Empanada City — Restaurant in New York

3.5 stars Farabe and I came here because who can say "no" to an empanada? Everyone loves the fried pillows stuffed with goodness.

Upon entry, we were greeted with tantalizing food smells. The restaurant had no indoor dining option available but, two tables outside. I noticed that most of the cashiers and service personnel wasn't wearing any masks.

One of them had an air bud in her ear and I had to keep repeating myself. I didn't notice any music playing in the background so, I am guessing she was listening to her own music. It was just annoying to have to repeat myself a few times when she could just removed her headphones. Overall, I actually felt like the service was a bit lacking and unfriendly to the point of being rude.

I ordered originally a shrimp and a plain chicken but, then downsized because of the attitude of the staff and because I was a bit annoyed that they charge extra for sauce (.25c). I feel like usually empanadas come with sauce and it's free.

The plain chicken empanada ($2.50) was delicious and stuffed full with filling. Sometimes, you would bite into an empanada and get more air than filling. This wasn't the case here. The chicken was flavorful and tender. The empananda didn't need sauce but, when Farabe went to buy a container, they said they didn't have any available. I like that the outer layer was crispy and not greasy. Also very cute that they have a mold that prints the flavor on the crust in case you order...

My first visit and I don’t know if I’ll go back.

The empanadas I ordered were good. The coconut flan was good. Not a fan of the pina colada. It could be better or maybe mine was made according to my ethnicity.

Now that’s a huge claim, right?

After ordering my empanadas I was asked which green sauce I want. I’ve ordered empanadas from many places before and this was a first. Picking a green sauce? I ended up asking her to recommend one and she gave me Avocado. I’m almost certain that was conscious decision because the other one is more popular so she knew that it was likely NOT the one I was referring to.

When I ordered my flan there was three flavors to choose from…… AGAIN! This is a first. Now I’m confused because I have yet to know that flan has flavors.

Another African American woman comes in and she too asks about the green sauce because clearly she’s never been given an option before. She too told the cashier to give her any one. At this point the darker skinned Hispanic woman goes to the cashier and said something to her addressing our lack of knowledge of their menu.

I say all of this to say the food was good but their customer service is off putting and I truly felt because I was AA and didn’t have the knowledge to place my order smoothly it was problematic to their staff. If a patron isn’t knowledgeable be kind in helping them learn.

Might order through an app but I wouldn’t step foot back into this...

From the outside everything looks fine. Open the doors and even better inside. Brick walls, retro lighting, plants by the door and on the trels outside. Very nice environment and ambiance. Service could've been better though, not really willing to explain anything to you, it's more like they expect You to know what to order. Suppose this is your first time?? Now I got to stay off to the side and read a "flyer" menu to make my decision 🤔. Just as I started to get impatient, my wife asked a question.... In Español. 🤗 That seemed to make a world of difference concerning service. So we ordered. The place was cozy and nice "FoReal", we decided to stay. My 8 year old daughter got a smoothie which she loved, and my 10 year old daughter got a mint tea while we waited. The order came up and we all dug in. The taste was there, so was seasoning, but what was also there was an abundance of sauce...🙄 Liquid... Against something fryed. Makes for a good mess anytime of the year. All that liquid desolved the structure of the empinada's crust or shell. We ended up eating with our fingers in a tripod manner, minus the sauce 😒. That is what I don't like. It's a big harassment trying to enjoy all that taste and flavor while the structure is literally deconstructing right in your hands. I'm not sure if I'll revisit this store. But if I do, I'll go with a...