Tango Pastry

The Argentine facturas are delicious. They don’t stay fresh so don’t overbuy, but get a variety — they’re all tasty. The empanadas were good, but didn’t stand out as much.

Dear goodness I don’t know what they’re doing or putting in their food but Tango Pastry is downright addicting and about as good as it gets. The service was amazing, the owner was beyond helpful and she was extremely nice in serving me and informing me about the selections of food that they have. The milanesa is huge and along with the empanadas are some of the best things I’ve ever had. By the time I got there around 3:30 pm on Friday a lot of their stuff was sold out, but every pastry from the facturas to the alfajores were fantastic. It’s sketchily on the side of a Days Inn and in a run down area but you forget about the location pretty quickly once you start eating. Definitely going back.

Tucked within the Holiday Inn building along route 1 is this little spot of pastries and hot goods. I have heart eyes for the mini croissant or the pastry with both Quince and custard paired with their house café con leche. If you want something warm, the empanadas are also very good, spinach being my favorite among them. Try :)

Never seen facturas argentina in DC until now. These are no joke. Ate milanesa a caballo that was really good too.

I couldn’t agree more with all the other reviews! Tango Pastry is amazing. Small place with delicious food and friendly service! I’ve been a few times — all their fracturas are fresh and empanadas are in point. Last time, I walked in really hungry, and ask for a recommendation. Sandra recommended a milanesa sandwich. It was very filling and tasty. Enough for my daughter and I, but I ate most of it Too good! Stop by… you’ll be back for more!

I told the owner it was my 1^st time and she gave me a free sample of the shortbread cookies! I tried one each of all the pastries and they were all so delicious! I think she told me it was $ 1.00 a piece. Not bad at all. And got to try her empanadas which were the real deal! Beef and chicken empanadas rocks! Will come back soon to try her cakes. And oh the location is not so nice since it’s right next to the 2 star Days Inn motel but who cares? The food is legit!

Empanadas and alfajores are just as good as the ones I had in Argentina last week. This place is a hidden gem!

Fresh, delicious empanadas and pastries. The coffee is made by the cup, strong and soooo good. The shop owner is super-​friendly and was happy to describe all her various pastries. I will be back for more.

This place is a must. I stopped in because it was in walking distance of my apartment and will be going back regularly. The sweet woman who runs it walked me through the menu and gave me samples. The prices are fantastic.

Tango Pastry is definitely a gem hidden in Alexandria. You may be put off by its location but after talking to the owner Sandra I got to understand why. The prices are BEYOND reasonable especially for the quality and care that goes into the food. Everything is made fresh daily from the pastries to the desserts. She chose this area to keep the food affordable and I’m telling you the food is AMAZING. The desserts with dulce de leche are delicious, the cake is soft and sweet but not to sweet. The milanesa sandwiches are delicious with lettuce, tomato and mayo but a egg is a MUST on it. Will keep coming to this place from the service to the food this place is GEM in Alexandria.

Please go here. So, so good. Authentic like no where else close. Beware if you go too late they may be sold l out. It is that great.
Don’t let the location throw you. It is not really marked and is attached to a 2ish star hotel chain… LOL. Forget all that and get inside and buy some of it all.
Their food is made fresh daily. The pastries are delectable and their savory items are just as great.
I have never eaten inside as it is very small.
Go. You will be satisfied, full and fat and sassy!

Sandra is so sweet! My fiancé and I were looking for a place in Alexandria to stop buy to get a cupcake on the way to a friend’s birthday. She was so happy that someone new found her place that she sent us off with a whole box full of samples. Sadly we don’t live around the area, but we might actually stop here every time we visit our friends now. They do catering and cakes too!

Took me a couple of attempts to find this place (turns out, I was heading in the wrong direction on Rt. 1 and thought it was attached to the wrong Days Inn). It’s run by a very sweet, friendly lady. Good, tasty pastries for cheap – I got a vanilla custard European-​style one and a quince one for $ 1 altogether!

Went along with an native Argentinian from Buenos Aires who was missing food from home to this bakery. It’s a bit of an odd location, sharing the lot with a hotel or sorts, but the goods are fairly authentic I’m told. After a friendly conversation with the owner in their native tongue, she ordered some sandwiches de miga and milanesa napolitana. The sandwiches come in 6 halves but they’re very thin so I would consider it to be more of a snack than a meal. Each half had different ingredients in them so it was fun trying all these different ingredients you normally wouldn’t find in a sandwich like palm hearts. I thought the milanesa was pretty good but maybe that’s because it was covered in cheese with a slice of ham. This dish came with fries as well so it was more of a light meal compared to the sandwiches. Afterwards, we ordered a bunch of pastries (I’m told these were very similar to what she had in Argentina as well). Out of our order of medialuna, cara sucia, vigilantes, tronquito, custard, alfajores de maizena, and tarta de ricota she liked the tarta de ricotta, alfajores, and the custards the most.
Authentic food is always good.

Great food! The empanadas are delicious, excellent coffee, the croissant and pastries are fantastic. The service poor.

Little shop tucked on the side of Days Inn, the owner was very friendly and patiently told me about the selection. She also threw in some extras for us.
Very reasonable prices, loved the empanadas.

So I gave this place another try mainly because 1. I want to support local 2. I had wanted to really like this place and 3. I wanted to try the «weekend» pastries I missed out on last time. Am I glad I did. The pastries were stocked including the croissants. I ended up getting a few varieties, all were very delicious and tasted freshly made. It wasn’t overtly sweet which I prefer like castella cake. I would say the main difference between theirs and European doughs is that the pastries have a slightly more eggy taste, best I can describe it. Nonetheless, no complaints other than I wish I had picked up a dozen or two for a reception I attended. I did however tell a number of folks about this wonderful bakery, and the nice owner who was behind the counter and took my order. She greeted me warmly and even offered me a sample. What great service!

When I visited a few weeks ago to pick up a selection of empanadas for an all day movie marathon I was invited to, I wasn’t surprised by the warm welcome I received. After all, my fellow Unilocalers seem to have built up quite a following for this charming little latino patisserie. I was delighted by a selection of heavenly pastries and a piping hot box of aromatic little pastry pockets filled with all kinds of deliciousness. Needless to say, my parcels of both sweet and savory were a real treat! I returned this past weekend just to sit with a cup of coffee (with steamed milk, of course), and a couple of empanadas for lunch. Lovely, and if the wind had been a little quieter, I would have plopped down outside to soak up some vitamin D.

Kind of odd that the place shares space with a motel. Hopefully they pass the cost savings on to the consumer…
Trusted the high rated reviews and took the low rated reviews for what they all generically seem to be saying which is… the bakery runs out of popular stuff… especially on the weekends. Duh… Never seen a bakery like that before!
I don’t have a lot of experience with South American pastries, but they seem very European pastry like (not as sweet as US pastries). We did an assortment — got a giant box for less than $ 20 and everything was outstanding. As good as any european style stuff I’ve had in DMV area.
Place obviously has a powerful spanish speakiing clientele. Would benefit from menu descriptions for people like me who can’t speak or read spanish, but willing to try anything if someone can describe what’s in it.

Washingtonian Magazine includes this Latin/​European bakery’s facturas (basically glazed and slightly crispy croissants) as one of 40 must-​eats for 2013. Sadly, on the day I visited (Friday night), their facturas did not rise enough and I was advised to return on Saturday or Sunday morning to get better quality ones. I will need to do that.
Instead of buying facturas, I purchased their two kinds of alfajores (shortbread cookies sandwiching dulce de leche). One was rolled in coconut flakes, while the other was coated with powdered sugar. They were dry and overly sweet. I would not recommend these to anyone. Your best bets are their famed facturas *on a good day* and empanadas.
Despite other Unilocalers’ mention of bad service, Sandra, the owner, was very helpful to me. She gladly explained what each item was. For that, I give this place 3 stars and hope subsequent visits will make me want to raise the rating.