Sarah’s Empanadas

Great food. The empanadas are so good you’ll want to take a dozen home. A very special place.

One of my favorite lunch spots. They are only open for lunch Monday-​Friday, and they usually get packed around noon.
The Bolivian baked empanadas are awesome.
I usually get the SPINACH WITH CHEESE and the CHICKEN WITH CHEESE with HALF RICE and HALF BEANS; but you can’t go wrong with any of the selections here.
The sauce that comes with the meal is also made in house and is scrumptious.

Sarah’s provides a simple menu of empanadas and a daily special, but they execute very well, and exceptionally fast. The empanadas are always fresh, with a delightfully crisp shell and savory fillings. The sides are unique, try the plantains or yucca. The juice of of the day is a homemade blended fruit drink that allot like a smoothie. I recommend this for a quick lunch, that is unique, inexpensive, and really fast.

I came here for a quick business lunch, and was initially surprised how busy it was. After sampling their food and prices, I can see why! Its a lunch-​only establishment located in a strip mall, specializing in Bolivia-​style empanadas, which are baked pastries filled with goodies similar to Italian calzones.
Their menu is pretty limited in the style of empanadas; however they definitely execute their dishes well. I got two: chicken & cheese and broccoli & cheese. Both had a nice hot and flaky crust and very rich and flavorful fillings. It tasted even better with adding a dab if their red sauce for some extra kick. I got one side: ½ rice and ½ beans — excellent dish with soft beans and rice. The gravy really added good flavors. Everything was well balanced in terms of saltiness.
Highly recommend this place for a quick, light lunch. 4 stars!

I love empanadas and when i saw Rose L’s check in, I knew i had to lunch here.
The menu is small and have a few vegetarian options as well. The prices are v reasonable though i felt the portions are smallish. I wish I would have read more reviews on Unilocal since a couple of people have mentioned the same. I was picking up lunch for me and a friend and ordered a spinach and cheese and chicken empanada with a side of beans and rice. My order came out in less than 5 mins which was unexpected since the place was busy and impressive. The empanadas were fine not as great as a place just making those should have. The two pluses for going to the place would be cheap and super quick eats.

Visited Sarah’s Empanadas recently for lunch on a Friday (shout out to Norma G. but #1 lunch buddy!) The space itself is large, with plenty of tables and seating in two separate rooms. Enter, seat yourself and a waitress/​waiter will be with you pretty quickly. The menu isn’t huge and the prices and very reasonable, it won’t take you long to decide. But no switching up the fillings for the empanadas. I ordered the chicken (no cheese) empanada with half rice and beans. Unfortunately they brought out an apple dessert empanada the first time and tried to tell me it was chicken when I pointed out the mistake. Once that was all taken care of, they quickly fixed the mistake and I was set to eat. I loved the homemade (mild) salsa served with the meal although the empanada itself was less then impressive. Lots of breading, little filling. Flavor was okay, but not something I’d rush back for when there are so many other options in the area and tingle your tastebuds. Overall, come here if you’re looking for cheap and fast, but not if you’re looking for orgasm-​creating flavors.

This is a decent lunch place, but I’ve found it best to go a little on the later side to avoid the crowd. I usually get the combo of two empanadas, with a side of half rice half beans. The cost for that is $ 8.50, which is okay, if not a little on the high side for the amount of food. You won’t go away stuffed or with leftovers, but you also won’t go away hungry which can be nice if you have to go back to work.
As far as the food goes, the rice and beans are okay, far from the best I’ve had but not the worst. The empanadas are great though, fresh and some of the best I’ve had. My coworker tried the spicy cheese, and wasn’t all that impressed, he said it wasn’t all that spicy and the cheese flavor was rather mild. I usually stick to the ones with meat.
The service was decent, the waitresses were super nice but the guy who cashed us out at the front (maybe the owner?) seemed bored with his job. Everything came out super fast though, which makes this a good place for a quick lunch, but only if you’re able to beat or miss the crowd.
The interior of the restaurant is pretty basic. The music was a little on the loud side, and the overall décor isn’t somewhere I’d take a date, but it’s a good place for lunch with a small group of coworkers.

I am really disappointed! These empanadas were dry, tasteless, and like everyone else said tasted like hot pockets. Service was quick and friendly but that doesn’t make up for the lack of food quality. I will not be coming back, oh and the plantains tasted like packaged plantains. I don’t mean to be too harsh but seriously they need to improve their taste and quality!

Keeping it simple seems to be the motto of this place. They get super crowded during weekdays especially during lunch times & they are pretty good managing all that crowd. They have good options for vegetarians as well. All their empanadas are good. I usually take the side of half rice & half beans. However their fried plantains are good as well. You would come out feeling not too full nor starved. That’s one of the reasons I like coming here for weekday lunches.

LOVE this place. Great food, fast and nice service and affordable prices for lunch. I always get the special of the day, and have never been disappointed. Love the fried yucca, it’s like french fries’ much more attractive (and delicious?) cousin. Not to mention anything fried that comes with sour cream is basically a sure win in my book. Highly recommend!

What? I haven’t reviewed this place yet? Have been coming here for over 10 years — for shame. Sarah’s Empanadas is perfect for lunch — delicious and quick. When dining in, I can be in and out in 30 minutes. I usually get one spinach & cheese (this is real cheese — not plastic/​fake stuff) empanada with a side of ½ rice ½ beans. When I order take out, I ask for extra salsa — believe me, you’ll want more. NOTE: Just show up and order takeout in person. It’s so quick, no need to call ahead (and the one time I did, they told me to just show up next time).

This mom and pop place has been a mainstay for me over 20years. Love their baked empanadas, their unique salsa and their fried Yucca.
They also do homemade soups that alternate between meat versions and veggie versions
Come early as once the lunch crowd hits they can be super busy. Though the food is served so fast the table turnover is quite rapid.

Returned after years being too far away for a lunch visit. Had the Spinach and cheese & chicken and cheese with ½ rice and beans. Quality and value still exceptional. Service was so so a little after noon. Need to try a little earlier or later next time

So I came here for lunch while at work. I’ve always heard great things about this establishment. Unfortunately, I cannot give this place glowing reviews… and here’s why:
I ordered from their menu and the food came out 2 min later. Now don’t get me wrong, I like fast service, but when food comes out that quickly, you know quality has to be sacrificed. And sure enough, the empanadas (which is their signature dish) tasted like a hot pocket, or like biting into cardboard with toppings. Not bad but not great either. It was lacking in seasoning and flavor. Yellow rice with refried beans had no flavor in them. Their plantains tastes old and not flavorful.
I was really disappointed with this place. Needless to say, I won’t be returning.

Sarah’s empanadas has been a quick lunch stop place for my friends and I. I have never found their empanadas to be oily. If you have been trying only their empanadas, you should give their fried plantains a shot.
With a lot of crowd, they get a bit overwhelmed. One has to be really patient to be seated and also when you pay at the cashier. Simple menu options and good food.

I don’t know how authentic the menu at Sarah’s is, but I do know know this:
1. The food tastes great.
2. The food arrives quickly.
3. It won’t wont break the bank.
I get the 2 empanadas/​1 side option. It’s about $ 8. I always get the rice and beans for the side. Sometimes I mix up the empanadas, but the beef and cheese and chicken and cheese are both favorites. The corn one is slightly sweet. The salsa get applied liberally to the empanadas. The rice and beans are nothing to write home about, but they’re good. I always clean my plate.
Food comes out fast, so it’s a good place to go if time is a factor. Service is adequate at best as far as friendliness, but they rarely make mistakes, and move with efficiency.
The sodas come in cans, so no refills. That kind of sucks, but that’s the only downside.

I really wanted to love this place and tried it a few times before I wrote my review to make sure my experience was consistent. I think the empanadas here could be really good if only they gave you the opportunity to taste them fresh. Unfortunately each time I’ve tried them they have this fresh out the freezer and out of the microwave taste that I can’t get over or enjoy. It almost reminds me of eating a hot pocket, which is not the experience I want to get when I’m paying $ 3 for one empanada. I understand restaurants need to prep food in advance, but my suspicion is that Sarah’s is doing it a little too far in advance.

Sarah’s offers a solid representation of South American food in RTP. On my recent visit I had the corn & cheese and beef empanadas with a side of homemade soup. The soup was chock-​full of veggies, legumes, and beef, but unfortunately it was wayyy too salty, so I will probably try a different side next time. The empanadas were great. I was worried that beef would be flat and boring, but it was well-​spiced. I also had the juice of the day (mango), which was squeezed or blended to retain bits of pulp. I was really happy that the juice was fresh and had some fiber in it! Service was OK. I didn’t have to wait long at all for my food, and I was there for Friday lunch hour. I was surprised that it is a sit-​down restaurant with table service, as I’m used to having empanadas from order-​at-​the-​counter type places (Julia’s in DC comes to mind), but this works too. Prices are very reasonable.

I have been here twice now and gotten the daily special both times. Both times the food was absolutely fantastic!
The service, however, is lacking. I have gotten my food to go both times, so I can’t speak for their wait staff, but the couple I have dealt with both times seem to be the owners. They are terribly unfriendly, to the point where I almost left without ordering today when the woman acted like I was insane for trying to place my order with her.
The great food and good price will probably keep me coming back, but to the owners, please keep in mind you could make your customers feel even slightly welcome with a smile and warmer attitude. There are many other places in RTP I could go for lunch and not feel like I have pissed the owners off for no reason.

A humble establishment right off 55 that is only open for lunch. I’ve had all their sides now and the only one I truly enjoyed was the rice. Honestly, from now on I think I’ll just spend my money on their empanadas!
People have said that they aren’t fresh but I don’t really understand the big deal. I totally understand that these empanadas are made in advance and heated up in an oven prior to being served. The insides are piping out, the dough on the outside is crusty and solid… nothing is wrong with this. Especially given the fact that our dishes were ready 1 minute after ordering. Literally one minute, I am not exaggerating!
My favorite is the beef and cheese empanadas… it is like a Bolivian calzone… delicious.