Maria Empanada - South Broadway — Restaurant in Denver

I discovered your empanada shop on the corner of Louisiana and S Broadway after I moved to Platte Park (I can almost see your shop from my house). The first time I walked in and tried the Empanadas it brought me back to Buenos Aires. The delicious soft and supple crust, just the right amount of crisp and egg wash, lots of variety in fillings, and beautifully hand-crafted crusts with unique designs and shapes for each style! I was totally blown away.

I’ve been visiting your shop weekly ever since. Throughout Covid I would come in and buy them by the dozen to freeze and have at home as well throughout the weeks.

Over the course of the last few months it has changed. They are no longer “individually hand-crafted” with unique shapes. The crust is cheap and dried out and flakes off. Big air pockets have formed inside between the layers of upper crust and dried out and burnt. They don’t freeze well anymore. And the beautiful unique styles (that your website still raves about) have vanished.

It’s clear that something has changed and I can only guess that you’ve taken to mass production and quality has suffered.

I consider myself a brand ambassador for your shop and have turned many people onto it. I would love to see the old empanadas come back. I’ve attached a few pictures to describe my recent experience of the corn and signature “Argentina” Empanada.

I would love to hear your side of the business story to try and keep...

I was born and raised in Argentina so I know what I’m talking about. This is what they served me. The empanadas looked like if they were taken out of a crematorium. Plus, one of the employees gave me 1 broken empanada that I forgot to take a picture because I immediately asked her to change it. Both employees, the woman and the man didn’t seem happy to be there. They aren’t friendly as you would expect from a place that is so warm and welcoming like my country, but of course they were not argentines. I wish they would hire more friendly and efficient staff. I was pissed. I didn’t have the best experience at Maria Empanada. Also, the prices are ridiculously high and I know because I make empanadas from scratch myself. This place is just overrated. Honestly I walked away with a sad vibe because I wanted to be close to home for a little bit and then these people are so rude. I’m glad I claimed and I didn’t eat the broken empanada. She said sorry but it’s like you don’t see what you’re serving? She didn’t want to be there at all. I took notes on the name of the manager and I’m gonna complain directly to her. If you’re reading this review, go to Rincón Argentino instead. The staff is AWESOME and the...

The overlap and the distinct difference in cuisines can be remarkable.

In India, you'll see dough folded over sweet and sour fillings and fried. The taste is completely different.

Empanadas are Argentinian. They are toasted or baked and at Maria Empanada, they have the stuffing inside printed on the outside

So you know that you're biting into a corn, or a mushroom or a spinach stuffing because they look exactly the same. That's a neat solution.

The sauces accompanying each plate are spicy, creamy and sweet by turn. It was my first experience of churros which is fried and has a sweet stuffing.

The pictorial menu placed on the wall is interesting. The brightly lit shelves, the view from the tables and the spartan but tasteful decor emphasises that the food will arrive quickly. And it did.

The sauces add quite a bit to each mouthful. Having ordered a variety, we did get to sample quite a few of the vegetarian options.

Overall a good experience. More flavourful than spicy. This review is definitely that of an outsider attempting to get a grip on what the food was about.

Practically every region in the world has its own comfort food. Which to those from other parts of the world are an exotic...