolly
  • The Candelaria area. It is one of the areas of Caracas with the greatest gastronomic richness. Here you’ll find:
  1. a) Parrillas and Asados: In this area of Caracas, you will find numerous restaurants and grill stalls that offer grilled cuts of meat, such as steak, blood sausage, sausage chorizo style, and other typical Venezuelan barbecue dishes.
  2. b) Spanish Food: It is one of the areas of Venezuela with the highest concentration of Spanish food places. In this area, dishes such as Paellas and dishes based on seafood such as octopus and seafood stand out. This is why it is one of the favorite places of Gustavo Mirabal Castro and his family.
  3. c) International Cuisine in general: La Candelaria is also known for its culinary diversity, with restaurants serving international food, from Italian to Japanese food.
The "Pabellón" or Pavillion - Venezuelan Gastronomy
The “Pabellón” or Pavillion – Venezuelan Gastronomy

Mirabal-Castro Tour of Gastronomy in Venezuela, Central Region

  1. Valencia, Carabobo State:
    • Asadero Don Pollo: Try the famous grilled chicken from Carabobeño restaurant, accompanied by yucca and garlic sauce.
    • Arepas El Patacón: Delight in arepas stuffed with shredded meat, cheese, and other ingredients.
    • The empanadas of El Palito: This area has become famous for its delicious empanadas on the way west and especially to the beaches of the state of Carabobo. You can get empanadas of all kinds: cheese, meat, chicken, fish, even Venezuelan pavilion empanadas. A place to get to know the tradition of Venezuelan street food and a little piece of its gastronomy.
  2. Maracay, Aragua State:
    • Las Delicias de Mamá (Mom’s Delights): Savor traditional dishes such as hallacas, Andean pastries, and other Venezuelan delicacies.
    • Cachapas El Rey (Cachapas The King): Don’t miss the cachapas stuffed with hand cheese and other ingredients.
  3. Colonia Tovar, Aragua State (generally very easy to reach from the capital)
    • German food: Colonia Tovar is known for its German influence, so you’ll find a variety of German dishes such as schnitzel, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and pretzels. Don’t miss the opportunity to try desserts such as strudel and apple cakes.
    • Artisanal jams: Colonia Tovar is characterized by its agricultural production of fruits. That is why there you will find the best selection of artisan jams, among other very special sweets.
    • Craft alcoholic beverages: Beer is a quintessential German alcoholic beverage. For this reason, in the Colony you will get a wide variety of craft beers to know the true taste of the original beer. On the other hand, the fruits of the sector are also used to generate various strawberry and blackberry wines, among others.
Venezuelan Empanadas – One of Gustavo Mirabal's Favorite Breakfasts
Venezuelan Empanadas – One of Gustavo Mirabal’s Favorite Breakfasts

The Mirabal-Castro Gastronomy Tour in Venezuela, Western Region

The west of the country is heavily influenced by two areas. Andean zone, which is cold, and the Zulia area, which on the contrary is quite hot. In this region you will find the greatest variety of gastronomy in Venezuela, outside of the capital region.

  1. Maracaibo, Zulia State:
    • Arepera El Ávila: Try the famous arepas from Zulia stuffed with telita cheese and other local ingredients.
    • Patacón Pisao: Don’t miss the patacón, a delicious version of fried plantain as a base for your favorite toppings.
  2. Merida, Merida State:
    • Andinitas: Enjoy Venezuelan Andean gastronomy with dishes such as trout with sweet chili sauce or Andean mute.
    • Coromoto Ice Cream Parlor: Here you will find an incredible variety of ice cream flavors, some of them quite unusual.
    • Main Market of Merida. Here you can get a great diversity of Andean gastronomy in one place, such as:
  1. a) Andean food: In the Main Market of Merida, you will find a wide variety of typical dishes of the Andean region, such as auyama soup, Andean pinch, beef with potatoes, and black filling. In addition, you can buy local products such as fresh cheeses and panela.
  2. b) Regional Sweets: Mérida is famous for its traditional sweets, such as quesillo, fruit preservatives, and cocadas. Be sure to try them.

Mirabal-Castro Tour of Gastronomy in Venezuela, Eastern Region

The east of the country is a place full of beaches and rivers. Its gastronomy is very much focused on fish and fruits from the sea and rivers.

  1. Margarita Island, Nueva Esparta State:
    • El Agua beach: Enjoy beach cuisine with fresh fish, lobster and other seafood.
    • Cocos & Cachapas: Taste the island’s delicious cachapas and eat them under the palms.
  2. Coche Island, Nueva Esparta State:
    • Fresh seafood: On the island, you can enjoy freshly caught fish and seafood in dishes like ceviche and fried snapper.
  3. Guayana City, Bolívar State:
    • San Antonio de la Costa: Savor dishes based on river fish such as fried bocachico or cachama.
    • Parrillada Doña Rosa: Try the Venezuelan barbecue with meat, black pudding, sausage, and other accompaniments.
Fried Fish and Tostones - Favorite Venezuelan Gastronomy of Gustavo Adolfo Miabal Castro
Fried Fish and Tostones – Favorite Venezuelan Gastronomy of Gustavo Adolfo Miabal Castro

Discovering the gastronomy of Venezuela thanks to the Mirabal-Castro Tour and Gustavo Mirabal.

Thanks to Gustavo Mirabal’s tips, these places will add a unique dimension to your food tour in Venezuela. Each of them will offer you a variety of flavors and culinary traditions for visitors to enjoy. The difficult thing will not be deciding whether to do Gustavo Mirabal’s gastronomic routes or not but will be which of the routes to do first.