This place is quickly becoming one of my favorite go to spots. The potato soup is a MUST ORDER!! So comforting and yummy! We got the goat cheese fritters and they were alright, I wouldn't recommend, just over priced for what you get. We got the pescado encocado to split, I really enjoyed it! read more

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Very good fish tacos and great service. What more could I ask for on a chilly December evening with friends? Everyone had a good time and seemed to like their food as much as I did mine. read more

La Cocina Del Sur - Two fish tacos. The slaw was the real treat here. Very delicious. - Empanadas Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Empanadas in Riverwest? Yes, sir! And they are delish! ( The tamales are to die for, too!) We had to wait a bit to get seated without a rez, but we're were served quickly and kindly. Great vibe, fun place! We'll be back! read more

La Cocina Del Sur - Empanadas Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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About two Saturday's ago I stopped in for the first time to give the place a try but also the bartender is a friend of mine and said to stop down whenever I had the chance. I heard good things about the margaritas she makes but I at least wanted to try an empanada to see how good they were. The reason why I went with one because I was still a little full from dinner but had enough room to snack on one. I do want to give a heads up that this restaurant name may be in Spanish, but there food is South American inspired dishes so if you are looking for tacos this is something that is not offered. I was told at one point they did but as of now they currently don't have them on the menu. I went with the traditional margarita and it was quite tasty. It was well balanced and wasn't too sour and overly sweet. So I took a look at the menu and saw the snack I wanted to go with. I ordered the Cubano empanada which was pretty tasty. The crust was very flaky and came chimichurri sauce. The sauce was okay but the empanada was good on it's on. Overall the food, drink and atmosphere was well worth the trip from my side of town. read more

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Went back recently, and the food is still excellent and unique! My friend and I shared the app special of Shrimp and Calamari salad served in fried plantain cups, resting on fresh guacamole, and it was great! The salad tasted fresh and the plantain cups were crisp! We also shared the Soy Chorizo and sweet potato empanada and a chicken empanada. She also ordered a Palak Paneer empanada and an Arepa de Choclo with chicken as her entree, and I ordered a Braised Beef Cheeks empanada and Seco de Chivo (Ecuadorian style leg of lamb stew) as my entree. The flavors were delicious, and I always have fun eating food that I don't see anywhere else in town! Still a great place to add to your dining list! read more

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I don't know why there aren't more reviews for La Cocina. It's a regular stop for me and I've taken all my house guests. Happy hour pricing is amazing. The food never disappoints. The drinks are interesting. The menu is always being updated. The atmosphere is comfortable and welcoming and cool, with indoor and sidewalk seating in the summer. Service is generally solid and friendly. If you're a fan of Pedro's truck - you've got to get in the restaurant. read more

This is probably the 5th time that we have dined at this restaurant, as we like both its food and its price. It was a busy day for the restaurant, so it took a long time for our food to arrive, presumably because a lot of customers showed up right around the time we arrived. For drinks, we ordered Juice of the Day (a ginger and pineapple drink), Watermelon Mule, and Dama Blanca, which all tasted very good. The Carrot Salad that we shared used fresh ingredients and had a balanced taste profile. Two of us ordered arepas (one pork and one beef), and both were again excellent. The Pescado Frito (breaded and fried red snapper fillet) that I ordered had a strong fish smell even though red snapper is supposed to have a mild taste - perhaps the fish had been stored a bit longer than optimal. In the end, we also shared a Churro for desert but were a little disappointed because the Churro seemed to have been precooked and reheated, making a bit hard rather than crispy. Over the five times we have visited this restaurant, the best dish has always been arepas. I'm deducting 1 star for the quality of the fish and the quality of the churro on our most recent visit, but I hope that the restaurant will strive to maintain the highest quality of ingredients and cooking procedures in the future and get 5 stars from us on our next visit. read more

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Finally made it to this place over all. Ambiance was great super cute inside the service was amazing our server was so considerate (specially with my boyfriend's allergies). I think the bake empanadas stole my heart the flaky buttery crust was amazing. read more

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Ambience was homey and friendly. you could feel that it's turning into a neighborhood staple. The service was knowledgeable and friendly. Food was extremely flavorful. Best empanada taste in the area!! They really know what they're doing. We enjoyed so much, we ordered cooked and frozen to GO! Thank you I hope you stay for a very long time. read more

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Wow! If you haven't checked out this place, YOUAREMISSINGOUT The food, the vibe, the cocktails are next level. La Cocina del Sur MKE, knocks it out. Great lighting and decor rounds out an amazing dining experience. Known for empanadas, we tried four different varieties, and all were amazing. We had a hard time picking so we just tried a bunch of items: -guacamole with plantain chips -fried goat cheese fritters w caramelized onions, jalapeño infused honey and crostini -arepas de choclo (Columbian sweet corn cakes w pulled pork, slaw, pickled onions, cilantro and chipotle aioli) -llapingachos con chorizo (Ecuadorian cheese potato cakes w seared chorizo link, avocado, tomato onion salad, aji, corn nuts, peanut sauce and a fried egg) -goat cheese stuffed guava fruit with caramel sauce Great bar to sit at and ample dining space with clean and well equipped bathrooms. Second time here, and can't wait to get back. There is not one item we tried that wasn't 10/10!! Oh, they also have prosecco on tap, and pour a very full flute! read more

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Without a doubt, La Cocina is my favorite place for Latin food. There is a variety of small plates and entrees to choose from. I've been here maybe four times and I have always gotten the same quality of food and service, if not better! Their menu is always growing and keep an eye out for their delicious specials!!!! read more

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Very good food and both plates were 30$ before tip. Overall satisfied could have ate a bit more but overall good with quick service! I would come back for the good vibes and better drinks! read more

La Cocina Del Sur - Patacón pisao - Empanadas Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This was definitely a nice surprise. The food tasted so good. The blend of different spices really make a difference. There is a little bit of variation in the food so it really caters to anybody's pallet. Highly recommend! read more

La Cocina del Sur was a pleasant surprise for me and my wife!! We were attending an event nearby and we were just looking for a place to eat something before. We picked La Cocina del Sur and we were both delighted with the flavors and the uniqueness of Pedro's cuisine. I am Colombian, and I truly enjoyed and appreciated the service, the food, the music, and drinks. We are already making plans to go back and bring our kids. read more

We were really happy with our meal at La Cocina Del Sur. The cocktails were great and we enjoyed the white wine sangria. I was torn between the elote meal and the Ceviche special. We ended up doing an elote for the table which was amazing. I ordered the Causa Ceviche special for my meal and it was very good - I especially liked the crab mix. My family also enjoyed the empanadas and some other dishes. Everyone loved their meal. Definitely worth a stop if you're nearby! read more

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We've been wanting to try for quite a while. Wow! Absolutely perfectly delicious. The only problem was agreeing to share a papusa. We ordered pollo papusa, ceviche, yucca fries and yapinggachos con chorizo. Took home churros and a dark chocolate empanada. Wanting to go back asap! read more

Oh wow! We stopped here on a local recommendation. So glad I got to stop here. Such great service and the food is so good.. the ambiance is nice and quaint Recommend for sure read more

I was so excited to hear Pedro's was opening a brick and mortar. We absolutely love their food truck. From empanadas to arepas this place is delicious. Unfortunately the restaurant still leaves some room for improvement. We've tried a few special new appetizers at the restaurant and have been a little disappointed in value. We got the cheese croquette appetizer and for $12 it was literal 4 bites of food. Additionally their sangria is indistinguishable from wine, and the waitress didn't know anything about the drink other than it was made with wine. We'll be back for the staples, but we might just stick to the incredible food truck instead. read more

La Cocina Del Sur - Empanadas Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

One of the newest additions to the Milwaukee food scene, La Cocina Del Sur was opened earlier this month by the owner of Pedro's South American Food, a food truck renowned for its empanadas, tamales, and other tasty treats. Their brick-and-mortar promised some old favorites as well as some dishes yet to be seen before on the menus of Milwaukee restaurants, including offerings from the owner's native country of Ecuador. Having tried the food truck in the past, I was thrilled to learn about this restaurant opening, and my friends and I knew we had to stop by during their opening week! La Cocina Del Sur is a small restaurant located in the Riverwest neighborhood, and on the Friday night we dined, it was packed! There's a cute and artsy lounge area near the entrance for those waiting for tables, and a cozy interior with a unique ambiance from the many plants and purple lights inside- a sort of lush-meets-semindustrial appearance? I would highly recommend booking a reservation at least for these first couple of opening weeks! Upon reading the menu, we were practically drooling and couldn't decide on what to order- everything sounded so good! We ended up starting with the patacones [$9] and a pork tamale [$6] to share between four of us. The patacones were positively addicting and piping hot; what's not to love about the joy of deep-fried plantains? The pork tamale is steamed in a banana leaf instead of a corn husk, which gives it a subtle grassy/aromatic flavor and moister texture- I think in my experience the corn husk tamales are more prevalent in the US, so it was fantastic to be able to find the banana leaf tamale here! For entrees, my friend and I split the llapingachos [$15.50 + $1 for fried egg], saltena empanada [$6.50], and chorizo potato cheddar empanada [$5]. I think this is a good way to order if you want to try an entree but not miss out on the many empanadas on offer! Llapingachos are a traditional Ecuadorian dish that I hadn't heard of before; at La Cocina Del Sur, the dish is composed of meltingly soft and creamy potato pancakes stuffed with cheese and fried for a gently crisp exterior, seared pieces of savory chorizo, avocado, tomato-onion salad, and salsa de maní (a peanut sauce). These were SO good, a perfect balance of textures and flavors! I think the empanadas were pretty solid but a little burned, so I'd definitely like to give them a try again once the restaurant has had some more time to get grounded. The others in our party tried the mote con chicharron [$15] and pernil quiteño [$14.50] and both enjoyed them! I will be excited to see if the restaurant adds more entrees to its menu, as many of their offerings are unique and can't be found anywhere else in the city, and I'd love to explore more Ecuadorian dishes in particular. There's also a very appealing little menu of cocktails and other alcohol to enjoy with your meal. I had the passionfruit pisco sour [$13] and my friends got the regular pisco sour [$12]. Definitely generous with the alcohol and the perfect accompaniment to the food. The service was very friendly and they seemed quite organized given that we were dining in the first week of opening! Our waitress was super on top of it and always made sure that dishes were being cleared and we had plenty of water! I'm very excited for this restaurant to continue getting more attention (it already seems pretty popular, though!) and can't wait to go back to try more of their menu items! What a delightful addition bringing more diversity to the city's food! read more

La Cocina Del Sur - L - salteña empanada R - chorizo, potato, cheddar empanada - Empanadas Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Very good authentic South American cuisine and cocktails a few to die for Servir also very good read more

LOVE this place! The food is on point. I had tamale, whitefish dip, and plantain chips. Super friendly servers, and the decor is really cute. GO! read more

Weekend brunch! Pedro and his team are ready to open early on weekends. Got a sneak peak and everything looked great and tasted delicious. I am an arepa fan, perfect breakfast You will be mom's favorite if you celebrate her at La Cocina del Sur read more

La Cocina Del Sur - Breakfast Arepa - Empanadas Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

One of my favorite restaurants in Milwaukee. Everything I've tried here is delicious! I especially love their caipirinha cocktail and their tamales. read more

Amazing food and service really closed to the flavor in the original countries. Fanesca amazing and delicious read more

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First time at Pedro's brick and mortar. Love the ambiance. We sat at the bar and enjoyed some of the delicious menu items. The empanadas colombian style took me back home. The mouse made me feel like it was summer already. The ceviche was fresh and the patacones were fried to perfection. Ruby our bartender was friendly and provided excellent service. We will definitively be back. Highly recommend it. read more

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Wonderful atmosphere, our server Justin was fantastic and Pedro Chef-Owner put together a very interesting menu, not your every day south of the bordercuisine. The chifles with guacamole were delicious, el pastel de yuca was a nice surprise and the papas de yuca were a amazing substitute for French fries. I am vegetarian and opted for the locro de papás without the cueros soup, it was simply delicious and found out that all the dressings como on a side, so my husband got to enjoy the pork grinds I didn't want Overall this is a must try place a little hidden gem on E Keefe st. read more

Such a cozy festive atmosphere and food was wonderful!!!! Great value too!!! Great list of unique drinks and they also have empanadas to go. We will be back! read more

First, to set the stage: You walk in to find a blue lit and welcoming bar to your left and some cosy tables to your right. You have no idea that your life is about to change. Your server has a warm smile on their face as they ask you "what can I get for you tonight?" For a beverage, I recommend The Pisco Sour, for an appetizer, I recommend The Ceviche, and for empanadas, the world is your oyster. Finish off your meal with a Bavarian Churro. The sweet, warm exterior perfectly compliments the Bavarian Cream in the center. read more

My second time here! Fabulous service from friendly people. Yummy empanadas (the Cuban is to die for). I cannot stop thinking about the corn bowl called elotes. Omg!!! Can't wait to go back to this charming secret in Riverwest!!! read more

The flavors are amazing. It is so nice to taste the variety of influences that sprinkle the menu. The service is friendly and warm. We had empanadas and several appetizers. Every bite was a flavor explosion. The wine was great for the price, and I'm quite picky! read more

this place was great! I am ecuadorian and the Ecuadorian dishes were fantastic. it tasted like home! the place is beautiful. small but comfortable. my Ecuadorian friend and both of our American husbands had a great time. we already planned to return soon. congratulations to the owner. great job! read more