Ruben’s Empanadas

Overall this was not a really good dining experience. Maybe an on the go, I need to grab a bite type of place. The empanadas are made in a factory somewhere (overheard the guy at the counter tell that to a customer) and are really lackluster in the flavor department. They also charge you for a small amount of Chimichurri or other sauce. I would recommend getting the combo instead of getting individual empanadas.

A few years ago, I would have given them 2 stars. Their empanadas seemed like they were reheated from yesterday’s leftovers half the time.
But within the last year or so, they have REALLY upped their game. The empanadas I used to love in another location on the UES are back again! I couldn’t be happier.
Fresh dough now. Tasty fillings. I love that they’re baked instead of fried because it really cuts down on the calories, and I am a health-​conscious person. The dough is good enough that it doesn’t have to be fried.

Wandering financial figured I’d give it a shot. Guy working is super friendly. Empanadas were tasty. Alone a little boring, so get it with the rice and beans combo.

Fast, delicious, and filling empanadas in an amazing location. I plan on coming here once a week for the rest of summer lol!

SAME REVIEW as my Review for Ruben’s Fulton Street Location, but I actually prefer the Fulton Street Location as it’s bigger, more seating and less busy.
Empanadas and food quality are Exactly the same at both locations.
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I don’t agree with other Unilocalers who have given Ruben’s a 2.5-Star Average Rating. The reason is due to cost ($ 4 per empanada), as people are used to paying $ 1-​$ 2 for cheaper, lower quality, Fried empanadas. Ruben’s are Baked, so the people who are used to fried ones aren’t used to the «texture» as they call it in their reviews.
But Ruben’s Empanada is 4-​Stars in my book.
I’ve been coming to Reuben’s since 2003 when I used to work at Deutsche Bank nearby, and Ruben’s has been around since 1975 in Brooklyn.
As Argentina is known for…
— Malbec wine
— Steak
— Soccer
— Tango
— Empanadas
— Pizza
— Gelato
— Ushuaia
— Good Looking People lol
…Empanadas are all over the country. I’ve been throughout Argentina and can vouch that these are probably as close as you get to Authentic Argentine Empanadas. I say close, cause they’re not as good as the real ones, but still very good.
For those who don’t know, the difference between Argentine and other Latin American empanadas, is that they’re Baked vs Fried.
Argentina and Mexico will BAKE their empanadas, whereas the Caribbean Latin countries (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, etc.) will DEEP FRY them.
I prefer Baked empanadas over Fried ones, as I think they taste better, not as greasy, and are not as bad for you as the fried ones.
Ruben’s has 22 different flavors of Empanadas, and all of them have a very soft, buttery crust, but my Favorites, IN ORDER, are:
1. Argentine Sausage: ground beef, pork & onions sauteed in a red wine sauce
2. Ham & Cheese: diced ham, mozzarella, ricotta & cheddar cheese
3. Beef: ground beef, sauteed onions, raisins and spices
4. Chicken: chicken breast with onions in a creamy white sauce
5. Turkey: ground turkey, garlic, oregano, onions and cumin
The Dessert Empanadas are Ok, but not great.
I’d get the Alfajores instead, which is the National Cookie of Argentina, and next to impossible to find in NYC. It’s a sort of dry chocolate cookie-​cake filled with dulce de leche. Very Decadent and Good!
And I agree that they’re a little pricey for empanadas, but the quality is really good, they’re close to authentic, and you only need two of them to get full as they’re really big.
Lastly, I Prefer the Fulton Street location over the Pearl Street location as it’s bigger, more seating, and less busy.
Overall, I really like the empanadas from Ruben’s and get them every few weeks, so I highly recommend this place!

Found this while walking around with my dog. The guy who was working was very friendly, and he suggested I try the Argentina empanada and the beef or spicy chicken… I got the Argentina sausage and beef… Both were good and had a good size. The Argentina had a better dough/she’ll than the beef. I’d come here again.

I know a 1-​star review is always seemingly given out of spite but I’m just going with the comments that accompany the rating that Unilocal gives. «Eek! Methinks not.» Indeed.
Everything was very… bland. The empanada, the rice, the beans. Bland.
I can’t even remember what it tastes like because it didn’t taste like ANYthing. I love rice and beans and the pictures that people posted looked promising but I couldn’t even get through my serving of it, which is appalling for me since I absolutely love rice.
Their recipe has to change! They have to add some seasoning or something because it just isn’t working right now.

I ordered the shrimp with creole tomato sauce and it was quite tasty. It was certainly larger than other empanadas I’ve had in the past, although in agreement with other customer reviews, the empanada lacked that serious punch in terms of flavor. I prefer the crust to be flakier and crunchier. I’m going to stick with Mama’s for my empanada fix.

The empanadas here are giant! …But they taste just okay, and they’re very overpriced.
Like why does 1 empanada cost more than $ 4? Why am I paying almost $ 13 for a «lunch special» that comes with 3 empanadas? That’s not a special! It would cost me that much for 3 empanadas anyway!
There are definitely better lunch options to be had in the area.

I’m usually not a huge fan of BAKED Argentinian style empanadas, and I’m still not, preferring the fried variety more. But nonetheless I gave these a try and they’re okay.
Absolutely hate the dough. It’s waaaaay too thick, starchy and dry. But the delicious filling makes up for it. Also they have a good variety of empanadas and meal options. Not a huge fan of beans and rice but if you’re hungry, a few extra bucks gets you a big meal.
The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. There’s also a great selection of drinks and this is a good shop for you to grab an Yerba Mate energy tea

Finally i was able to negotiate with my bank and got the money back i paid for the stale food.
I have done this first time in my life as i respect food but here the seller dont.
Again… BiG No No No…

I decided to try this place for a snack since it was right behind my building. I got the spicy chicken empanada, it was bigger than usual empanadas. It was tasty though and I added hot sauce on the side. It was tasty with the first few bites, but it could be better.

I had the rice and beans, and spicey chicken empanada. The porportion of the empanadas are bigger than your average. I had the spicey empanda which was pretty good. The rice and beans tasted like it had curry in it. I’m kind of confused as I thought this was latin american style? The place lacks friendliness. The cashier didn’t greet me at all. They need to work on their customer service skills. Overall I enjoyed the empanda, added with the rice and beans it filled me up.

This is pretty biased but I found Ruben’s while looking for something to take the edge off the post-​interview jitters so I’m pretty sure anything I ate at that point would have been amazing. I ordered the spinach empenadas because I’m always curious to see what people can do with vegetables and I will say, the stuffing was great … once I reached it. It was tucked away in the middle of very well architectured dough. At first I thought empaneda was Spanish for ‘pretty, thick dough’ but there was a stuffing waiting deep down inside. It was crumbly and slightly runny which I didn’t mind because it was SPINACH after all.
I want to try their other stuffings before I dole out more stars …

STAY AWAY FROM THE CHIMICHURRI SAUCE. Your breath will reek for 2 days if you don’t heed my warnings.
The empanadas are oily and have too much bread.
Western empanada (eggs, peppers) … horrible consistency. Tasted like beef, but just spoiled eggs. cool.
Chicken empanada was stuffed, but not very flavorful.
Super basic, mediocre. Not worth the $$$ or the bad breath.

I found this place while walking around the financial district looking for my hotel. Totally random and delightful surprise of yummy and huge empanadas.
The place is small and has a little menu, they keep it simple. The price of the empanadas are inexpensive and worth it, even to try a couple of different ones.
I had the ham and cheese empanada which had a light and flaky crust, not at all greasy. The inside was warm and gooey. Not that a ham and cheese empanada should be all exciting, but the food was delicious and left me wishing I had tried another one. My friend had two different empanadas which I was able to sample, one was beef and I don’t recall what the other was.
After we ordered, the food came out very quickly which was a bonus. It was hot but not so hot that you had to wait for it to cool down. You could simply indulge in the yummy goodness as quickly as it came out. Also on the side was the hot sauce, which was more like mild to moderate sauce.
I would definitely come here again.

My favorite is the spicy chicken empanada.
Their empanadas are filling and affordable to grab for lunch in the financial district.
They have a nice selection of empanadas,
Cute spot to quickly eat if needed to eat there.

Hot pockets
Unlike many empanadas that I’ve had, these were not greasy. The crust was made of wheat. I got the 2 empanada + desert special.
The spinach was kind of dry.
The shrimp had a great sauce.
The alfajore was a great finishing touch. A delicate cookie sandwich surrounding caramel, the alfajore fell apart upon first bite and coated my tongue with sugary bliss.
The best way to describe them is an interesting hot pocket. Not the healthiest thing to be eating.

Empanadas lunch special is $ 8 and includes your choice of any empanadas, a ridiculous amount of rice and beans and a drink.
For lower Manhattan, the price is right if you’re hungry. The rice and beans portion is so large, it can feed a small family.
Their «house» hot sauce is mediocre, rice and beans is plentiful and filling but not overly flavorful. Spicy chicken empanadas are tasty and satisfying.

I wanted to like this place. After all, empanadas are basically pouches of nice flaky dough filled with awesomeness. For the most part, the empanadas here are pretty tasty. I got mine with the lunch special, between $ 7-​$ 8 for one empanada of your choice and a side of rice and beans.
To be fair, they’ve got a decent selection, and some vegetarian options for those of you who operate at a different wavelength compared to me (I’m not judging). The spicy chicken empanada was solid: the filling was nice and moist, with a nice flavor (not spicy though), and the bread was crusty and not too dry. The bread to filling ratio was lopsided though (needs more filling!!!). Sold individually, an empanada by itself is $ 4.25 (way too much for a not huge empanada that’s more than double the $$$ from the best empanadas I’ve ever had.
The rice and beans though were just blahh. Overly dehydrated and dry yellow rice and unseasoned beans. A little salt and love can make rice and beans hearty and awesome, so messing that up is irks me just a little bit.
Sad to say it, but I’ll take my money elsewhere when I’m back in this part of town.