Empanada Mama - Hell's Kitchen

Got 3 empanadas to share between 2 people, the Viagra corn one, el jefe wheat, and pernil wheat. It was a small snack, and we left feeling a bit hungry still, but I think the fried outside was a little too fatty so I ended feeling super full shortly after. The taste was really good though, especially the Viagra one.

The restaurant was super loud and lively, so good for if you're looking for that kind of vibe!

I went to this place a good long time ago. This review is abridged as we had a large mix and I didn't try all of them and I'll just go through the ones I remember; mostly being my favorites. I had a batido/shake to drink which was soursop/guanabana which was good (I got it with water, not milk as per my preference.) Service was fine and I remember them being very crowded, the place being pretty loud, and our group waited at the bar at the beginning.

Best of the bunch as agreed by virtually everyone is the El Toro with chipotle, red wine, and spice braised oxtail with maduros. Lightly sweet presumably from the maduros/sweet plantains with a bit of spice and the meat had a bit of chew. Just well flavored and outstanding. Most others also loved the Viagra as well. I also liked the Reggaeton (Caribbean style roast pork with sofrito seasoned yellow rice and pigeon peas) The Hawaiian with ham, sauteed pineapple, and mozzarella was also solid with the bit of sweetness balancing out the saltiness.

Desayuno Colombiano with pork sausage, cheddar, eggs, Spanish onion, and top round steak was fine. A bit salty but a good texture. The Bombay Empanada with curried chicken with chickpeas, cilantro, and scallions was unique and solid though the curry flavor was mild. BBQ Pulled Pork was OK though the BBQ sauce was a bit too sweet for my liking.

Wouldn't recommend the buffalo chicken. The texture felt different and the blue cheese sauce just didn't taste good to me.

We also tried the guacamole which was fine and it came with pretty solid tostones/fried green plantains as well as the churritos for dessert which were fine as well.

Hard to complain. The empanadas can be a tad pricey but they have a fun mix of unique flavors. I think the related Mama Empanada in Astoria has much better empanadas but you can do much worse. Mid 3

If I'm visiting NYC I'm going here at least once and frequently recommend it to others.
The last couple visits the food was great as usual. But the service was not.
In November it took a bit for someone to come to our table. I watched 3-4 servers chatting near the bar while waiting patiently for someone to approach. One was even munching on something. So clearly the delay was not because they were busy.
This week when we went our server took our order and that was the last we saw of him. Someone else brought out our food. We finally had to ask for our server and someone else came to our table and said she was now our server. But we saw the first one there until we left serving others. Maybe their table assignment changed. He could have come back to close the loop or something.
Something else odd we noticed is the first night we went this week a 20% gratuity was included on our bill. That's never happened before. The next night it was not and the server did not have an explanation. We only had two people in our party. Not sure what that's all about.
The food is still great but I hope they aren't taking their popularity for granted and letting service fall by the wayside.

Came across this place after getting off of work late night and my guys needed something to eat. Cute place. We were there late night like I said and you could tell the staff was just annoyed by all the drunk people that were already in there. They were alittle rude to us while we waited....

The empanadas were good. Nothing special honestly and we tried one of pretty much everything on the menu. The banana and Nutella one was actually really good.

06/9/24 @ 5PM

Had to eat here again after such a delicious first visit. Got to Pernil's again and they were just as good as the first time. Our service was absolutely TERRIBLE though.

We had Fabrício as our server and he was awful. He didn't greet us when we sat down and ignored me when I said hi. It took awhile for our order to be taken after we sat down- two tables were sat beside us AFTER we sat down and Fabrício took their order first. He nearly forgot to take our order; had to turn around after walking away.

After our food was served by someone else, I had to flag someone down to get a drink order from my mom since Fabrício never returned to check on us. He even walked right by us and didn't even stop to ask How things were or if we needed anything! Fabrício provided some of the worst service I have had in a long time. Absolutely horrendous. We finally had to ask the hostess for our server so we could get the check. Another woman came up and said she was our server now. This was so odd- I've been at restaurants during a shift change and normally the prior server says something to us about them ending their shift soon. That didn't happen at all. What's even more odd is that I still see him serving tables as I type this. So weird.

When I come back here, I'll definitely be requesting anyone but Fabrício.

Ouuu mama these are good!

Tried 4 different ones and was not disappointed on any of them. Decent amount of filling, and quality ingredients as well. They definitely don't skimp on the meat like a lot of other empanada places.

Had a really unique guava and cheese dessert empanada as well. A first for me and definitely won't be the last!

This place was recommended to me by a friend of a friend from Queens who is now out west.

I made sure to drop in with my nephew before going back to the other side. There's multiple locations in the city. We ended up here because it was the closest to where we were on our way to port authority.

We got 4 pieces that we knew we would share at home.
El Jefe, Viagra, Brasil and Desayuno Colombiano were the winners. First off, they don't skimp on the protein. And that dough. Don't even get me started on the perfect taste of it. That's why no matter what's on the inside, you're guaranteed a delicious empanada.

My personal favorite was the el jefe. The mixture of the ingredients was just my jam. The nephew agreed. I honestly could've eaten at least two more which is why I'm bummed I didn't get more.

See you next time.

Hot food that is so yummy. I got a Brazil, a cheese, and dessert empanada. All so tasty. The sauces they give, I swear they have drugs in them they are so tasty. Especially the red.

I waited about 30 min which was frustrating. But the food was thankfully really hot. $15 for three. I've had catered lunches and I didn't know they were about $5 each.

If you order in app there are 20% and 15% discounts so I'll do that next time.

Good food, cheap eats, tried Bombay, Reggaeton, and El Jefe. The different types of meat, even the chicken were very moist and not dry at all. Definitely recommend any of the three flavors that I got.

Got late to NYC and most restaurants in Hell's Kitchen were closing, but definitely not this 24 hour very busy Latin restaurant!
Don't get fooled by the name, it's not just empanadas, although obviously that's what they are very well known.
The empanada was crunchy on the outside with a very well marinated ground beef on the inside; and definitely not greasy at all.
The guacamole & plantain chips is great for sharing and it was also on point. The guacamole was creamy and with a touch of spice.
Finally the arepa burger was an interested twist to a Colombian arepa with a great mix of flavors