When diners walk into Amara Cafe & Restaurant on South Raymond Avenue next week, they will find the same Venezuelan arepas, cachapas and rich hot chocolate that have made the Old Pasadena spot a neighborhood fixture. What they will also find is a flag on an interactive map — one of more than 200 pins representing Latino-owned restaurants across Southern California participating in DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2026.
The two-week initiative, organized by the Los Angeles-based Latino Restaurant Association, runs May 12 through May 24. The organization’s announcement describes more than 200 participating restaurants throughout the region, while the association’s website says the roster is growing to more than 300 — up from 226 in 2025. Participating restaurants will offer special menus, discounts or promotions; the association says each can highlight a signature dish or create a special prix fixe menu. Registration is free for restaurants.
Amara Cafe was one of seven restaurants featured at the program’s media launch on May 7 at Maydan Market in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles, representing Venezuelan cuisine alongside participants showcasing Zapotec, Afro-Mexican, Argentine, Brazilian, Peruvian and Salvadoran cooking traditions, according to a report in Los Cerritos Community News. Organizers described the event as a celebration of more than 20 Latin American culinary traditions.
The event is not new to Pasadena. In 2024, the association launched that year’s DINE LATINO Restaurant Week at Pez Cantina in Pasadena, with 150 restaurants participating across the region.
“DINE Latino Restaurant Week 2026 is more than a celebration — it’s a movement to uplift and recognize the vital contributions of Latino chefs, restaurateurs, and culinary entrepreneurs,” Lilly Rocha, CEO of the Latino Restaurant Association, said in a statement released by the organization.
Rocha added in the statement that diners who visit a participating restaurant are “investing in the sustainability of local businesses, supporting working families, and helping preserve the rich culinary legacy of Latino communities.”
The LRA is a national nonprofit with more than 1,400 members and offices in Los Angeles, New York and Houston, according to its website. DINE LATINO originated in 2021 as a response to the pandemic’s impact on Latino-owned restaurants, which the association said were disproportionately affected. It has grown each year: roughly 80 restaurants participated in 2022, 150 in 2024 and 226 in 2025, according to the association and trade publication el Restaurante. The program has also expanded beyond Southern California — a separate DINE LATINO Restaurant Week ran in Philadelphia in April 2026 with about 40 restaurants, according to Visit Philadelphia.
Major sponsors for DINE LATINO Restaurant Week 2026 include SoCalGas, DoorDash, and the Latino Food Industry Association, among others. SoCalGas has been a longtime partner — the utility has provided more than $350,000 to date in grants and support to the LRA, according to The Business Journal — and Andy Carrasco, the company’s vice president of communications, local government and community affairs, serves on the LRA’s board of directors.
A full list and interactive map of participating restaurants, organized by country of culinary origin and marked with each country’s flag, is available at https://dinelatino2026map.tiiny.site. The registration deadline for restaurants is May 10. For more information, contact the LRA at (626) 487-9085.
Amara Cafe & Restaurant is at 55 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. The café, founded by Venezuelan-born Amara Barroeta, is open Tuesday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the café, the menu reads like a tour of Caracas — arepas stuffed with shredded beef and plantains, cachapas folded over queso fresco, and cups of thick Venezuelan hot chocolate. For two weeks in May, it will also read like an invitation.
