Valparaiso - Albany

The food is warm and yummy and quite easy on the tastebuds. As some have already mentioned, the food is very much comfort food . Great options for Gluten free crowd, and scant options for vegans (2 or 3). Many options for vegetarians. My table ordered a few dishes: Pastel Vegetariano and Pastel de Choco: Really, really yummy, and I highly recommend. There is a Chilean creamed corn atop a bed of sautéed mushrooms and onions. In the Choco, there is meat, and in the vegetariano, there isn 't. The veggie one is actually vegan, and I made sure to confirm with the waiter before ordering. Great pick if you like the taste of creamed corn or corn soup. Portion was just right to keep me satisfied. $14 $15 each dish. Veggie Empanada: Good, but I wish the empanada was hotter....like it had baked longer in the oven and was hot when cut open. Our empanadas were warm cool. The size of the empanada was really good. One empanada is the size of both my fists together. Best deal here: $5 each. Chorrillana: My goodness were my friends in for a treat. They were totally not expecting such a huge dish with a huge serving of fries, beef, and eggs. I didn 't try any but my friend said that the fries were the crispiest fries he had ever had and that he really enjoyed the dish. $21. Just a qualm or two: some of the dishes were $20+ while others were $5. I feel that there is a huge price gap in the menu and some dishes were priced a bit high. I understand the need for more expensive food, but I felt that the pricing was off. Additionally, soda is priced per can at $2 and is not served with ice. I don 't know why that matters to me but I really like my soda with ice, especially if the can is poured straight into the glass when it is brought to the table. Lastly, I saw 3 guys eating sandwiches with a side of fries here and I was intrigued. Unfortunately, I am gluten free, so that 's not going to happen for me.

I had never eaten Chilean food and what a treat. We had the waiter explain it all, he was very helpful and nice. We started with the delicious Sangria which was fizzy. The fizz reminded me of prosecco. We had the Cheese Empanadas. Carotas which are sweet fried plantains over black beans and sour cream. Chorrillana with fries, onions, scrambled eggs and tri-tip. We had the Panqueque Celestino for dessert which are Chilean soft crepes filled with Carmel milk and topped with organic vanilla ice cream. I will definitely return.

When this place left La Peña Cultural Center, I didn't realize that I would miss it so much. The community that built up around this place was amazing and felt good. I felt like I was walking into a Latino, South Berkeley Version of Cheers. I knew the people, liked them, was treated well, ate the food, and generally felt good. That good spirit and cheer left when they did. I remember the smile on my face when I noticed them on Solano Ave. I was walking to K2Go, wasn't even looking to eat something, however, when I saw the owner, I plopped down in a chair and ordered from the menu. The pickings are slim because of my gluten allergy, however, they are aware of gluten free and do have rather tasty gluten free offerings on the menu. They are also very nice and personable. I enjoy going there. I was concerned because it didn't look like there were a lot of people going in and out, but they are still around which makes me feel good.

I'm not a food critic by any means but WOW! the food here is amazing. Had the Pollo Empanada and the Carne Mechada (oh and a Racer 5). I will put this place in my Friday night rotation.

I came here with a Chilean friend, since I 've been dying to try Chilean food but the area is filled with Peruvian instead. The menu itself would look familiar to fans of Peruvian cuisine, as the countries are neighbours and share more than just the border. Despite the heavy meat usage in the cuisine, Cafe Valparaiso also has a few vegetarian selections. We started with the humita, and I 'd say it was on the bland side. The empanadas are good but be warned they are huge. Share them. For the main meal, some of us went for the meat pie, which is the recommended by our Chilean friend, while I got the carne mechada, a beef casserole dish over rice and potatoes. It is quite delicious (well tri tip always pleases! . The star of the meal was, in fact, the dessert. Look no further than the panqueque celestino. Not only did it have the funniest spelling of pancakes , it was also quite heavenly as the name implies. Soft crepes stuffed with milk caramel with a dollop of vanilla ice cream yum! I would go back just for these. As for the service, well.. It wasrather lacking. We also had a huge group so they were rather slow in getting any food out. I must say I stopped caring after having the panqueque though...