I've been a frequent customer of El Mercado Latino since I returned home to Seattle in 1999... Best hot sauce selection in the market by far! Thanque all! read more

Omg I saw empanadas and I was immediately hooked! I had the mushroom and cheese and it was warm, fresh, ooey-gooey goodness! I loved it so much I went back again and ordered the same thing! Lol. If you're an empanada lover, this little hidden gem is a must-visit. It's tucked inside Pike Place Market and doubles as a small Latin grocery, stocked with sauces, spices, and other goodies from all over Latin America. Service is fast and friendly, and everything feels super authentic and homey. Just a little FYI: the yellow sauce isn't free, they charge $2 for it, so plan accordingly if you love dipping like I do! Perfect for a quick bite while exploring the market or grabbing a few specialty ingredients to take home. read more

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Seattle (overpriced) Empanadas in Pike Place Market [Seattle WA] Saw the empanadas in a glass case while navigating our way through the crowded Pike Place Market. It was a busy Thanksgiving weekend. They are located across the Farmers Market. Got two each of the beef and chicken empanadas. They are both tasty and delicious with lots of flavors but they are unreasonably priced at $8 a piece which wasn't stated anywhere on their menu board and only got the shock when I paid for them but the beef is made with lean ground organic beef and the chicken with organic shredded chicken breasts. Maybe that's why? I dunno, organic tends to be more expensive. Each beef or chicken empanada was garnished with onions, garlic, olives, pimientos, raisins, eggs, red & green bell peppers, some yummy spices and sauteed in olive oil and butter... that's a lot of stuff crammed in those empanadas. They also have salmon empanadas and ham and cheese empanadas. I'd probably get my empanadas elsewhere but this was the touristy Pike Place after all. Review #3615 read more

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Si se te entona una coca porque andas en el mero solecito! Love to support a small business esp if the name is el Mercado Latino. Tienen todo, sopas arroz Valentina chiles sodas . Está chiquito pero todo organizado muy bien súper amables las dos chicas. I don't remember if there was veggies, but I do remember everything looking fresh. read more

El Mercado Latino - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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First time trying empanadas from this location. Located in Pike Market by an entry point to Post Alley Wide variety of flavors from beef chicken salmon ham and cheese and various cheese combos Definitely grab and go type of spot but also can purchase various spices and grocery goods. Tried the beef chicken and chorizo since out of other things. Beef and chicken were ok, seemed under season and the crust of the empanada had no crisp or flakiness to it. The chorizo some spice but the crust was hard and tough to bite into. A bit overpriced for the quality seeking. read more

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Great empanadas. Walking by and decided yeah I could eat an empanada right now. Sure enough I ate 2. Both very good and service was very polite and welcoming. read more

By far the BEST salmon empanadas I've ever had! This little store is not necessarily on the main street but worth going to. I've only tried the salmon empanada and I will definitely be going back for more. read more

I truly forgot to take pictures because we ate them so fast but they were SO GOOD. We had the chicken, chorizo, ham and cheese, and guava and cheese. They were nice and hot and super freaking delicious. We went there because we were over stimulated and needed food fast, and we're already talking about going back lol. I highly reccomend! read more

I stumbled upon this place walking around while waiting for sushi reservations. I got a salmon empanada - never seen this flavor! It was closing so it wasn't warm anymore, but still a really good snack once heated up! read more

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I am driven to hunt for a good empanada anywhere I go, and walked past this place which is super close to Pike Place Market. It was $8 for a beef empanada (expensive) and I see that they increased their price over the past year. I'm happy to support a Latin owned business but the taste was not memorable. read more

It's not affordable. Prices are outrageously high. $13.00 for a brick of coffee that is $4.00 at a grocery store in Seattle is absurd. $25.50 for 4 frozen Goya pasteles? The cooked empanadas are $7.00 each. Would be a great location if the prices were a little more realistic. read more

While in the market, we grabbed a few empanadas to heat up for lunch later in the week. OMIGOD - they were delicious! I had the mushroom and the salmon empandas. The mushroom one included cheese and althogether the filing had great seasoning and a nice substantial consistency (I mention this because other empandada places over-index on the cheese thus making it a ooey-gooey runny mess when you eat it.) The salmon empanada was mostly salmon, with great flavor and a little spice - which I just loved. He had the chicken and the beef and enjoyed them both. We'll definitely be grabbing empanadas from the market again!! read more

A huge rip-off. They sell a can of Goya beans for $5 when it's less than $2 in any market. They also charge you 50 cents for a plastic bag (of course they just ask if you want a bag and don't tell you it's 50 cents unless you ask) and they also charge 50 cents for any purchases under $10. read more

I honestly thought it would have a better taste but it was ok they do have all the Latin culture based food and drinks though 50 cents charge for card use. read more

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I was charged $7.99 for salmon empanada when the sign says $6.99. When I clarified the price, they pointed to the sign and said salmon says $7.99. They charge $0.50 for a plastic bag when the sign says "$0.50 charge for less than $10." I don't mind paying premium prices for a tourist trap location but don't take advantage of tourists. We tried: beef, chicken, salmon, chorizo empanadas: All of them were 75%-85% onion. It's located in the same alley as Pike Place Chowder. Don't be tricked like me. Definitely not worth coming here. read more

El Mercado Latino - Empanadas $7-8 each - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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The ladies behind the counter were cute and nice, but $6.99 per empanada (up $2.00 in less than a year??) and $2.99 for a can of Diet Coke dictates the highest I can rate this tourist trap is two stars, which is the most I could go for. Also, think that's bad? While I was eating them sitting on a step, I saw a sign for "Seattle's Best Meatball Sandwich" for $19.95 next door. One and done with the Pike Place Market! read more

El Mercado Latino - $6.99 for an empanada, which would make grandmothers all over Los Angeles weep. - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Stumbled upon this shop as I was walking around the Pike Place area. I didn't even know I was hungry until I saw the empanadas displayed! The empanadas are AMAZING. I came at around 4PM and they had already ran out of their more popular Beef Empanadas so I ended up getting the Chorizo Empanada. It was so delicious! The breading on the outside was soft and fluffy. The chorizo on the inside was nice and juicy. I'm definitely coming back to try the other ones! They also had a small shop full of lots of seasonings, hot sauces, snacks, and more! read more

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Rip off, overpriced tourist trap. Our two empanadas were oily and cold, and at a price we could get sit down service elsewhere. Feels like they are trying to pull a fast one on charges. read more

How on earth have I missed this Hot Sauce kingdom - whenever I've been down to Pike Market!?! Passed it while walking through Post Alley & got so excited at all I was see! There's so many neat little shops & food joints here that you'll need several hours to thoroughly enjoy your time of day here! Or just keep coming back. With so many hot sauces to choose from I had to step back & say - is this for real!? YES IT IS!!! El Mercado Latino sells way too many sauces but I've just got to list all of them out for you - in another life! You must drop by if you love adding flavour to your food - chill, medium, hot & death - sauces are offered! Burn your insides at your own peril - I'm just recommending a fantastic store to buy options for yourself. Now you might find some items to be pricey but I guess it depends how badly you need such items! I'm really just super impressed with the selection available & glad I can find so much variety here! Caribbean & Latin American seasoning & various other products are also on sale here. You will not be disappointed! read more

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Like any song from " insert popular artist here" you have to have a something that catches the attention if you're desired audience. The same thing holds true for any business in Pike Place market. There's so much good stuff going on, the depot a walk right by you if there's not something that catches your attention. At El Mercado Latino, the catch is the salmon empanada. As a lover of all things food, empanadas are high on the list of things that never get old to me. My wife has often made the comment that every culture has their version of fried dough, while I have noticed that many cultures have their version of the hot pocket! Jim Gaffigan would be proud of this revelation! It also proves that my wife and I were meant for each other! They have a number of different types of empanadas, but the salmon one is front and center, and obviously meant to get your attention. It was good, not great, and largely because the inside was pretty dry. Whether a case of being overcooked or something that was cooked yesterday, I feel like it satisfied my curiosity, it also made me want to try it again to see if it gets better. They also had different flavors of pork rinds! Before being introduced to them a few years ago, I had honestly never had a pork rind, but now that I know they're low-carb and come in different flavors, there's something that we enjoy snacking on everyone's and well. The black truffle pork rinds were very nice! The truffle wasn't overwhelming which meant that my better half also liked them. We didn't actually come in for anything other than the empanadas and pork rinds, but they did have a pretty vast array of Latin foods And goods. Definitely a place that we will stop bye to explore in the future, but until then the Pacific Northwest version of the empanada will remain as one of the more unique offerings at Pike Place market. read more

Extremely overpriced... Almost all products can be found cheaper online. The staff was also unkind.

I stopped by this place to try their empanadas. I was so excited to try them. They were pricey but I did not care as I thought they would be delicious. I was wrong. The empanadas were pricey and over salted. Nothing special about them. The staff person that helped me was not very helpful or friendly. It seemed like he was being forced to be there. Customer service is lacking. He made no suggestions and was not very friendly. I looked around a bit in the shop and they have a lot of latin food varieties. I was actually very surprised. As mentioned earlier, the items in the shop were a bit pricey although it is to be expected at the Pike Place Market. I wish the empanadas would have been better. read more

Wanna know how to get me excited? Chilies. Lots of them. Chillies that I cannot find in Vancouver. The Mexican population is almost like the tundra tree line once you hit the 49th parallel in North America. - sparce. So I got a little excited when I found this shop in Pike Place of all places. This has got to be the biggest plethora of Mexican/Spanish groceries that I have come across in the Pacific Northwest. I looked through this shop for at least 15 to 20 minutes, and it's small! There is so much stuff in here that you cannot get in Vancouver, or at least difficult. Yeah I bought some dried ancho chillies. I did, really, I did. read more

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I have been a patron of this shop since 2001 or possibly since Y2K, and their spice section is top notch, and their hot sauce selection is totally on point! Timothy :o) read more

Latin food-galore. They have everything you might need to eat or make a good home-cooked meal, from any Latin-American part of the world, literally. We found quite a few ingredients we needed for cooking that night and were worried we might not find it elsewhere. However, because this is in the heart of Pike Place Market and tourists roam in and out in front of here daily, the prices are thrice, if not quadruple of what you might pay by just going down the street. I picked up 2 items (tortillas and enchilada sauce) and paid about $20 and stopped and looked bewildered when the cashier told me the price (of course he didn't bat an eyelash). So 3 Stars because you can find Latino-everything here. 3 Stars for the service and insane pricing. read more

Thank goodness this place is small because it takes you forever to look at every single thing that this mercado offers. My recommendation? Take one side-step throughout the entire store. One step to the right, look up and down the shelves full of tomatoes, pickled stuffs, masa, tortillas, plantain chips, sodas...another step to the right, and you're at hot sauce heaven. This has to be the biggest selection of hot sauces I have ever seen! You could make a righteous gift basket for the pepper head friend or family member. Side-step...whoops, you're at the cashier. Hi lady! Can I have a chicken empanada? A perfect bite to continue my strange line dance. Around the sodas, and now you've hit the jackpot: The spice and salt wall. The salts range from $1.25 per $1.75 per package and there's a bunch to choose from! And the spices aren't limited to Spanish influence. The leg up on getting spices here versus my other favorite spice place in the market is that everything is already packaged in small baggies for you. Be mindful that tasting multiple baggies of white powdery salt saying things like, "Oh yeah, that's the stuff!" or rubbing the salt in your gums may look a little...sketchy. read more

El Mercado Latino - Chicken empanada with beans and corn - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Machu Pichu in Peru really is one of the 7 wonders of the world. The stone ruins are incredible to see but at 8,000 feet you can gett a little lite headed and thrist. But that's okay because there's always a local kid carrying a cooler full of Inca Cola. No matter what ruins I was at or what trail I was on there'd be a young kid running up the hillside yelling "Incaaaa colaaaa." It's cola, I guess but it tastes like bubble gum. It's a million times more sweet than I usually can stand but it does hit the spot on a hot day. El Mercado Latino carries Inca Cola as well as hundreds of other hard to find Latin American items. Frozen Yuca(ask me if you want my deep fried Yuca recipe), Ahi chilis( the base for many Peruvian sauces), and a huge collection of hot sauces. And they have some of the most beautiful chili garlands you'll ever see. A couple of times a year I'll try to make some Peruvian dishes like Ahi De Gailiana or Papa Huncayina and I know I can get most of what I need here. Not to mention my Inca Cola fix. read more

As an returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Paraguay, not only was I thrilled to see that there was an entire wall in the store dedicated to Yerba maté, but they had tons of brands and varieties. I was able to find exactly what I was looking for! The staff was friendly and the store was clean and organized. Great market! read more

El Mercado Latino - Most notably present, at least to me, were pajarito, Colón, and kurupí. - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Hot sauce capitol of Seattle. They had every flavor of every sauce, things I cant even get here in AZ. The peppers are drying all along the walls and ceilings, its a place of color and beauty and heat for us chili heads. All your Latin treats were here and some hot food as well. The lady at the counter was very helpful. I stocked up on some items I have a hard time finding. More to fit in my suitcase for the ride home and the drug sniffing dogs at the airport. read more

El Mercado Latino - Hot - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This place is very Original! 3 Star's because I know what this shop use to be like and there is always room for improving it to what it use to be like. Please see my photo. Enjoy! Between 1985 - 2000, this shop was purchased by some very hardworking people who I had the privilege of knowing. The owners before them had no idea what they were doing. Although, the owners did not speak Spanish as their first language, they spoke Spanish as their 3rd language. Actually, they spoke 3 languages. Wow! They brought and introduced to Seattle, many of the Caribbean, Central and South American Specialty Grocery items. Not to mention the many religious items they had. Ranging from candles to special oils. THIS PLACE HAD IT ALL! Back in the day, the front outside of the store was stocked with many exotic fruit and vegetables from their prospective regions of their specialty. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sXE0RJSMUXooDBAp4E-ixA?select=kv-QtAny6A15U_L5ksxakA This is the first shop to carry and hang various chili strings, chili wreaths, and even stringed garlic in the Seattle area and may even be in the State of Seattle at the time. The Store grew quickly in its early years, opening another location in Tacoma, near Pacific Highway South. That shop was also very successful. http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-mercado-latino-lakewood After a great 15 years of business, the owners decided to sell their shop as they were at the retiring age. I have not been back to this store since 1999-2000, but the photo's do show the current owner's are trying to keep up with what once was. read more

El Mercado Latino - El Mercado Latino in 1999-2000, Beringer Farms is in the backgrond. - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Welp I got robbed by this mom and pop shop. They charged me $5 for a mexican coca cola! Didn't realize the price until they had opened the soda for me...I support local businesses but wow WTF. read more

Amazing salmon empanada!!! So good, fresh fish, and delicious dough. Highly recommend!

Yummy beef empanada, a little spicy but even the kiddo could handle it. In fact, he said, "can we get another?" Yup. The market itself has a lot of stuff but we just picked up the empanada and ate as we walked. read more

This is where to go to find all your Hispanic needs. They have Iron Beer and Jupiña which I have been searching for a while. Various spanish seasonings, coffee and tea (plenty of mate). Items are going to be a bit a overpriced but it is coming from half way across the world. I cant believe I found this place. Mostly a lot of markets sell mainly Mexican food, but here they had products from various Caribbean and south american countries. Will def coming back when I need to restock on hispanic supplies. read more

El Mercado Latino - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Great market for spices and ingredients that are hard to find elsewhere in the Puget Sound. Shop is bigger than it appears from outside, with the back wall covered in spice packs and another with hot sauces From Brazilian dende oil to freshly ground Mexican spices, they likely have what you're looking for. Prices are fair. Will return and recommend. read more

While Seattle's not entirely destitute when it comes to Latin markets, you do tend to have to drive to lurkier parts of town (look for hourly hotels) or outskirts (where all the baristas are wearing pasties, for example) to get your salsa on; and even then, you'll be getting straight-up Central American items, not likely Brazilian, Argentinean, or Colombian treats. Not so with this place. Hands down the best place in town to buy yerba mate, and so very much cheaper. It's the real deal--the same stuff I sucked up in Argentina when I was a sixteen-year-old exchange student trapped in a 4'5" host sister's Catholic school uniform (the aforementioned bikini baristas had nothing on me...except perhaps more confidence). Even yerba mate soda can be found here, and the Guarana (a type of super-speed-like soda) they served on the late great Varig, the sweetest airline I ever had the pleasure of riding on. Sigh. Nostalgia. Pick up your aji piquillo, Peruvian salsas, coconut waters and Mexican chocolate. Grab a big-ass hanging dried chile bunch, grind it up with one of their mortar-and-pestles, and you'll be set with spicy for the next decade. Even if you didn't need an excuse to get so close to Cafe Campagne that it's almost an affront not to eat breakfast there, this place is absolutely destination-worthy. I love it to bits, even though at the moment, due to some retrofitting or construction or general goings-on with loud tools, it's been relegated to some chilly (not to be confused with Chile!) blue portable building across from its normal domicile. This place completes me. read more

They have the BEST salsa I've ever had in my life. It's kinda spendy--$5 for a small container, but do it anyway. You won't regret it! The salsa made my homemade breakfast burritos perfect. Nom nom nom. They also sell homemade fresh flour tortillas. Way better than the Mission brand tortillas sold at the grocery store. read more

Mercado Latino has so many amazing things... To best understand everything that they have to offer, you should go directly to their website: www.latinmerchant.com/ This is not the place for buying locally. I went to get some dried chiles de arbol, and they have all kinds of cool products from Mexico, including those cute 5 peso chocolates for the kids and saladitos con chile (dried plums with chile)! There are so many tough to find items at this place. You have to love it. Cooking supplies at El Mercado Latino... Good asada at El Puerco Lloron. You're set either way. Cook well, eat well. Provecho! read more

We were at Pike place and decided to see what kind of groceries they had! When we walked in it was a little busy and we went over to the drinks in the refrigerator. I saw a Brazilian drink I LOVE so I grabbed 2 of them. When we went to pay I dropped one on the floor and it dented but it didn't open or ruin.. so I put it back. Also, they didn't have baskets to put them in, which they should have. When I went to pay she charged me for 3 drinks which isn't fair considering they kept the drink in the refrigerator to re-sell. They would have gotten paid 2 times for 1 item so I went and grabbed it since I was paying for it. She also wasn't nice about it, and I didn't want to be confrontational in the store, but I honestly shouldn't have paid for it. Won't be going back there again and I'll make sure all my friends and family won't either. read more

El Mercado Latino - Specialty Food Near Me - Seattle, Washington

As you may already know, yuca frita is the new french fries. French fries are so last year. French fries are for philistines. So where would one procure some yucca (and perhaps some plantains, since they are also very tasty when fried)?? At the Pike Place Market, obviously. Where you can get everything. It's especially helpful if you need some latin/carribbean groceries and you don't live in Seattle, since they'll ship anything to you, tax free. And they're friendly. And everything is pretty much as cheap as it would be in some island country, too. read more