Empanadas Bar NYC

Nooooo I’m gonna cry. Why did you close? Whyyyyy??? My fiancé will freak when I tell him. We really loved this place — empanadas are great and the owner is super cool. I hope him closing means he opened up in a new location? Please?

So uhh this place no longer exists. It’s called taco Morelos if you want empanadas you’re s.o.l

The tiniest little place I’ve ever eaten at. Cute as hell and you can totally INHALE the empanada’s!
Bought an Amazon Local deal for $ 10 covering $ 20 worth of food. I got the spinach and cheese; onion and cheese and the humita. Loved the spinach so much had that as my fourth… my bestie had the spinach, chicken curry and the beef. She fell in love with the chicken curry. Ordered some delish Argentinian white wine and it was heaven in the East Village.
Def a great place… all coafraid apparently not fried. Not as much options as Empanada Mama but still serving authentic, absolutely delicious mini pies. Def a going back to!

OMG I love their empanadas. We came in to use a voucher I had that expired and ordered a bunch of meat treats :)
While we waited, I had a Dulce de Leche Empanada… SO GOOD. I love the Tuna, Spicy Beef, Beef, Spinach/​Cheese and Onion/​Cheese empanandas. I also had the Chicken Curry but didn’t care too much for them.
The place is REALLY small so, I can’t really see spending a whole lot of time in there but this is definitely a late night, pick up and go spot.

I really wanted to like this place.
No, not only because I found this out on Groupon after the promotional value had expired and left me with $ 13 to spend.
No, not because I literally trekked all the way down here starving with pretty high expectations.
And no, certainly not because I’m claustrophobic. This place is tighter than an ant’s anus.
PROS —
1) The owner, who I assumed was the cook because the lady behind he counter had to ask her everything before charging/​customer relations did not speak a word of English. This brings authenticity to the place or at least I think so.
CONS —
1) $ 3 and above for 1 empanada. Am I reading this correctly? Are these empanadas baked with flakes of Gold? These better be the EFFING BEST empanadas I’ve ever eaten…
2) FOR F – K SAKES! I am flabbergasted at how out of 6 different empanadas, only 1 was really something I’d order on a regular basis. And no I wasn’t having a bad day until I ate these hoping to not only satisfy but bring a feeling of happiness right before class. Only thing these brought me was an «upset» stomach that forced me to have to leave class early. Oh the irony.
3) The EMPANADAS — I will break this down for y’all because honestly I am just amazed at how these mini yum yums can be EFF-​ed up so much so that I have to even write this.
A) CHICKEN CURRY EMPANADA —
These were made with onions, cilantro, curry, chicken, and coconut. Sounds amazing right? If only everything sounded as good as they taste. Not only was this empanada bland and gooey like I’m eating liquid oatmeal but WHERE THE EFF IS THE CURRY. HOLY SHYT! I’m a HUGE FAN of curry. Was the curry in the yellowish like hue? Was the curry sprinkled on the outside of this empanada? Was I suppose to stop by the local bodega to buy a bottle of curry and put it on myself? I expected the curry to stick to my jacket so I wouldn’t have to have people sit next to me on the train. Now, I’ll just have to settle with Halal food.
B) HUMITA EMPANADA (CORN) —
This needs to be officially taken off the menu. Seriously, I love my canned corn soup as much as the next person. With that being said, if I’m expecting corn soup I’ll break open a Green Giant can and make some. I have to say that even if it just a CORN EMPANADA there should be some sort of flavoring may it be Adobo, Sazon, or whatever. It was bland as hell and that really is an understatement. The only thing that wasn’t bland was the olives as they were OVERPOWERING. All I tasted was warm corn and bread. If I wanted corn bread I’d go to Boston Market.
C) POLLO EMPANADA (CHICKEN) —
This empanada was one of their better empanadas. By better, I simply mean something that I could eat without wondering why the EFF I ordered this. The chicken in the tomato sauce similar to a jar of salsa you would have with Tortilla chips. The chicken was tender so there’s that.
D) POLLO PICANTE (SPICY CHICKEN) —
I rather liked this empanada as this is the one of the only empanada that I would order. The spiciness was there off the bat. VERY MEATY. Flavorful as well. This should be on the top of the menu.
E) CORDOBESA (SWEET BEEF) —
That’s what she said. The taste of this empanada is pretty amazing. It is hard not to like this the meat was well SWEET but more importantly the taste was well balanced with the pepper, raisin and spices. This should also be on the top of the menu.
F) EMPANADA OF THE DAY —
This was supposed to be chorizo (sausage) and spices, blah blah. Unless I’m mistaken I got 2 POLLO PICANTE instead of 1 that I ordered in place of this. Jokes on me, April fools in March. Drum roll…
I wouldn’t travel all the way out here to get empanadas personally. If I did I’d choose Empanada Mama rather than this joint.
Who know’s maybe they will step up their game as I think they just started this restaurant.
But it will be quite a while before I venture out on ANY empanada outside the ones I know and love.
Groupon or not.

Yes, this place is tiiiiiny but I’ve been here several times! Started out with a Groupon I had purchased. Trust that they have quality and tasty empanadas and the prices are not so bad. That’s key!
I’ve tried the Onion and Cheese, the Chicken, and the Apple Empanadas. Delishhhh!
The owner and staff are friendly too! Always a soccer game on the tube! =)

Organic & local ingredients,
friendly staff,
baked, not fried empanadas
_​curry chicken = the best of all the ones I tried
_​spicy chicken
_​tuna
_​corn
_​spinach & cheese
_​dulce de leche: a bit sweet
Would return, if willing to break being gf again for the meal.

Baked pockets of goodness that are more than filling. Each bit is a hit of flavor and their chimmichurri is just delish. They have a takeout special: 4 for 10 dollars. It’s not the full menu but still good selection. Yummy and happy tummy!

Dont let the looks of this place deceive you! I noticed this place a little while ago and finally decided to try it out. I almost just walked past it because it looks like a whole in the wall with no food or anything inside.
They have a deal for four empanadas for $ 10 (not all types are included) so I got a corn, a chicken and a couple onion and cheese ones.
The empanadas are baked (does this make them healthier?) so after I ordered the guy working there put my order in the oven so that they would be nice and toasty for me.
I was struck by the spicy smell of the empanadas… so delicious!
They did not disappoint when I got to eat them. I enjoyed all of them but the onion and cheese were my favorite. Four were the right size for dinner and I liked the spicy sauce they came with.
I would get these again!

Yum! Empanadas Bar is a hole in the wall place in East Village but don’t let the appearance fool you! They have a good selection of delicious and big empanadas for you! We tried the Spinach and cheese and that is one of my favorites. Of course, if you are a carnivore, you have to try the spicy beef and curry chicken flavors. Each empanada is pretty big so you can be satisfied by 2 and full by 3.
This is definitely a great snack place or late night eatery!

I redeemed a groupon here for 4 savory empanadas, 2 sweet empanadas, and 2 soft drinks. You also had to purchase an additional item.
The empanadas were all delicious. I tried the ham and cheese, corn, spinach, spicy chicken, spicy beef, and dulce de leche & apple. I didn’t like the spicy chicken very much because it was much too spicy for me. Also, it felt like I was eating mush. I really like the spinach and spicy beef the best. The dulce de leche empanadas was ooey and gooey topped with crystallized sugar. In my opinion, the apple empanada was the most stuffed with raisins and apples.
They also give you a green sauce for your empanadas, I am assuming it is a cilantro and garlic sauce. I wanted to buy a bottle to take home. The empanadas are baked and made to order. Other empanada places are fried, but you get a healthier version here.
The place is small, small, small. There are a few tables here and there, but it is quite cramped. The owner sounds like Javier Bardem, but he was really nice. I would definitely go back for more empanadas if I am in the area.

Hands down the BEST empanadas i have had in all of NYC.
The dining room is small and unpretentious. The prices are crazy low.
personal favorites: cebolla y queso, dulce de leche, & spicy zucchini
this place is TOO good to be so close to my house, i don’t have the necessary self-​control!
THANKS FOR MOVING INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD!

As far as empanadas goes, this place is pretty legit. Why I thought it was going to be an actual bar with beer and dranks is beyond me. It’s not. It’s a take out, small sit-​in place.
Owner was the sweetest, little man with the most limited English. Or was he the owner? Pretty sure he said something along those lines or at least that’s what I gathered from it. LOL.
Whatever. I came on a Groupon and these guys were da BESTTT. I hope they do well!

I was pretty excited when we snagged a Groupon for this place. That was until we read the fine print… The Groupon was amazingly $ 13 for 4 savory empanadas, 2 sweet empanadas, and two drinks. It’s a great deal to share between two people but looking closely at the fine print, you’ll notice that to use the groupon requires that you purchase an extra empanada on top of the 6. Really??? That’s a bit shady.
As for the empanadas, I thought there were a good amount of options. Biting into them, the taste healthier because they’re baked instead of fried. They are nearly impossible to differentiate, so when our order came out, we ended up playing empanada roulette. We didn’t mind because we were sharing but I’m sure there are others who might appreciate knowing which is which. Also, some of the empanadas were just barely lukewarm in the center.
We tried:
Ham and Cheese — weirdly interesting
*Spicy Chicken — tasty, slow medium heat
*Sweet Meat — raisins mixed with beef.
*Beef — Tasty
Dulce de Leche — messy caramel that gets everywhere
Guava — a slob of heated guava jam
*=would order again
Food alone would have been 4 stars!

If you’re comparing these with cheap empanadas that is either fried, stuffed with nothing but potatoes, or other ways they put fillers that shouldn’t be acceptable, and if you didn’t like it, you really need to give this place 2^nd chance.
Been here 3 times; all three times the owners were there (seems there’s two owners; one cooks while other guy handles business). They all served excellent. They talked to me on how they make, what kind of ingredient, how they make fillings EVERYDAY for the next day to be made fresh, how to reheat the empanadas, etc… If their friendliness and honesty isn’t worth 5 stars, their taste.
Back in Jersey, I used to live with all sorts of Hispanic friends; I’m not racist, I’m not picky, and I like trying out their cultures. I like to share stuff from my culture, as well as to try out theirs if they permit me to.
This is closest thing to homemade one of my brother’s friend’s mother used to make. Possibly even better.
Interesting, but traditional style of filling choices, not to mention daily special empanada choice keeps you flying. I had so far spicy meat, spicy chicken, mushroom (special), sweet meat, sweet chicken, ham & cheese, dulce de leche, and apple pie.
tl;dr, so WHAT if they charge about 3 $ per empanada near places that sells dollar per slice of pizza? IT’S GOOD. I go over there, break my bank, and this is one place I have YET TO REGRET.
Try it out!
p. s. Students get 10% discount OR there’s 4 for $ 10 special. Sure that’s still not cheap as 1.25 empanada off of Queens, but I rather spend bit more for premium, not the imitation stuff. (I feel like they’re factory made, literally; I’m not gonna name that certain chain store)
p. p. s. try out their dulce de leche.

I’m going to go ahead and dish out five stars here. In general, I love food that you can easily grab and go, that doesn’t leave you feeling like a disgusting slob, and that makes you go mmmm while you’re eating it. This covered all of those bases.
I had a wide assortment of the empanadas and the vegetable tamale — everything we had was fantastic! The chicken curry empanada was easily my favorite — crazy depth of flavor, I could have eaten 10 of them.
The sauce they come with was crazy good too.
I’m afraid how many late nights I’ll soon be here… between this and Zgoza it’s going to be a rough winter.

It was just ok, nothing too special really. The empanadas are good but not great, and they are quiet small. You need to eat like 4 of them to get full
The guy behind the counter was talking on the phone for like 10 mins when we got there and wouldn’t hang up and take our orders, a bit rude in my opinion
there are also redoing the sidewalk outside, loud jackhammer
Don’t think I would return again

Came here with a groupon voucher that included 4 regular empandas and 2 dessert empanadas. My boyfriend and I were greeted by the warm and friendly chef. He explained to us that his venue only had five weeks in business and recommended we order the Humita and spicy chicken empanadas. The humita empanada is delicious! We tried the sweet meat, spicy beef, humita and zucchini empanadas that were all tasty and FRESH! All empanadas ae baked which is a plus for me bc I dislike greasy foods. I will def return.

I too had a groupon and came here last night with a friend to try this new place. I ordered the Espinaca (spinach and cheese) and Humita (fresh corn, peppers, bechamel and spices). Both were fresh and tasty, but the humita was by far superior. Not too many vegetarian options so I’m glad these ended up being good. My friend got the Pollo Picante (spicy chicken, onions, peppers, tomato, chipotle and spices) and the Espinaca– she liked them both.
While it is definitely annoying, the groupon clearly states that you must purchase 1 item from the menu in order to redeem the deal. So, we split the empanada of the day which was grilled zucchini. Yummm.
For dessert we got the dulce de leche and apple empanada, per recommendation from the owner. H-​O-​L-​Y SHIT! DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT ORDERING THE DULCE DE LECHE.
In summary, I’m torn. Maybe it’s because I’m a fatty, or maybe it has to do with the fact that I am not of Latin American descent and don’t know a good empanada when it smacks me in the face. But these empanadas left me feeling hungry… and a hungry Amy is not a happy Amy. Granted, the dough was good and fresh, but it was more on the thin side than I prefer, where the juices could not be soaked up and there just was not enough stuff inside my empanada.
I would come back for the dessert empanadas, but not the mains. Take a look for yourself:

I LOVE empanadas. I did not love this place and would never recommend it to anyone I know.
I showed up with a Groupon tonight for 6 empanadas and was excited to try a new empanada place. For the record, I’ve tried several empanada places in the city and was excited to try this newbie in the delicious east village where a bad meal is hard to find. This place is very small and you can see the entire kitchen which is just a small table, fridge and oven right behind the register. Therefore, you can see everything the cook is doing.
Strike 1: They required a full price food purchase in order to use the Groupon. I’ve never seen a Groupon deal require an additional purchase like this but I went with it anyways. So I ended up ordering a 7^th empanada. No biggie, I love empanadas, right?
Strike 2: My date and I are now seated and waiting and the other 3 people in the seating area finish and leave. Another 2 couples come in 10 and 15 minutes after us, respectively. Then they get served their food before us. I look and they only ordered a few empanadas each. I look over to the cook and I see him lounging around and talking on his cell phone so the orders must be caught up by now, I think. So our food should be coming out shortly, right? Wrong. The cashier who had taken our order now comes over (30 min after taking our order) and asks us, «what are you waiting for?» seriously? You’ve only taken 2 orders after us! So I answer «um… the 7 empanadas we ordered…»
Strike 3: Another 5 minutes later, she comes back over to ask us to repeat our entire order. Wow. I even helped you write down the order when you took it the first time. Another few minutes later… She realizes they are out of the spicy beef so we settle for another ham & cheese. Frustrated, we ask for everything to be packed to go since I couldn’t stand staying there any longer.
Strike 4: Yes, they even made it to strike 4. We get our food and my date asks if all 7 are in the box. They say yes and we leave with the bag, frustrated and hungry. Then we get home… and find only 6 empanadas were packed.
I try the empanadas since I’m famished and they went from ok to worse and worse. I didn’t even bother calling them to tell them they shorted us an empanada since I wouldn’t bother going back anyways.
Overall, of all the empanada places I’ve tried, this is absolutely on the bottom on the list. If you want amazing empanadas and good service, go to Empanada Mama (24 hrs!) on the west side.