Paradise Empanadas

If you actually know what an empanada should taste like this place is DISGUSTING!
The «stamp» thing mentioned above is true! I tried a spinach and ricotta and a trukey empanada. They were so gross I couldn’t even swallow! Sorry but if you are going to name your restaurant «PARADISE EMPANADA» your empanadas should be awesome!

Closed. I KNEW this place wouldn’t last one year. «For Sale» signs on the windows.

Went here with a friend for late night snack, and got 3 empanadas: salmon, spinach & ricotta, and ham & cheese. The empanadas are really more like hot pockets with a smooth finish, (I don’t mean that in a mean way at all, I like hot pockets), and the salmon one was the best. It’s a nice place to go for a snack, and they also make their own juices! I had strawberry juice, and it was AMAZING. If I’m back in the area and craving pocket food, I will go here.
The staff were also very friendly! They also have a breakfast menu.

No, I haven’t been to Chile. But I’ll still write this from my Chilean perspective, you know, since I’m a halfie.
Chilean empanadas are baked. So please don’t be surprised when you don’t see a fried empanada on your plato. I’m not a huge fan of them myself, and never eat them at home.
But let’s talk about their other items.
They have bocadillos (like sandwiches) that are really good, and a nice twist on a boring, cliché sandwich. You can get a pretty healthy fish sandwich, and it’s cheap, too.
The best stuff here are the dinner/​lunch plates. SO authentic, it’s like my grandma cooked for me at her house back in 1997. Totally delicious rice, cooked Chilean style, fluffy fresh bread, and whatever main dish you want. The shrimp is sooo good. Droooool.
And on top of all that, you get a mixed salad. Folks, this is not the side salad you get at all cafes and take out places. Those are horrendously boring. THIS side salads deserve a little spotlight all its own. So perfect and fresh and tasty! As always, lots of onion and cilantro flavors abound. My two faves. (Cilantro and Onion are like the national foods of Chile, or something)
Even the little cookies are super authentic. I think they’re alfajores (soft dulce de leche cookies)
The employees are dying to please and incredibly sweet.
So be open minded and try things other than the empanadas. It’s like, 5 bucks for an awesome meal.

I wanted to like this place soo badly because empanadas are one of my favorite things to nom on. So clearly I got excited when I saw that they were opening a place that sold empanadas right around the corner. The guys that work there are really really nice, but that can only account for so much when you’re in the business of selling food.
I had their beef and shrimp empanadas. lackluster.
Their empanadas are baked which is like, whatever cool — probably healthier but they just had such a dull color to it. Golden brown is TOTALLY achievable en un horno…
The dough wasn’t very tasty nor flaky. The filling needed help too. The beef was crying for some seasoning and the shrimp filling was disappointing given that it was mostly rice and what looked like krill shrimp.
The salsas that accompanied the empanadas were also bland lacking heat or acidity.
As for the people who have qualms about the stamp on the empanadas. you’d be surprised at how many places actually do that. Plus they use food safe dye to do the stamping.
I would suggest trying empanadas at
1. el ñandu
2. lito’s empanadas

I recently moved to the neighborhood, so I decided to stop in and try out the empanadas. I had come here long ago when this was a café/​ice cream shop, and the new interior leaves something to be desired — it’s more of a dive than cute and cozy, and I can’t see myself coming here to sit with a book or eat with friends.
I found the prices very reasonable. There were a couple of people eating in, and the sandwiches they ordered looked good, but most of them seemed to be steak based on the menu, which doesn’t do much for me. The breakfast menu looks nice and VERY cheap — I might try it someday (although, to be honest I’ll probably stick with Melrose across the street.) They also had fresh squeezed juices (carrot, orange and beet) and shakes, as well as a little salad cart that looked nice enough (no prices were posted for this, though, that I could find).
The name said Empanadas, so that’s what I went for — I ordered a Turkey and a Ham & Cheese at the counter boy’s suggestion, and also a Beef. I got the mild sauce. It was probably about a ten minute wait (there were two people behind they counter and they were finishing up the sandwiches and a fresh squeeze carrot juice for the table that was in there). Then out came my empanadas from somewhere, and into a little toaster oven they went to be heated — hmmmm.
I’ve never had proper empanadas before that I remember, so my opinion might not be worth as much as empanadas fans, but I thought they were all pretty tasty (and all equally tasty). As a previous reviewer mentioned, it is a bit disconcerting that each emapanda was stamped in blue ink with the type of meat it contained — but I gobbled it all up anyway. There is such a thing as edible food ink, and I have to assume that that is what they are using.
I definitely wish good things for this business — the staff was nice and everything about them seems very sincere, and very DIY. There are so many great places in the neighborhood, I don’t know if I’ll return with any regularity. The story might be different if they had later hours — those empanadas would be mighty nice on a walk home from boystown!

Oh dear. I went to this place last night with a friend, we were eager to try something new since we’re not very familiar with empanadas. The «employee» handling the money was an 11 year old boy. He was adorable, but completely screwed up my order and gave me the wrong change, which for some reason took about 5 minutes for the actual staff to figure out and fix. Not the best start to my dining experience.
I ordered the spinach and ricotta empanada, which came out quickly. Unfortunately, my friend’s turkey empanada took about 10 minutes so I sat there waiting for her order while mine got cold. Strange but true: the empanadas are stamped with an ink stamp?! WTH? Mine was stamped «spinach», hers stamped «turkey». Now really… restaurants usually do serve more than item and somehow manage to differentiate their food without stamping it. Come on people. I elected not to eat that part of it.
The actual taste was pretty good — much like a spinach pie in a different form. The crust was a bit hard, almost stale at times. The «sauce» served was a spicey watered down salsa. But for $ 2.25 each, I guess that’s what you get. My friend said her turkey was decent.
The staff is very friendly, the older guy came and cleared our trays for us and offered coffee on the house. Maybe it was to make up for the stamps on our food. I wouldn’t come here again to eat, but maybe it’s better for take-​out?

I don’t see why everyone’s complaining, I think this place is pretty cool. The staff was really attentive and friendly and my food was prepared fresh and tasted great– omelet, hash browns, toast and coffee all for $ 4.
I was recently in Costa Rica and this place almost reminded me of a cute little café I went to. I loved the Latin music.
I’ll be back :)

I give the counter help 4 stars. They were nice and friendly.
The food on the other hand… I ordered the steak ham cheese sandwich thing. The bread was ok, but I swear the meat was Steak-​Umm. It was edible, but I wouldn’t get anything there with «steak» again.

I feel bad for writing a 1 star review for this business, as I always want to see a new local business succeed, but I would have to say this was close to the worst fast food meal I have had in my life.
My recommendation to the owner — if you are in charge of making the food — just stop — go out and hire a head manager and completely redo the menu and recipes. If someone else is making it; demote them and get someone else.
I will give this place a second chance in the next couple months and potentially revise my review.

I have to amend my previous 4-​star review as I’ve now eaten here once more. Though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it flavorless or pricey, Paradise Empanadas has a little work to do.
Which is really a bummer, because the space it fills has been needing a great place to compete with the nearby tasty quick eats. The only void it really fills is the need for a quick breakfast. This is why I still give 3 stars — it is quick, and I’d still call it relatively tasty.
But, I agree with everyone else that the empanadas could have a little more flavor. In fact, if your name is going to be based on the idea of your empanadas reminding you of paradise, well… you get my point.
I actually like their sandwiches. Maybe the name should be «Paradise Sandwich shop and oh by the way we have a few empanads…»
All of this said, I’d say they are worth a try. Some of the kinks may still yet to be worked out. I’ll give them one more try and hope to be re-​convinced of my earlier 4-​star rating.

Date of Visit: 11÷20÷10 (Opening weekend)
Whew — probably not the best time to visit a restaurant on opening weekend — but what the heck. Boy, was that an experience. Overall, I was not impressed with the quality nor the quantity of what I paid for what I got. I believe I ordered a drink, sandwich and chips, paid something in the realm of $ 7 – 8. I was not familiar with the Chilean meat — so I cant really review it fairly, but it wasn’t awful ;)
I think they need to work on their pricing a little bit, and don’t use pictures in your flier that shows a much larger sandwich than what you will get. It helps. It would also help to move the coke machine to the back of the counter — there is too much traffic between that and people trying to order.
Will I go back? Not sure. I probably will give this place one more try in the Spring.

Ok, let’s get real, folks. $ 2.25 or so for an empanada and around $ 5 for a sandwich? Sandwich, chips and a soft drink for $ 4.99? Pricey? Please.
And complaints about the «cheap styrofoam cup»? Give me a break. Is a cheap paper cup with wax coating really that much better?
As far as the eponymous empanadas. I’ve visited twice now, and I was also disappointed. It appears they are prepared elsewhere and stored in the restaurant, to be reheated when ordered. Not the best way to do it and it contributes to the dryness of the pastry. (When fried ones come out of the hot grease, of course they are pretty moist.) The ratio of pastry to filling is too high, and I think correcting this might solve the flavor problem, as would serving them piping hot. However, we need to remember that empanadas are different in the different countries that make them, and even regionally within those countries. The folks I met in the restaurant seem to be the type that would take feedback well, so let them know what you think.
At the moment I find the sandwiches to be a much better bet. The roll has an interesting flavor, and mine was tasty. There was a good portion of flavorful beef; the lettuce, tomato, mayo additions made for a tasty lunch. There are several varieties of sandwich available. And again friends, if your food is cold or otherwise unsatisfactory, let the friendly staff know. I bet they’ll fix it if they can.

It’s pricey, but everything in this area is.
They are baked and not fried, but not bad for something on the go. The little side of sauce they give you is ridiculously small as you can’t dip the empanada in it since the cup is the size of a thumb.
Other than that, they are friendly and fast when I’ve been in and that also goes a long way. I don’t see this place lasting though…

Empanadas! Right in the hood! Could my wildest dreams be coming true? Might I escape the corporate juggernaut that is Chipotle, satiating my lust for Mexican food elsewhere?
No, alas. My search must continue.
Empandas should be flaky and greasy. The meat should be hot and spicy. Ours were none of these things.
Between me and my date, we sampled the beef, chicken, corn and green beans, and egg and bacon empanadas. A fair sweep of the menu.
Each one was worse than the last. The pastry is bland, tasteless, and crunchy. The meats seem almost completely unseasoned (the beef did make a vague attempt). And they weren’t exactly big, even at $ 2.50 a pop.
The whole place feels like someones first time running a restaurant. The hours weren’t posted. The only trash can is in the back of the room. There were about 12 people behind the counter. My date got an Americano (they claim to be a café as well), and it lacked espresso.
After we finished our meals, we immediately went next door to Falafill for some food with taste.

My partner is Chilean. We go to Rapa Nui together. Once a year, we participate in the Chilean Gastronomic Week in Chicago. She cooks Chilean cuisine when she has time and raves about her grandma’s empanadas. All of this has steered me toward having a semi-​good grasp on the flavors of Chile. However, even if I didn’t have a good grasp on anything Chile, this place wouldn’t help much and more so, it surely wouldn’t make me want to expand my palate with Chilean food ever again.
While I do wish I could sugar coat this review and say it was opening-​week jitters that caused such a blasphemy of food to be choked down, I rather think it was a lack of quality ingredients, and, simply — an effing oven.
The empanadas are baked. That would be fine if they were warm to the touch, crisp on the edges and maybe even steamy inside. But they were borderline cold, filled with what tasted like canned corn and mushy to boot. My party of four ordered the vegetarian beef, corn, spinach/​ricotta and seafood empanadas. We ended up with two corn, spinach/​ricotta and seafood. My «vegetarian» beef (with its clearly marked crate that said so) was substituted with corn. Shrug.
We then tried to order the seafood salad — they were out of it — so we ordered the Chilean salad — which they forgot to prepare for us until we asked for it. The four of us each tried a sandwich, with two of us getting the fish with tomato and onion. If the empanadas were toeing the line of gross, then this excuse for fish that was cold, wet and covered in a film of slimy batter sprinted ahead and over the finish line. The crumbly bread was the only — ONLY — saving grace.
The worst part is that it was my mom and her friend’s first try at Chilean food, and even though they repeatedly said their food was good, I think they were just being moms. I know my partner is disappointed and I know she wants to believe they will get better with time (which IS a possibility) but for now I wouldn’t go back to Paradise Empanadas if you paid for my food and my time.

I’m willing to give Paradise Empanadas some wiggle room for growing pains. But my first impressions are lackluster at best.
I stopped in for lunch on Sunday to place a to-​go. The place was empty at 12:30. I took some time to look at the menu– and I have to say Robert S. is SPOT on in describing many of the issues I had. The menu is confusing, the flow of the space is confusing, the whole experience is confusing.
The two most egregious errors?
A– The soda cup. REALLY with charging me $ 1.50 for about 8oz. of soda with a cheap Styrofoam cup from across the street from Walgreens, with ill-​fitting lid that made me spill ¹⁄₃ of it on myself walking out? Utter fail.
B– I tried the beef and seafood empanadas. I also ordered the chicken, but somehow 1 chicken, 1 beef, and 1 seafood was too complicated of an order with no one ahead of me in line. I digress. Now, I know these are supposed to be a healthy take on empanadas. But, if you bake them, they can still be crispy, right? I felt I like I was eating stale, half-​baked dough. The fillings were not tasty or flavorful, especially the seafood. And the food was not hot. It was barely warm. And where were the sauces that I read about? The only sauce was what I guess was a mild salsa that was onions, a few green flecks, and a vinegary liquid.
I give it a second star only because I hope that it can work out problems in the opening weeks in order to become a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

I really wanted to like this place; it’s right by my apartment, the prices are reasonable, and it’s new… but my experience there was not good.
I got a sandwich to go (I don’t remember the name), the ingredients inside the sandwich were fine and flavorful– but the bread was so stale it was inedible! I had to take all the components of the sandwich and find a different roll to put it in!
I might try their empanadas someday, but it’s not very likely… if you can’t get a basic sandwich right what chance do the empanadas have?

The worst empanadas of my life. This place is simply an atrocious joke of a restaurant.
My girlfriend lives in the area so we decided to stop by for dinner on Monday night at around 8pm. We each had a few empanadas. Alas, they were inedible — and I don’t toss that term around very often. They were cold, stale and to say the ingredients were straight from a can would be a compliment. When I asked them if they could heat the empanadas up (they were served cold???) they treated it like a special request. «You want your empanadas warm?» Warm and fresh would have made their head explode. This place has the word «empanadas» in their title. You know you’re headed for trouble when they can’t even make the food they’re named after.
My girlfriend actually decided that she would let the owner know (seeing as they’re new to the neighborhood) that she found the food of poor quality. The owner (or manager) simply said «we make these fresh every day».
I give the place two months tops.

Empanadas! In my ‘hood? It’s like a dream come true.
Well, almost.
These empanadas are baked, not fried. So, although this probably is better calorie-​wise, the empanadas that win my heart are usually fried. (Ooops?)
Paradise offers chicken, beef, shrimp, spinach and ricotta empanadas — for $ 2.25. The empanada is pretty solid, with ground beef, egg, olives and raisins (I think?). While it’s not the best thing I’ve ever eaten, it’s good and a great option for a small grab-​and-​go meal. Although it’s a little on the pricey side (like other reviews state), let’s face it — this is East Lakeview and all prices here are jacked up. (Can’t argue with me there!)
Props for the newly painted, bright orange walls. I loved the coffee shop that was here before, but the bright color makes the space a little more inviting and noticeable to curious passer-​bys.