Empanada Kitchen — Restaurant in San Diego

I was looking for a bite to eat that was small and inexpensive since I had food at home and didn't want to overspend or overindulge. As I perused Google Maps to find out what was in the area, I came across Empanada Kitchen and after reviewing the menu and determining they were in budget, I walked around the corner to their downtown location on C Street. The place is hard to miss with bright yellow painting color blocked against a white wall with black lettering.

The venue is very clean and the menu is simple and easy to navigate. This was my second time coming here and both times service was great. (Shoutout to Chris and Dan!) The second time around I ordered one instead of two empanadas and settled on the pollo (chicken) with the chimichurri. I LOVE that the empanadas are baked versus fried for those that care about how their food is prepared. It was flaky and not too crispy on the outside and then succulent on the inside. The chimichurri is heavily seasoned (which I like) so if too many flavors simultaneously in your mouth isn't your kind of party, don't ask for it!

Will definitely make this a local go to spot. If you like supporting local and small businesses, put your money where...

I'm a professional Chef. For the last two years I've been working on the food diversity in San Diego. I'm also researching the history of food culture in this region and recently began working on a critics blog to acknowledge the individual entrepreneur, the corporate food industry, tourism, current prices, Mark-ups, and many more topics that will give the public access to the very best and worst San Diego has to offer.

Everyone knows, that the element of surprise is a critics best friend and being undetected while searching gives me the best advantage of finding the most authentic and traditionally prepared food in San Diego, county.

The Empanada Kitchen has not been rated, but from my experience, this is the place to get an authentic empanada with great flavor, very good texture and traditional ingredients for the region. Service was good, with room for improvement. I recommend the Empanada Kitchen for anyone's next lunch, dinner, or...

Very good potential. Maybe this place is best at lunch. Went at about 6:30pm and they had most empanadas still available. That was good. Got the ratatouille, daily special Italian sausage, ham n cheese, goat cheese and mushroom, and chicken. Ingredients inside were very flavorful and hit the spot. I was pleased with the portion size and value.

I would have preferred a crispier crust on most of the empanadas. They sit in a heated cabinet waiting to be pulled for orders. I think they could easily add a quick air fryer prior to serving, to heat up the filling a bit more and also that would crisp up the exterior a bit. That would elevate this place a bunch.

Also the chimichurri side is a bit lacking. It's too vinegary and watery. Totally not a dipping sauce and basically not what most would think of as a chimichurri sauce. Not green. If they offered maybe a few dipping options, I could see that being a big plus to complement various flavors...