El Paso, TX
(915) 412-9298
Bien Me Sabe Bistro
A recent article in the El Paso Times covered a story by solitard.com saying El Paso was voted as being the most boring midsized city in America. I am not saying that I agree, but it does seem to have the least number and least diversity of ethnic restaurants in a city of this size. I would say that a bigger issue would be how good these restaurants are. I can compare most of them to similar restaurants in other cities and find the ones in El Paso to have less variety and to not have either the flavor or the authenticity that other cities seem to offer.
With the recently opened Venezuelan restaurant Bien Me Sabe on the scene, though, this goes a long way to refute the belief that the ethnic food here is sub-par. Even more so is the contradiction to the supposition that the ethnic food in El Paso is boring. I know that it takes more than one restaurant to do this, but Bien Me Sabe is a good start.
The restaurant is small but very clean. The food comes out quickly but it is far from typical fast food. The menu is not extensive but the food is fresh and delicious. It is just fast food style in the sense that you order each item separately rather than getting a main course with side dishes. Here many main dishes, such as arepas, empanadas, and pastelitos are about the size of a side dish and can either be ordered separately or in a combo order of three.
The biggest reason I like the restaurant is simply the flavor of the food. For years I have thought that much South and Central American food was largely Mexican food without the flavor, but now I can add Venezuelan food to Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine on my list of food to seek out.
Empanadas
Combo order of empanadas
The Empanadas really seem to be the specialty of the restaurant. An order of three is about the size I would want for lunch, and perhaps one extra item would make a good dinner.
I came with a friend and we split an order of Beef Empanadas. These were truly good, consisting of a very high quality of beef along with fresh and flavorful bread. The kicker, though, was a soup-like liquid inside the empanada that reminded me of the soup dumplings served in some Chinese restaurants. To me Bien Me Sabe hit a home run with this one.
We also ordered the Dominó Empanadas consisting of black beans and a mozzarella type cheese. This was quite good as well.
Caldo
Caldo de res, only served on Sunday
Having made my first visit on a Sunday, my eye caught the Venezuelan style Caldo de Res (beef soup) as something that was only available on this day. It turned out to be about the right size to have with a partial order of empanadas. Even though the broth was very different from the local water based caldo, it was excellent nonetheless. It is certainly worth planning a Sunday visit for this.
Caldo with condiments
Caldo comes with white rice which you can add to the soup, some lime, and bread used in place of tortillas which would normally be used with Mexican caldo.
Drinks
Lemonade
Several drinks are served, with the juices all being representative of those served in Venezuela. This would have been good, except they did not have any in stock. Instead I had Lemonade which I liked very much. This is hand made every time you order, and you can specify the amount of sugar you want added, or get the version suitable for diabetics and those on a sugar-free diet. Again, the restaurant has a winner here.
A Wrap-up
The menu here is somewhat limited but I was surprised at how good everything turned out to be.
I would recommend the caldo if you can make it here on a Sunday.
The biggest drawback seems to be the drinks, which do not include tea. The lemonade was good but they do not seem to have anything other than sugary beverages.
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Venezuelan
Cost: $$
Hours: Closed Sun. evening and Mon.
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: No
Most Recent Visit: Jan. 19, 2025
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Caldo de Res, Empanadas, Lemonade
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Caldo de Res |
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Beef Empanadas |
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Lemonade |
El Paso is certainly NOT a boring city! From a culinary standpoint, it may not have as much diversity as other cities of comparable size, but El Paso stands out when it comes to Mexican food. Thank you for illuminating that for readers who don’t get to visit El Paso as often as we’d like.