Empanadas Cafe

I know individuals that swear by this place but it just doesn’t cut it for me. The empanadas are decent and the staff is always lovely but each time I come here the empanadas don’t seem to get better or thankfully worse. Ive been here a few times and have tried about 80% of empanadas on the menu. The meat and whole grain empanadas tend to always be on the dry side.
I love condiments with my foods but the green sauce here is too watery to use as a dipping sauce for an empanada. I also wish they had more than 2 types of dessert empanadas. They currently offer nutella and banana or guava and cheese, which isn’t much of an option coming from a venue that is purely dedicated to only serving empanadas.

I’ve loved this place for years. No empanada could compare to the ones from here. I work all the way in woodside and even so, my coworkers and I order from here!!! All of them are great but my favorite ones are Maduro con queso, chicken, & spinach w/​ricotta cheese! …
HOWEVER, the place is small. It’s more of a «take out» place. I would suggest ordering over the phone & going for pick up because the few times I’ve walked in I’ve had to wait a long time.

The staff here is pretty friendly and accommodating. I only tried the white flour vegetable and also chicken empanadas so my review is based only on those two. Okay, the vegetable empanadas were bland and dry. The crust was pretty tasty and crispy. The chicken empanada was well seasoned but again dry. I guess I am accustomed to eating empanadas from Don Coqui which are nicely seasoned and the filling is not dry as the meat is cooked in a tasty sauce. I must say the green dipping sauce is very good and helps provide a sort of sauce to the otherwise dry empanadas. In my opinion this place is OK. I wouldn’t make a trip out to Corona just for these empanadas but I also might venture into another restaurant if I were in the neighborhood. However, if I were starving and needed a decent place to eat I guess this would be it. Meh—

These are the best empanadas I have had in my search in both Brooklyn and Queens. I haven’t had the full scope of the menu yet but everytime i add a new flavor i am not dissappointed. The empanadas can be had in white, corn or whole wheat flour. I wish there was a location closer to me. Thank the food gods that i work sometimes in this area to get my re-​up when i need to.
As i glimpsed down at a review below no need to write an extensive review just go try them.

Cons:
parking is difficult
Cash only
wait longer than told to us by staff
25 cents per extra pink sauce (who does this anymore? It’s like paying for refills…)
Pros:
The empanadas are delicious, seriously.
Staff is in a good mood, easy to joke around with
My rating is really 3.5 bumped to a 4 because the wait time could be avoided if you call in your order.

Best Empanada I ever had. I love that they have whole grain and white flour. My favorite is cheese and jalapeño, chicken and cheese.
Inside this café space is very little they have 2 table and 3 bar stools.

Let me update my review from 5 stars to…5 stars!
I’m still returning every once in a while after all these years. Nothing has changed. Thank you for being perfect.

My favorite empanada spot!
It’s a teeny tiny restaurant with very limited seating — no more than 15 seats. In the summer time, they have some outdoor seating. The wait time for your order is roughly 12−18min.
This CASH only nook prepares ahhhh-​mazzzing empanadas. They are made with either corn, white or whole grain flour. Each flour type has its own filling so you cannot ask for a switch.
My favorites are sweet plantain with mozzarella, ground turkey with cheese, shrimp with potato. My goddddddd — yes it’s that good! I need to try all the options asap. My tummy will thank me.
Final notes, CASH ONLY, limited seating, delicious empanadas — try them all!
Happy dining!

Tried one empanada from each section and a refreshing but won’t-get-it-again blackberry helado. Sat at the really high counter as I waited 10ish minutes for them to make them to order. Forked over $ 10.49 (they shorted me a penny in change but had well my fill in pink sauce) for a great meal. The friendly staff pulled a 4.5-star food experience up to a 5 overall.

I’m so torn giving this place my rating. Overall Unilocal reviews are superb, word of mouth highly recommended this, but maybe my expectations were too high? I’ve been scouting out this place for a while and if you do your research, we know this place is more authentic than your average Mamas Empanadas chain. THIS PLACE IS TINY. You can probably already get an idea just driving by and seeing this small shop on the street corner. That being said there’s a table for 4, table for 2, and 3 counter seats… so you’re better off getting stuff to go.
–Maduro and Cheese — easily my favorite with a good sweet/​salty taste, it was the most stuffed compared to others.
–Guava and Cheese — the cheapest price wise and just ok with a gushers– like sweet guava filling.
–Chorizo — disappointing in flavor, bit overrated.
–Ham and Cheese — I enjoyed it, but it needs to be stuffed more than just with half air.
–Beef — pass, go order another flavor that isn’t bland.
–Carne y Queso — a lot better than the Beef and goes well with the hot sauce.
Empanadas are about $ 1.50 to $ 2, but I don’t think they’re worth it (especially since I have cheaper Colombian bakeries around Woodside to go to). The sizes of the beef, chorizo and guava/​cheese (the non white flour ones) are way too small. The order comes with a good spicy green sauce and a pink mayo/​ketchup sauce. I’ll give this place another chance in the future, but for now I’ll remain a bit disappointed.

Was in the mood for empinadas so we decided to try this tiny, super crowded and very popular Corona eatery. Best to do takeout. There’s only one table but there is a small yard on the side to stand and eat or sit on one of the rusty old lawn chairs. Both the beef and chicken empinadas were rather plain. Shredded pork didn’t fare any better. Luckily they came with a hot sauce that added much needed flavor. Tasted like a chimichurri sauce with a nice kick and it was the best part if the meal. The cod fish empinada was okay. Service isn’t so friendly because of the crowds but that’s understandable. Luckily, lunch for three of us was only $ 22 so it’s dirt cheap. Not exactly worth the hype but an okay option for a cheap lunch.

So we tried shrimp empanadas (corn shell) which have shrimp and potatoe filling very tasty. The chicharron was good too. I tried the plantain cheese empanada which is juicey and filled with plantains and cheese.
I was upset cause they just dont have space for you to enjoy the empanadas in the store.
I had to bust my piggy bank open cause they dont take credit cards… otherwise the empanadas are out of this world!
The organic jalapeño cheese empanada was not to my taste but everyone else loved it.
It was way to healthy for me…
IMO the corn flour empanada is the best, whe wheat comes 2 nd place and the organic well, they just make the empanada boring. Who likes a boring empanada?
Not me!

Tienen una buena variedad de sabores … Las mañaneras sin duda alguna son una delicia para empezar el día. El único problema el local es muy pequeño, pocos asientos y la mayor parte del tiempo esta lleno.

Bananas for Empanadas
I first started with the spinach and ricotta which was stuffed generously but may have need a second or two more in in the fryer because it as so thick the cheese wasn’t as hot as I’d have liked it. But, it was still delicious.
I had the plantains and cheese in white flour. It had a light flaky crust and the ooey-​gooey cheese went well with the fresh sweet plantains. They aren’t cheap with the cheese either.
I never had a multigrain empanada but I’m happy that I did. I decided to go with the chicken and cheese which was amazing. The savory cheesiness of the chicken filling was a perfect marriage of flavors with the nuttiness of the multigrain shell.
Their green sauce is refreshing and helps combat the greasiness of the empanada. I’ll probably come back for the cheesy empanadas. I’m bananas for their empanadas. Ain’t your average Mama’s empanadas.

If this were the Empathetic Café then you could come here when you’re feeling depressed, and they would listen to your problems and be very understanding. Whereas if it were Empirestatebuilding Café then it would be in NYC and located at a great height, which would mean those with vertigo would miss out on these Argentinian treats. And of course if it were Empowering Café then they’d tell you that you can do it! You can succeed! You can run the world! You can be the President of Argentina! You can be Eva Peron! You can be Madonna, or better yet, Elaine Page! So what if the jokes are recycled. Recycling is good for the planet.
What to get: Nutella Empanada
What else: Too much television watching got me chasin’ dreams, foo’
I was not at all impressed by the Empanadas at EC. The filling was a little stingy and underwhelming (ground beef tasted like ground beef taco meat at a tex-​mex place), and based on those, combined with all the stellar glowing reviews, I’d have given a 3 for being overrated.
However, the Nutella Empanada was absolutely delicious. I think it was «Banana Nutella» but regardless, the only downside was that I scarfed it down so fast that it burned the inside of my mouth — a lot! Nevertheless, I loved every moment of it.
So I’d recommend that every visitor be sure to try the Nutella Empanada, and next time I do, I will try a different savoury one to see if I like it better than the regular Empanadas I’ve had so far and been underwhelmed by. Is this place better than Empanada Mama in Manhattan? Probably not, but if you judge based on the Nutella alone, then it’s comparable.
In fact, in the name of local business support, I wrote a song for this place. It goes something like this:
Don’t cry for me Nutella Empanada!
The truth is, I really loved you!
All through your pastry. All through your filling.
You burned my mouth out. I kept my promise to write a review of you.

I still come to this place. It’s just the best of the best ! There’s nothing that could possibly compare to their empanadas! The location is really small but I think it’s fine only because it’ll be overcrowded if they expanded their location. Well, that gives you an idea of how busy they can get.
You could also call and place your order, so you could pay, pick up your order and go.
** only thing I would say I don’t like is that they don’t accept debit or credit cards. CASH ONLY $ !**

Brang. yo. cash.
If not, hoof it to the gas station, get a beverage with your ATM dollars, and walk it back. It may help to put in your order first.
It’s always a good sign when you see a perpetual line. (Don’t worry. It moves pretty fast). Get 2 – 3 beef and cheese, a pesto/​mozzarella, and any dessert empanada. You won’t be disappointed. There is little to no seating, so walk a couple of blocks to a park and make everyone jealous.
Damn fine food.

Came here for empanadas about a week ago (schmoney dance) and they were really good!
I got a chicken and cheese empanada and the tomato, mozzarella, and pesto one. The chicken and cheese empanada was really good especially with the green sauce. The meat was tender and juicy and the corn flour was crunchy. I would not really recommend the pesto one I got because it tasted pretty basic and like a pizza.
My friend got the Nutella empanada and he said it was delicious.
Empanada mama in the city is still better hence the 4 stars.

What feeling do you get when you discover that empanadas café is right by your dentist’s office… and you have an appointment at 11? JOY. Now you have an excuse to be in corona around lunchtime.
Obviously after the realization and excitement has set in, you jet their right after your visit and order every possible option that involves cheese.
I’ve tasted a few since my first visit and my favorite has got to be the multigrain empanada with cheese and jalapeño. SO cheesy and delicious plus I love the fact that it’s not your typical white or corn flour empanada (not that those aren’t good because they are). Try any of their grain empanadas and you’ll see that it’s the perfect little package. Very crisp on the outside but not greasy at all and then when you bite in you get all that goodness inside.
Other musts are the spinach and ricotta white flour empanadas since they’re all bigger than all the rest, the maduro and cheese and the mozzarella and pesto.
There is always at least a 10 minute wait for every order so make sure you know that in advance and also bring cash because they don’t take anything else!
Now for the most important part of coming here. The Hot sauce! The girls here always always ask if you would like some and you would be a fool to ever say no. It’s the perfect green sauce, get it get it get it!
Empanada café, never change.

My rating may seem harsh but whenever I am reviewing a meal I often cook at home I am slightly more critical. Why? Because when I go out to eat I expect that when someone owns a restaurant they do it bigger and better than a working class mom cooking it up in her own kitchen.
I make empanadas all the time, all different kinds too. After seeing the Unilocal reviews I wanted to check this place out. I brought my son with me because he also loves empanadas. We heard that this place is small and frequently busy so we arrived just before 12 trying to be ahead of the lunch rush. There was only one couple dining inside. We ordered four empanadas which included Chicken cornflour, Pork cornflour, Beef white flour, and Turkey and cheese white flour. We were provided with three green sauce containers in our bag and everything was packed well and clearly displayed which type was inside the package.
Although there was hardly anyone there it still took about fifteen minutes to get our order ready. If the fillings are premade and they are using a deep fryer at the appropriate temperature it doesn’t take more than a few minutes to fill and fry an empanada so I am really not sure what took so long. I’d really hate to return when the place is actually busy. I wonder how long the wait would be then.
The empanadas themselves were on the small side in my opinion. I am used to the cornflour ones being smaller but the whiteflour ones can be stretched a bit to pack in extra filling. When I make them at home they are almost two times this size. While I understand it’s not as profitable for them to add extra filling I would definitely be willing to pay a little more to get a decent sized empanada. They do have wide variety of fillings and dough so I’ll give them that.
The beef empanada was crisp, not greasy, but the meat was a bit dry and underseasoned. It could have used a bit more salt or adobo. The turkey empanada was the juciest of them all but it was supposed to have cheese in it but there was no cheese detected. I was expecting at least a little ooze of cheesy goodness somewhere in the empanada but there was none. Either they forgot or there wasn’t enough to get a good taste of it. The chicken corn flour was also pretty good but also a little more on the dry side. We just dumped a bunch of the green sauce on it. The pork was probably my least favorite. The meat inside seemed very tough. I wouldn’t order it again. The total came out to $ 8 for four empanadas. For that price I could easily make 10 of them at home and they’d be filled to the brim.
In conclusion this place may serve the lunch crowd in the area but definitely wasn’t worth driving to for a casual meal. In addition parking in this area was really tough. I’d rather spend the time and make my own at home so I can customize them to my liking.

[Pros]
1. Inexpensive (each empanada is the size of your fist and no more than $ 2)
2. Many varieties of the breading and filling offered
3. Hot and made to order!
4. The café also offers ice cream (I didn’t get to try though)
5. Friendly workers
[Cons]
1. The café is tiny D: (only two tables)
2. Long wait if you didn’t call in advance to pick up 50 empanadas and only ordered two with a cup of coffee
(Parking: in the residential area! Avoid going btwn 11am and 1pm on fridays when there’s no parking allowed on most streets)

cool place! delicious empanadas!