Best empanadas I have found in Oakland and the East Bay! I lived in Argentina for 2 years and this…read moretakes me back. Son deliciosos!!! You must get the chimichurri sauce to dip!

1st time back in a few years and Javi still make the BEST empanadas I've ever had…read more The Carne & the Champiñones are still my favorite. This time I had it with Javi's home made Chimichurri Sauce, let me just say, WOW!!! I have been back twice already with in a week. The service was excellent!!!

Decided to take a stroll from the office back home and stumbled across Javi's Empanadas…read more The carne empanada and alfajores took me back to the empanadas and alfajores my colleague at a previous company used to make during the holidays once upon a time. The lady working was the sweetest thing, she was super friendly and approachable. Oh man, the salted caramel in the alfajores is legendary. I can eat like a dozen of those in one sitting. The carne empanada was true to its roots -- the filling was savory and the size of the empanada is generous. The great thing is they have pre-made empanadas in bulk to take home! This would be perfect for the next family gathering or potluck! I look forward to my next empanada craving!

I think I got the La Bautista empanada & Chimichurri sauce. It came out hot and the chimichurri…read moresauce was so good! I could eat that with almost anything.

This is the second time I've had empanadas at 9 Julio, both were delivery. I had chicken rojo and…read moreJamaican beef empanadas with chimichurri sauce. This is not ordinary sauce. It's vinegar and herbs and olive oil and other magic seasonings. I eat the empanada with a scoop of sauce on each bite. Believe me, this is the money bite. I admit to licking my fingers (Hey! it's my house!). This time we ordered peach cobbler empanadas. Just as you can imagine. The crust of all bites was crispy but substantial. It did not shatter all over the plate but was pleasantly crisp to set off the summer peach taste. Order or go!! You will not be disappointed.

Good value for the empanada combo…read more Watermelon Mint Agua Fresca (4/5): very refreshing and not too sweet but I did not taste any mint. Plantain chips with guac (5/5): were portioned generously. Empanadas (4/5): stuffed with good amount of protein but lacked flavor and were a bit dry.

Empanadas $6.95 Mushroom (vegetarian): fantastic…read more Soyrizo (vegan): lovely spicy kick. A little heavy but also delicious Zucchini (vegan): delicious Definitely want to come back.

Small cafe with many choices of empanadas, both sweet and savory ones…read more The beef empanada was the stand out both for flavor and texture. Chicken mole was pretty tasty but not as dark and mole-y as I had thought. The chicken was shredded. Spinach was good but for my meat-eater palate, lacks a little something. Prices were pretty reasonable and I liked it enough that I went back the next day for more.

Slow cooked beef arepas are fire. Salads consistently good. Had an amazing bean, fried plantain…read moreand cheese arepa that will definitely be ordering again.

We were short staffed so I offered to come in two hours early and I didn't have time to eat but a…read morebowl of cereal. I wanted something hearty but not heavy, so I pull of the Door Dash app. My friends wife is Colombian and I'd seen one of my influencers I follow do a piece on an Arepa place in SF. So I find this one. I didn't look carefully that it was kind of far from my work, but I digress. They had a breakfast arepa and a cheese bread, similar to Brazilian cheese bread so I ordered that. So what's an Arepa? I like it to a Salvadoran pupusa/Pita style item, but made with corn instead of flour. They cut it open and stuff with different items. Mine came with scrambled eggs, bell peppers and green onion. and the Bunelos was one giant ball and made with cassava flour and tapicoa flour (good for gluten free folks) and finely shredded cheese. The food arrived still warm and was really good. the breakfast Arepa could maybe have had some cheese added, but there wasn't an option to add and I was expecting maybe and order of small size bunelos, like three, but the giant one was fine and fried to perfection. I will try to actually visit the restaurant for futher items. They have an arepa for vegetarians as well as empanadas.

Overall subpar flavors and absolutely not worth the long wait…read more I came across this vendor through a festival unfortunately they are not equipped to meet the demands of event goers. Hopefully their catering is better. Waited over an hour for empanadas, rice and plantains. The food was sadly overcooked, skimpy and not worth the cost. I do think with some operational improvements they may be able to overcome their current obstacles.

I tried empanadas from Dona Aida's at the Latin Food Festival in San Jose. My personal opinion is…read morethat it provides the best experience when you use them for catering and a reasonable experience when you try them at an event like a festival. I ordered both the crab and Cuban empanadas when I visited them at the San Jose Latin Food Festival. Their empanadas are made-to-order, which is great in theory as you know they are fresh but also resulted in waiting almost 30-45 minutes. The empanadas were definitely tasty but not necessarily worth the long wait. Now I should mention that the festival itself was a complete flop (if I could write a review, it would be two stars)... besides this place, there was literally one other taco truck and a Puerto Rican food stall. There were quite a few people in attendance at this festival that were literally all split in terms of waiting in line between these three places. I'll give Dona Aida's the benefit of the doubt and that they may have just been overwhelmed with the crowd hence the long wait time. However, I should note that I also caught a glimpse of this place at the Latin Food Festival in Oakland (much more successfully put together than the festival in San Jose) and they seemed to be backed up there as well. Once again, the empanadas from here were delicious and had I picked up my order immediately, I would have given a five star review, but it does seem like they are best used for pre-orders/catering rather than made-to-order at an event.

I work around the corner from the cafe and eat there about once a week. Great variety of empanadas…read moreand very addictive sauce that comes with them lol. Highly recommend for a quick bite.

I finally popped in to try the empanadas. I went with my two favorites, chorizo to and fugazetta…read more The fugazetta had the perfect balance of cheese and onion and it was also perfectly seasoned. Yum! The chorizo didn't dethrone my current favorite, but it was good. I absolutely love their chimchurri. It's slightly spicy. Not as green as I'm used to, but in this case it's a good thing. They brand their empanadas so you can tell which is which. Most other places don't, so that's a nice touch. Friendly service and free wifi make it a place to come in back to. I need to try more things. Metered parking just outside the door makes it easy. Recommended.

The ambience and aesthetics of this place is very cute and comforting…read more I went in and tried to empanadas priced at $5.50 each I also bought a side of chimichurri sauce for $.50. I ordered the chorizo empanada and then also a beef empanada. Both were good. The beef empanada had vegetables. The chorizo empanada was more of an Italian sausage with cheese. The chimichurri sauce was a little tangy. The service was quick and easy.

Love this place! Almost have the buy eighteen get one free card filled out. Imagine how much money…read moreI spend here. It's so worth it. The customer service is great and the empanadas are equally as great. My daughter will eat a full one just to have the apple one after. We come once a week almost. Chill vibes and a cute coffee shop. Idk if they have AC though. Very hot in here during the heat wave CV is experiencing.

Why 5 stars? Because despite a few non-ideal circumstances, it was very worth the visit…read more --- --- --- After eating lunch nearby, I had one final stop to make here for coffee and dessert, before I headed to SFO. The issue is that I was definitely pushing it on time if I planned on making my flight. As I was driving here, I had the thought that if there was an annoying parking situation or a line, I would just have to pivot and forego patronizing. But as it turns out, there was one spot available right next to the front door and no one inside. But then when I requested a nitro, the owner (I assume?) was extremely apologetic that their coffee machine broke. I asked for a few alternate types of coffee, but it turned out said machine controlled it all. So we shifted to the pastries. I read on the website that they had something with guava, so I asked for two of those: one for me, one for the wife. He even offered to heat mine up, which I will say yes to 100% of the time. I then jumped back in the car and was back into "don't' miss your flight mode." Of course, when you're in a hurry, you manage to hit every red light along the way, so I was doing a lot of yelling at electricity and God. But then I figured I might as well take the time to try the pastry that I'd originally planned on eating on the plane. As it turns out, it brought me into a nearly immersive experience of zen. The only bad thing is that I devoured it within seconds and then it was merely a thing of the past. My wife is fortunate that I have the amount of integrity that I do because I am sitting on the plane as I write this and I could easily inhale that 2nd pastry with her being none the wiser. If you're reading this, wife, remember that you hit the spousal lottery.

Discovered Milonga at the farmers market and so happy I did! Their empanadas are amazing!…read more My husband and I tried the mushroom, potato, tomato and basil, chorizo, beef and pineapple. They were all well balanced, not too salty or sweet, toasted to just the right crispiness, and definitely satisfying. Not to mention the staff were fun and friendly

First and foremost, I have to apologize for not having a better photo of my empanada! Our family…read moreeach bought one before heading to Angel Island and packed them away to enjoy later. As tempting as it was to eat them immediately while they were still warm and filling the air with their amazing aroma, we wanted to save them for a picnic with a view and it ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the day. Even after cooling down, my mushroom empanada was phenomenal. The pastry was beautifully flaky without being dry, and the filling was packed with flavor while remaining well-balanced and not overly salty. Other members of our group were equally impressed with their choices, including the beef, shrimp, and ham-and-cheese varieties. If the empanadas were this good after sitting for a while, I can only imagine how incredible they are fresh out of the oven. Honestly, one was not enough! I'd gladly order a few more the next time I'm in the area.

Frustrating experience. I ordered 1 Beef and 1 ham and…read morecheese, instead I was provided someone else's order with mushrooms. I received 1 mushroom and 1 ham/cheese. I'm allergic to mushrooms, so this was a complete miss. Allow me to share my view on this place. Not authentic, not Porteno. Also, the beef empanadas are advertised with raisins. This is is not Porteno, it is a Northwest thing, like Salta, or Tucuman. Dough used is not traditional, it is a flaky and greasy dough similar to spanakopita. This resembles a confused version of something that is not an empanada Argentina. This is like a quesadilla. Empanadas are not huge, and smashed like this. Overpriced!