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!!!

Little gem in the corner! When you least expected it too…read more Ok - my husband and I happen to drive by this place and oh my, were we pleasantly surprised. Not only did we strike up a conversation with Carolina (the owner) but man she was just wonderful. It is so refreshing to see someone so cheerful and passionate about their job. She was wonderful when it came to asking us what we were looking for. We decided to get several options - apple empanada, chicken, ham and cheese, and veggies. Ham and cheese 10/10 - the amounts of ham added to the empanada was surprising. Usually, I find it hard to get enough filling but it was just enough. Veggie 9/10 - spinach, corn, squash, mushroom. The seasoning on this was amazing, and before I knew it I was more than halfway through it. Apple empanada - was a nice little treat. Omg! They have Peruvian beer and I love that for me because it's delicious, and also very uncommon! My only regret is not getting more empanadas (you can get a pack to go that is frozen), because they had some many options.

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!

If you want to start your day with delicious breakfast?! Javi's got you covered. Amazing…read moreempanadas! I only tried beef and champions (mushrooms ) but it was a breakfast of champions for sure. Pair it with quality tea Numi of course and excellent customer service by Lionel and it's beginning of a delicious day! It also helped that Carolina (the owner) was in as well. She is super friendly! My absolute favorite breakfast spot in the neighborhood. Now I have to try them for lunch as well. The desert options looked scrumptious...

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.

We wanted a quick, casual bite at the awkward late Saturday afternoon time. We'd always wanted to…read moretry this spot. We stopped by -- and it was spectacular. It packed the flavor punch of homestlye cooking and would rival more expensive sit-down restaurants. What a gem! We ordered the Venezuelan arepa, birria empanada, mushroom empanada, side Macondo salad, and passion fruit juice. Every dish was fantastic, and I'd easily recommend any of the above. Venezuelan arepa -- the was ridiculously yummy. The perfect balance of creamy, rich avocado sauce with chicken. It was hearty, balanced, and perfectly seasoned. Birria empanada -- this was delicious, rich, and perfect for the particularly chilly late afternoon. Birria on point. If you're craving birria in a delectable, crispy empanada format, you'll be quite happy. Mushroom empanada -- yummy. We love mushroom empanadas and they executed this one well. Macondo side salad -- surprisingly fantastic! Did not expect it to be so tasty. It was only a side dish for the combo, but it held its own among the baked goods. That's how yummy it was. Passion fruit juice -- sweet and relatively thick. They definitely didn't water it down! If you're a fan of passion fruit juice, you'll must try this one. Environment was fast casual. Only drawback was althe comfort level of a few of the dining chairs, which sloped backwards in an awkward way. The bench actually felt more comfortable, so we opted for that. Take out seems easy and common here, so we'll like try that as well in the future. Located on a busy street, but you can almost always find free parking down one of the perpendicular side streets. Looking forward to coming back for a delicious, casual bite!

It was my first time ordering from here, so I was excited and decided to get a little bit of…read moreeverything for our family to try. We ordered the Venezuelan, Colombian, and Pulled Pork BBQ arepas, the birria empanadas, pandebono with dulce de leche, and the chocolo arepa. Unfortunately, we couldn't finish most of the food. The birria empanadas and all three arepas were way too salty. I'm not sure if they went a little overboard with the salt today, but it was overwhelming and made it hard to enjoy anything. The pandebono with dulce de leche was also disappointing. It's described as being filled with dulce de leche, but it was actually just a plain pandebono with a small side of dulce de leche. The texture was also a bit too chewy for my liking. The only item I truly enjoyed and was able to eat was the chocolo arepa that one was actually decent. Overall, I was pretty disappointed because I really enjoy arepas and was excited to find a new spot. I may give them another try in the future in case it was just an off day, but this first experience didn't live up to my expectations.

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 was in the neighborhood to do some Holiday errands and needed a late afternoon caffeine boost. I…read morehad been to the Berkeley area frequently and wanted to try out this little Cafe iI had always passed. Yesterday presented itself to try it out. It was a small , quaint little cafe and had a neighborhood ambiance feel. It had a display case with Savory and sweet selections of empanadas. I had ordered a Mocha with almond milk and a Chorizo empanada. I also bought a Peach empanada, as well. I had ordered them to go and the staff were very friendly. Mocha was really delicious and the Chorizo empanada was ok. I really liked the Peach empanada, though. Definitely will go and try more of their empanada next time.

Despite what the Zeitgeist has led you to believe, notwithstanding the footsteps of tango dancers,…read morethe caterwauling of Eva Peron, the hepness of Javier Milei, the two dozen ex Nazis in exile - despite all this, there is nothing exotic about Argentine cuisine. Though not all things quotidian are to be jeered at. Just because Argentine food shares more commonalities with the American Midwest than your fantastic images of 'the Spanish New Word' might suggest does not mean it is disposable. Grabbing an empanada or two at Cafe Buenos Aires will be an event not out of the ordinary. Beef empanadas with mince, onions, bell peppers and eggs; picada with bits of steak, onions, bells and potatos (best); fuggazzeta, stuffed with salt purged onions, mozzarella and herbs; humita, corn bell peps, and mozz; classic ham n cheese. Each and every one of these flavor combinations are firmly implanted into your vernacular. I mean ham and cheddar are to your dining repertoire what the chord progression A- E -B7 are to the rock n roll. Again, just because it's basic doesn't mean it's not good. The empis are done right. From the filling to the wrapper. That pretty much covers it. Other than, of course, the chimichurri, which does its job. I didn't see any other Argentine staples on the menu: no pizzas, no choripan, even among the deserts no alfajores were spotted. They do feature a yerba mate latte.

First time here…read more I've been obsessed with empanadas since May when I was in Puerto Rico ...... I ordered an empanada of chorizo and of chicken with a side of chimchurri and a Cortado to go The cashier seemed a little bit overwhelmed I noticed she told the customer before me to hold before he placed his order and told me the same thing Inside has communal seating no outside seating available Menu is easy to read and prices are reasonable Parking lot is shared with Trader Joe's so needless to say parking can be hard to come by This venue does offer wine and beer (aside from coffee) Empanadas were OK Guess it gives me a reason to go back to Puerto Rico AYYYY Cortado was an 8/10 Gave me that extra perk Inside is clean and organized Lots of seating available Menu is easy to ready

Food was good, hot fresh and a good size for an empanada! Cashier was friendly, and very welcoming,…read moreonly draw back we were not sure which empanada was which, tried both they were both delicious, but never knew...next time will ask for them to be in different baggies. *not pictured the classic alfajores are delicious, not overly sweet nor dry! They had the FIFA 2026 Game on, which made for a great watch break!!

The empanadas are top notch here as well as the staff, especially Denise. We stopped by during the…read moresuper busy World Cup finals and even though there were a ton of customers that day, Denise handled our order with professionalism, kindness and attention to detail. The empanadas were a hit for our party. We ordered beef, chicken, mushroom and sweet potato. They were the best empanadas we've ever had.

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.

every hormonal catty teenage girl needs to try this asap. it is SO BUSS!!! all your…read moregastrointestinal issues? gone. all your men problems? gone. all your struggles with feeling misrepresented by society and popular media, and double standards, AND advocating for women's rights without being demeaned and labeled as a man hater? gone...ish. i love the mushroom and corn empanadas!!! long line. the lamb is a bit too cumin heavy. the pastry is SO flaky, not overly crunchy, and soaks up all the goody goody flavors. soo savory. located in ferry building! come flock to the shop my fellow wonderful catty teenage girls

Love me an empanada…read more Made fast and price was not too bad considering we were in a high tourist area. Nice variety and a side of chimichurri. All was good and tasty little snack