Empanash — Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe

First I want to say how extremely disappointed I was in this business. In everything. I am confused that this place has so many 5 star reviews. Let's start off with the service. We came here at 7:01 pm on Friday night. The guy at the register seemed to be very irritated we came to patronize his business. He didn't say anything to us other than "anything else." He was extremely unpleasant and seemed to be annoyed by everything we ordered. We got 2 beef, 2 chicken, the corn, hammer, and the desert one. While we waited. (There's a sign at the registered that says "if you plan to sit outside let us know so we can turn the heaters on"). As you may know from my previous reviews that we travel with our dogs and needed to be eating outside. So I politely asked if they could turn the heaters on for us. He looked even more annoyed and walked to the back. We waited outside and the guy came out holding a lighter and said they're out of gas. All 7 of them must be out of gas: even tho he never even tried to start one. We again said it's ok, no worries. At this point just not wanting to piss him off further so he doesn't mess with our food. Well food finally arrived and Neither of them looked at all like the pictures. The beef was the best one 7/10. The chicken tasted like dirt 2/10. The corn was ok 6/10 and the hammer was about the same 6/10. The dessert tasted decent but didn't have any of the topping from the pics. So we sat outside in the cold and ate subpar food from a Horrible customer service business. I highly recommend...

I can’t say enough good things about this little counter serve restaurant! I went here with my sister and my 4 kids.

First, when entering the owner was extremely welcoming and friendly. He was helpful when we were deciding which empanadas to get and patient with us while we took forever to decide.

While waiting we were able to keep the kids occupied with some little games and brain puzzles that were on the tables. The empanadas took maybe 10-15 minutes, as they are made fresh. When they came out they were hot, had the perfect crispness, and smelt so good.

The owner, again, was helpful telling us about the sauces available for us to get from a little self serve area. We let them cool for a couple minute before digging in, but when we did the flavor of each one I tasted was perfect! One of the most delicious food items I have experienced. I tried the popeye, corn fed, spicy hen house, and hammer. The owner gave us samples of the tomato bisque which was also amazing with just a tiny kick of spice. All of the sauces were amazing as well.

My 5 year old was the only one not willing to try anything, but that’s the norm for him. I can’t get him to eat anything outside of chicken nuggets and pizza 🤦‍♀️ I ate his empanada this morning and it was still delicious and even held up some of its crisp after being microwaved.

Hands down my favorite place to...

Me and my husband will make it a point to come back anytime we're in the Tahoe area. Sooo Delicious! Staff was friendly, helpfull and patient. We tried 3 of the empanadas (popeye=spinich, mushroom, cheese ; beef'd up=beef and the breakfast=bacon,egg,cheese,potato). These are big and plump. They do not skimp on the filling. 2 empanadas will leave you pretty full. Fried to order (not baked) and come out nice n hot. They have 3 yummy sauces, all good but the criollo sauce is my fave. The establishment is small so seating is scarce indoors (plenty of outdoor seating but in winter its too cold even with the provided outdoor heater). We ordered the bakers half dozen + 1 free ($40) and had left overs and they were just as tasty when consumed later on. Pricing might seem steep per item but this is definitely a quality flavorful filling lunch. I will definitely be recommending this place to family and friends...