Market Square
560 Johnson St
Victoria, BC

Hours: 11:00 am to 5:00pm, Thurs to Sunday
Website: https://www.instagram.com/lospanaskitchen/
Phone: (647) 861-9446

Los Panas Kitchen can sometimes be hard to find as they’re a food truck style operation, and they only operate when the weather cooperates. During the summer, they’ve been very busy, attending local fairs and setting up camp elsewhere than their traditional location. That makes life tough for me when the desire to want their food products hits, and I find they’re not at their usual Market Square location.

That’s because what they serve are delicious Venezuelan arepas and patacones! The fried plantains are the bomb, and I doubt I can even replicate how they prepare it at home. There’s a soft crisp to them which is perfect when other proteins like pork are piled on top. As for whether they serve enough in each individual order, I could probably debate that, as I got a ton of meat but not enough of this fruit.

Don sampled their wares back when they were at the Spot Prawn festival but sadly, I was already too full so say let’s review this. After two orders of spot prawn and already hitting dessert, I couldn’t eat anymore. My buddy loved the arepa he ordered. Afterwards, even after a walk to the nearby Ogden Point, I was still feeling full. Thus, I made it a mission to visit them in the months following.

What I ordered was simply called a patacon with meat along with a Peruvian style lemonade. This minty version had a lot more bite than the traditional, and if only I could order a large cup of it, I would. Instead, the only size offered is “small.” I finished it all in three gulps since the day was that hot, but as for the dish, I didn’t finish it all in one go. Also, I was eating on the run, as I did not want to be disappointed to find them not in operation after my Fringe Festival show (which ended at 7:15pm) and it’s about a 10-min walk to Market Square.

Anyone interested in visiting their operation really needs to watch their social media channels to know where they’ve set up shop. It’s a shame they are not listed on UberEats, but for locals, they have their signature dish available in select grocery stores, like Market on Yates, in the frozen section. That makes up for those who crave their product on the days they are not in operation, but as for whether they’ll expand to a proper diner space, most likely not. 

Operating a food cart is far cheaper than the huge overhead required for a permenant base. Los Panas Kitchen’s prices are reasonable too, and in order to serve up their delicious spicy pork recipe, I suspect a lot of their expenses go towards acquiring the best meats possible and then slow smoking them to deliver a flavour which makes me say ¡Ay, caramba! I want more!

4 Blokes out of 5