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    DC Empanadas

    3.7 (174 reviews)
    Closed 11:30 am - 2:30 pm

    DC Empanadas Photos

    DC EMPANADAS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - DC Empanadas

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    Reviews With Photos - DC Empanadas

    Justin P.

    "Em" trying to think of a "pan" to use, but couldn't find "nada." Corny I know. I bought 3 of their empanadas that they sell- pork, chicken, and beef. All three of em were delicious! Of course you can find cheaper ones but you are in a prime spot for eating food. The empanadas that I got were definitely really good! But, I think that the pork was a little dry or not as good as the chicken or beef. I would definitely give it another try. This can be a good order-on-the-go type of food since they are small and a handheld type of food.

    Samantha C.

    Omg!!! Of all the spots in union market this is by far my absolute fav! The change of the menu often but I have tried them all and haven't run across one flavor i didn't love. They are all packed with flavor, perfect temp and always the right kinda crispy!!! It's comes with a green dipping sauce that I LOVE!!!!! I had the Latin chicken and the cheese empanadas.... the best!!! The only reason I'm not giving them a 5 star is because of service. They are never rude but never nice or friendly. The cashier didn't offer suggestions or details on the flavor and honestly just didn't seem like she wanted to be there. It's a good thing the empanadas are amazing. The price is perfect and so many options in Union Market this is this is the best!

    chicken blue cheese and hot sauce empanada
    Alyssa A.

    I thought this place has great empanadas. I had the chicken one with blue cheese and hot sauce. In addition, I got the quinoa salad. The salad was refreshing and the empanada was a good component to balance out the flavor. I like how their empanadas have a really crunchy exterior. Great flavor!

    Bob S.

    I had the Any Three Empanadas for $9 special. I chose one each of the El Toro (beef), Cubano (pork), and Latin Chicken. The Latin Chicken went first and was quite good but the other two were a little disappointing. Not sure if I would have liked the others more had I not tried the best first, but it seemed like they both should have been less liquidy.

    Found a piece of plastic disguised as spinach in my el Greco empanada!!
    Charlotte M.

    I visited their food truck and was very excited about my el Greco empanada. Took my first bite and out came a large piece of plastic disguised as part of the spinach! Gross and unsafe! I cannot believe they mixed plastic into their empanadas!

    a woman standing at the counter
    Aarti B.

    Delicious empanadas! I've had the Tio Shawn, Speedy Gonzalez, El Greco. Tio Shawn is the black bean and rice, Speedy Gonzalez is 4 different types of cheese, and El Greco is spinach and cheese. They are all very good - the El Greco is my favorite! Both the food truck and Union Market have awesome empanadas - they melt right into your mouth. Service is also very fast - the empanadas take 3 minutes to cook and only $3, not a bad deal!

    Renita T.

    Pretty good, I only got one to try while waiting on my bff. The Latin boy which is ground beef, corn, black beans and cilantro. Excuse the drinks in the pic, I was showing my bff the drinks I got, side note the flavored aloe Vera drinks are BOM.Com

    Empanadas
    Hannah H.

    DC Empanadas is owned by a husband-and-wife team, Anna and Shawn Leis. They have both a food truck as well as a stall at the Union Market, and offers crispy empanadas filled with fillings such as beef, buffalo chicken, and pulled pork. I tried the 3-empanada deal: The Badass (filled with buffalo chicken and bleu cheese), El Greco (filled with spinach, feta cheese, and onions), and the Speedy Gonzalez (filled with queso blanco, mozzarella, and asadero cheese). While I enjoyed the thin crispy exterior of the empanada shell, the fillings were a hit-or-miss. The Badass, while it had great flavors of the all-white chicken cubes of chicken and the nice buffalo sauce, it was still slightly undercooked and the cheeses were not fully melted; the El Grego tasted a bit too herb-y, and I'd love to taste more of the spinach and the feta; the Speedy Gonzaelz, while cheesy, seemed more queso blanco-focused, than a blend of the three. I'd love to see these served at a super hot temperature and with a more of a variety of sauces, as only the green one was offered. Staff were super friendly, and empanadas are made-to-order and done in a few minutes. +crispy empanada shells +request for extra cooking time for temperature hot +friendly staff +located inside the Union Market

    2 Cubanitos, 1 Taj Mahal.
    Ruth C.

    My @DCEmpanadas options were WMD, Taj Mahal, Veggie Nirvana, and Cubanito. Anti-terrorist jokes aside, I opted for two Cubanitos (pork) and a Taj Mahal (chicken). Buying in sets of three makes more sense, even though two made me full. Service was efficient and friendly enough. Shell reminded me of a deep-fried eggroll crust. Pork was definitely the marginally better of the two, and equally enjoyed by my coworker. Cubanito wasn't too heavy on the onions and the guava sauce sweetened it in a good way. Chicken tikka in the Taj Mahal was drier and less flavorful. There are a decent number of other flavors in their rotation I'd go back to try: Ropanada, Il Paesano, El Matador, Luau, Jake, Irie Mon, Menage a Trois.

    Art P.

    Divine Swine is exactly that...DIVINE! You can't beat the price either...3 for $9.

    El Greco with spinach and feta cheese
    U. U.

    Just average beef empanadas (Ropa Vieja), but they are definitely on to something with their El Greco empanada that contains feta cheese and spinach. That was pretty tasty although still nothing that really blew me away. I guess empanadas are a bit of a novelty in the DC area, so that might explain the long lines you will experience when you try to get your grub on here, but to me, they are not that spectacular. Also, I would not consider this a meal. It's more of a snack or something to supplement whatever else you are eating for lunch. I would never seek them out, but if I was in the mood for a tasty afternoon snack, I'd check them out if they are in my area. Also, mad props to them for collecting Christmas gift donations for My Sister's Place, a charity that supports children and women victims of domestic violence. That definitely earned them an additional star in my book.

    Lily W.

    Over priced, Bland, the people are rude, and the out of 3 Of the empanadas I got, I ate half of one because the rest were so awful

    Don't forget the amazing cilantro sauce
    Megan K.

    This place is sooooo good. I'm not so great with the food truck scene so I visited their pop-up shop in Union Market. I was torn between the Divine Swine and La Venganza de Tio Shawn. I decided to go for the latter which consisted of delicious chipotle chicken, onions, black beans, corn, and cilantro. It also came with a delicious green cilantro sauce that reminded me of Indian chutney. It was refreshing and enhanced the flavor of the empanada. The portion was pretty big for a snack and only $3.50. It went beautifully with the ginger limeade I had picked up from Teaism's pop-up shop next door. I will definitely return to DC Empanadas for their other flavors. I heard their lunch special offers includes 3 empanadas for $7!

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    15 years ago

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    14 years ago

    Ummm.... If you see this truck... Flag it down because the empanadas are amazing! Fresh, hot and very tasty .

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    13 years ago

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    12 years ago

    Not bad for a quick bite to eat. The meat empanadas were better than the ones with vegetables in them; the vegetables felt out of place.

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    15 years ago

    It was good but it didn't blow me away. I would eat it again if I was in the area.

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    15 years ago

    Mmmm, tasty empanadas! The veggie one and the chicken tikka one are great!

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    15 years ago

    I had two different empanadas and they were both really yummy. The Ropanada was my favorite. Will definitely go back!

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    11 years ago

    Delicious empanadas! Try chicken, beef and pork. Prices are very reasonable and the service is very friendly.

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    DC Empanadas - empanadas - Updated July 2026

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