321 Empanadas — Restaurant in Melbourne

Was travelling on business/pleasure, starting in Miami and ending in Orlando. My wife is a BIG empanada aficionado, and I’m a fan too. We had some terrific empanadas in Miami at Graziano's, and the market was literally 50 yards from our hotel … so, we got spoiled with good empanadas on demand for 2 days. When we left Miami, and stopped in Melbourne, Fl, for the weekend, we were in empanada withdrawal and looking for a good empanada fix. While searching for local eateries in Melbourne, my wife announced, “there’s an empanadas place in town – it’s called 321 Empanadas!” After some fantastic empanadas in Miami we were a bit hesitant to ruin our memories of good empanadas, but we decided to try anyway. Well, not only were we not disappointed, we were in empanada heaven. We also learned that the owner of 321 Empanadas started in NYC , recently moved to Melbourne, and his empanadas are Peruvian styled. They were absolutely delicious, thin crust, flavorful, and full of well-seasoned goodness. We tried the beef, vegetable, and chicken, and all three were EXCELLENT! The beef was my personal favorite and the mix had all the right filling with seasoned beef, black olives, chopped eggs, etc. The owner explained the subtle differences between the various national empanadas in South America, and the Peruvians were OUTSTANDING. We found our empanada fix, and MORE, in Melbourne, FL. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a warm, delicious, comforting, wholesome empanada. Well done...

A TRUE DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH! I stumbled upon this gem after a job interview in the area. Nothing about this place is as it seems. The location and outward appearance one might expect a little hole in the wall greasy spoon Mexican place. NOT AT ALL. It is super clean,bright,well light. Still not expecting much as there was only a glass case on the counter displaying empanadas along with a selection of beverages. The sign(menu) beside it confirmed that in fact that was the menu the choices being beef, chicken or vegetable. I asked which one was the best and of course she said I should try all 3. Not expecting the tasty combination of (later informed) authentic Peruvian vegetables stewed together BAKED inside a light thin pocket of pastry to become the crown jewel of this establishment. The chicken and beef are very tasty equal in freshness and authentic ingredients. TRY ALL 3! Do ur self a favor and skip the fast food route and come here... Your gut...

Best: cold Inca Kola, 5 stars Excellent: Yellow Sauce, Mild or mild + creamy Aji Amarillo sauce helps give a boost of flavor to the empanadas. Has a slower burn, but I'd still say mild. 5 stars Very Good: Beef (ground) empanadas. Lots of meat, great value. I'd like a little more spice/flavor so I didn't have to rely on the dipping sauce. 4 stars Good: Chicken (shredded) empanadas. Lots of meat. Not too dry. Good value. A little bland without dipping sauce. 4 stars Ok: Green creamy dipping sauce. This is probably just a personal preference, but it was bland, I would say mildest mild/no heat. This is different than most green sauces you encounter in Peruvian food, in my experience. 3 stars

Good service. It was Mid afternoon on a weekday, so it was empty except me.

Sadly, no gluten-free or allergy free options. Hopefully, they will grow and are able to have more options...