Paaastelitos

The name is misleading. Its more like empanadas and not very latin. They are ok and if you go in knowing that they are not your typical latin pastelitos, then you might be happy with your meal.

Awesome unlimited selection of pastellitos, awesome employees, everything is awesome here. I wish they were a chain cause I cant get this type of awesome Hispanic food anywhere near me because I live in NH :(i mean yes i can go to Lawrence but im totally not familar with that city. I would come here literally everyday if I still lived in the north shore! I still come here whenever I do visit, though. :) I love this place so much I will consider buying a hoodie if they sell them :)

Great place, cheap prices and awesome food. Been here twice. Went in the first time and the second had delivery. Both experiences were great! Got both the chimis and pastelitos. There is a wait for food, so I wouldn’t order when I have a time constraint. Don’t base your decision to go to this place based on Larry S’s discriminatory review (all the reviews he leaves on local businesses are 1 star), and give it a try for yourself.

A great find! Staff is friendly. You can pick from their menu for fillings and if it’s not on there they will do their best to make it.

Love this place ! … Nice atmosphere … So many delicious types of pastelitos ! Their sandwiches are delicious also. Good place for a quick meal on the go. Staff is friendly and quick service.

This place is amazing! Food is excellent and the employees are very friendly. I would definitely recommend to anyone!

Disappointed. Walked in speaking Spanish to no response. There was one other customer and it took forever. I was looked at by the «owner» (at least, she told me she was the owner) like I had two heads. She argued with me that she didn’t have to speak or be Hispanic (in this case, from the Dominican Republic) to make and sell the pastelitos and that «virtually every ethnic background makes a similar dish»). She said that she was Italian and she grew up with the same kind of dish. Granted, but you would call them by their proper Italian name in that case and not claim that they were Dominican. I got so mad at her twisted reasoning that I paid and left. The food was JUST OK, nothing special.
In summary, the help was rude and immature. No hint of customer service. There was nobody there with a Hispanic background to at least give the illusion that they cook typical food. False advertising and a fraud. If you want to spend your money on authentic Hispanic/​Caribbean food, go to Congress St. or Lynn!
P. S. Your reply proves my point. Thank you. You know as well as I do that there was only one customer in your store (there wasn’t much food either, by the way). I did not yell at any point. I agree wholeheartedly with you that people who work in a restaurant or counter are not required to be of the same ethnic group as the food they serve, but if the OWNER isn’t, that smacks of a wanna-​be who is not honest. You were so defensive both in person and on Unilocal that it is clear I am not the first one to bring this up. Good luck with finding your identity. So much for your skill in customer service. Maybe you should try another line of work, dear. Saludos.

Great place ! Enjoyed my Everything sandwich, strawberry milkshake with and a few of their many Pastelitos ! You have to try the dessert ones !!

This place, for want of a better word, rules. They have a staggering array of flavors, and the pastry has that nice flaky feel with deep fried goodness. Seriously. The pastelitos here are divine. I couldn’t stop eating them. Wanted to try every flavor at once. This is worth a stop.

Paaastelitos is pretty new to Salem, so before coming to Unilocal,I tried them three times. Each time I’ve learned that patience is required.
Pros:
*The variety of paastelitos (a Dominican empanada) is unique and broad. They have breakfast flavors, desserts, traditional, custom, seafood, etc.
*They also have a wide variety of sides and beverages (fries, yucca fries, waffle fries, plantains, tater tots, mozzarella sticks, smoothies, milk shakes).
*The staff is friendly and wants to be accommodating, despite being swamped.
*You can get sandwiches on plantains instead of bread.
*If they charged you what the menu listed, the prices would be great.
The cons:
*They warn that a sandwich will take 15 – 20 minutes to make. I’ve learned to call ahead my sandwich order, but I’ve still needed to wait much longer than 20 minutes once I get there to pick it up. If there is a mistake, prepare for another 20+ minutes to fix it. Every time, I have waited (standing) between 30m-​1hr to get my order.
*Even the litos in the case can take a long time to get, and the staff isn’t communicative about when food will arrive, or will say ~5 minutes and it is 25 mins.
*There is no seating.
*Most things I’ve ordered (variety of sandwiches and ~15 types of litos) have not been priced the same as they are listed on their take-​out menu, posted menu, or white board menu. (50 cents to $ 1 more for each item, which is proportionally large for a $ 2 item.)
*On the three times I’ve been, the order has been wrong twice.
I think I need to wait a few more months before returning to try it again. Perhaps the kinks will be worked out. Regardless, patience is necessary. Despite the long wait times, incorrect orders, and price fluctuation, as someone who can’t eat bread, I would still return for their sandwich selection on plantains.