Nonna's Empanadas - 3rd Street — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I decided to stop by for an early lunch after an appointment at Cedars. I'd heard great things about this place, and was happy to see no line since I was there early, before the lunch crowd.

There's a huge selection of Empanadas here -- chicken, pork, beef, veggie, and even dessert options. I decided to try 3 different flavors, so the guy working suggested I do the combo, which turns out to be a better deal. After all, $3.95 for a tiny empanada is kind of expensive in my opinion. So to get 3 for $10, with a drink included is a much better value.

Unfortunately, before I started eating I didn't realize that the empanadas are labeled, so when I started eating, I had no idea which I was biting into. First was the regular chicken empanada, which is listed as one of their top 10. I bit into a big piece of tendon, which I quickly spit out. Not a good impression. Also, the empanada was not very hot, so I decided to wait until I got home to eat the rest, so I could warm them up.

Next I had the Filipino chicken, which has a lot more flavor than the plain chicken, but too salty for me. They could have done a great chicken adobo for the Filipino version, which would have been a home run.

My last empanada was the eggplant. It was just OK.

Overall, these empanadas didn't have the great flavors or ingredients that I was expecting, especially after hearing such great reviews by others. If I stop by here again, it would only be to try the...

Empanada 3 pack / carnitas, filipino beef, chicken + jalapeno - 5 stars! House made spicy chimichurri - 5 stars!

Nonna's Empanadas started on 3rd street but a few years ago they left their original location and moved down the street to a larger and more spacious shop. It suits them very well.

The new space has a big counter for displaying all their wonderful, delicious hand-made empanadas. I love how many options they have. I had to limit myself to three and it was very tough to choose.

Each empanada was tasty and packed with filling. Their flaky dough is awesome. I love that they stamp the top with the flavor name. I kind of want to set aside a day to sample every single flavor. I don't know if that is a good or bad idea though. Probably a bad idea for my stomach would be my guess.

Do not forget to ask for their house-made chimichurri! They have mild and spicy. You could put this on almost anything and it would elevate the meal.

Fair warning - parking is a bit of a challenge for this location but be patient and circle around the block and you'll be rewarded...

My first empanada experience here was really good! The food was delicious, the service was great, and the restaurant was small and cozy.

My friend had a groupon, so we drove here on a random Tuesday night. The place was a little hard to find, but we found street parking and eventually found it after driving around the Beverly center for half an hour. The store is super small, most people pick them up for carry out but they had a few tables.

Though service was a little slow, our food came out pretty quickly and it was delicious. I ordered onion and cheese, vegetable, and I think a beef one and they were all fairly large for empanadas. The inside was moist and the insides were all extremely flavorful. We ordered dessert (some moist cake thing that was really good) and got complimentary dulce de leche bites. The owner then chatted with us how he was happy to have us as customers and was very nice.

It's not the best deal ever and if it's location was more convenient I would eat it more often, but their empanadas are something to try at least once if you're...