I am a self-claimed empanada fanatic. Any place that makes/carries/sells empanadas is where I…read morebelong. When Orejano came up in one of the weekly feeds I received, I felt some obligation to check it out. I thus wasted no time to do so just yesterday. Luckily, it's only a 10-minute short drive to the business from my southeast Denver.
There are many competing eateries in the part of town where Orejano is situated and yet they got lucky that they secured their current spot. They are not in a cramped strip mall where businesses are side by side; it will be easy for everyone to spot. By the way, the parking is ample.
Bright yellow signage with the restaurant's name on it accented by Uruguay's country flag - it's quite eye-catching.
I could see that the people inside were already aware of my presence in front of the shop while I was taking some photo of its exterior. And once I was inside, they wasted no time to greet me. Their warm welcoming made me comfortable.
The man upfront (I believe he is the owner) asked if it was my first time to which I said yes. I asked him to give me a few moments so I could peruse the menu.
The offerings on the board are ample. As much as I was curious with desire to explore "outside of my comfort zone", I only could buy a few to several items (I listen to my stomach!) I thus focused on the original intention: the empanadas!!
I picked up two vegetarian ones and one non-vegetarian namely Spicy Mushroom, Spinach and Lamb. Three emplanes will earn you a free sauce of your choice so I went with the chimichurri kind.
This is a bake to order place so it takes at least 12 minutes before your hand pies are ready (and it depends on how busy the restaurant is.) Since I was the only one in it at the time of my visit, they got it going immediately.
While awaiting, I got a chance to talk to another worker (possibly the wife of the man I talked to earlier). She was quite informative as to when the restaurant opened its doors, she herself is, not from Uruguay, but Paraguay, where they get the best pork meat (they have a business relationship with a meat shop named Cordobes Foods in Longmont), the lady who makes empanadas in the kitchen is actually a Mexican that does an excellent job by making more of Argentinian-style empanadas etc. Not to mention, they recently rec'd the "best" empanada place in Denver mentioned in the most recent Westward magazine. It's been a great 9 months ever since the inception in June 2025. Congrats to them!
Once I got my three empanadas, I rushed home to savor them.
Firstly, they are/were most beautiful empanadas I have ever seen! Nicely brown. I could see the meticulous handwork done by the Mexican chef lady to shape each one.
Now, the quality...I liked them all. No doubt about it for sure. And yet, I wasn't wowed by them to be frank especially the vegetarian ones. The Spinach was nice and creamy where there was no dryness. It however, lacked something to be outstanding. The same goes with the Spicy Mushroom. It wasn't (firstly) spicy at all. This was also creamy but the same blandness is what I tasted. The Lamb, however, the most flavorful one. Whereas it wasn't too salty in any way, this had the most flavors in its creamy center. Finally, the free sauce (chimichurri) was quite different than ones I had tasted elsewhere in the past. Frankly, it was quite tasteless where the oil was the dominant ingredient with visible presence of the green (oregano??). No taste of wine vinegar, I didn't see any red pepper in it either. This also failed to wow me.
Well, to conclude this review....I still like this business. It's run by genuinely good people who want to serve the community. I've only tasted three items. I saw other items (on the menu) that seemed quite intriguing. I would still go back and experience them more to fully immerse myself in the Latin cuisine they boast. Welcome, Orejano, to our neighborhood!
