La Bodega Latin Kitchen & Cocktails RVA

The freshest empanadas in the city by far!!! The customer service is to live for. The venue is small and tight but the food is out of this world. If you miss New york style food. This bodega is just for you. Decor New york based.

I enjoyed lunch with 2 other of my friends here last week. Two of us had the Cuban sandwich and the other a "vegetarian dish". Our sandwiches were HUGE. Not authentically Cuban but very good nonetheless. The pulled pork on these sammy's was amazing, thus making them thicker than a Cuban. These sandwiches were so large that I took half home and the next day my wife and I split the half and it was plenty enough for us both. I would like to give a 4.5 stars but that is not an option. The only disappointment was the veggie dish which consisted of beans, rice, and potatoes. Again, a large serving but WOW, that's a lot off carbs! They may have something with actual vegetables in it but our friend went with this at the server's recommendation. There are three persons that operate this establishment and they do a helluva job! Can you say "multi-task"? Oh, and it is quite small inside so getting a seat when it's busy could be a challenge.

I like the restaurant because it had a nice ambiance, colorful and fun. Great service, good music and okay drinks. I ordered carne asada with rice, beans and tostones…to be honest the rice tasted like Minute rice (I’m not trying to be mean but this is my honest opinion) I went with someone else and he thought the same. The beans tasted like can beans and the carne asada was just okay. They serve good portions…I’m not saying it tasted bad but not very authentic. My friend ordered bandeja Paisa XL. Chorizo was good, chicharrón was not crispy as it should be…well seasoned yes but I feel like it had been there for a while and that’s the reason it wasn’t crispy. We ordered queso frito and it was served on a bread with maple syrup…hmm I don’t know about that…We didn’t really like it. Again I’m not saying it was bad but just not very authentic. Overall I would say it was okay. We had drinks and I liked my friend’s cocktail. I am Colombian and my friend is Puerto Rican.