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    Empanada Lady

    5.0 (89 reviews)
    InexpensiveSpanish

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    Vinee with her chicken empanada
    Toune C.

    One of my best memories of San Juan. Can wait to go back to Puerto Rico again. One of the best empanadas I've eaten, definitely the best I've eaten at the beach! She could charge double for such yumminess! Crispy flaky shell filled with spices that wakes up your tastebuds!

    The amazing Empanada Lady!
    Tiffany H.

    12/8/19 at 11:50AM: I found the infamous Empanada Lady!!!! We're on the beach right by the Marriott and had been looking for her for the past two days. She was well worth the wait! The empanadas are delicious and a great deal at 2 for $5 (chicken or beef). They are very flavorful and crispy! She's also so so sweet! If you're lucky, you'll find her and get to try her great homemade empanadas.

    Empanadas
    Andrea M.

    We decided to go to the beach in Condado in hopes of finding the famous empanada lady. My children were SO excited when they spotted her within 30 minutes of us arriving. This sweet woman carries around insulated bags full of her delicious homemade chicken and beef empanadas. You get two for $5 and they're huge! I've heard that most people see her around the Marriott hotel but we saw her near the Earl St beach access.

    Delicious empanadas on Condado beach! Happy hubby!!!
    Sonya M.

    We read about the Empanada Lady on Yelp and knew we had to try them. They did not disappoint. She (Minerva?) is a lovey woman and we are looking forward to running into her again on the beach!

    Beef
    Michael P.

    Picture this.... The sun is shining, the waves are crashing and you have a pina colada in hand. You just spent 20 minutes greasing yourself up and now smell like a tropical oasis! You are good to go, right? Well the answer would be yes, thinking that there is absolutely nothing that could make this moment better... WRONG! Then you look over and see out of the corner of your eye, a lady walking around carrying two Las Vegas Marshall's bags... I know what you are thinking, probably the same thing I was when I saw it...Is the Marshall's within walking distance and how did I miss it? When you see this woman, RUN! Directly towards her, do not lose sight of her, do not even think twice about it, just grab some cash and RUN! In those bags, one over each of her shoulders, are the most delicious homemade empanadas, one shoulder is carrying beef while the other has chicken. They are made fresh, still warm (kept in insulated coolers hidden inside the Marshall's bags) and are by far one of my favorite things thus far on this trip. They are 2 for $5 and well worth experiencing! The crust is flaky and the fillings are full of flavor. It is hard to pick a favorite so I highly recommend one of each, and trust me... You are not going to want to share them. She was on the beach around 12/12:30, you can't miss her when she is there, but you certainly need to keep your eye out for her! Eat these, straight from her bag! You won't be disappointed! This is what I came here for, moments like this. Ok, gotta run... It's 11:30, I need to get my ass to the beach so I can start looking out for her!

    Nancy G.

    Omg her empanadas are delicious!! If you see her, buy some!! You won't regret it!! She's super sweet too!!

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    1 month ago

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    2 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Homemade Empanadas on the beach, do I need to say more?? Food was amazing, service was even somehow even better!

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    3 years ago

    The chicken is better than the beef but both are awesome with a cold beer and sun. Five bucks each.

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    2 years ago

    Found her! 5 dollar alcapurria in a beach chair, chicken or beef. What can go wrong salsa is a little spicy for kids

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    3 years ago

    $5 for home made, deep fried empanadas with tons of meat! Seriously delicious

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Best Empanadas eve! Do yourself a favor & run to her! You won't regret it one bit! Order more than one!

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Good food delivered in the beach. I liked the meat one didn't care for the crab. They are very reasonable at $5.

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

    I enjoyed the chicken empanadas 2 for $5. She comes around with Marshall's bags loaded with empanadas. Hopefully she'll come back today

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    6 years ago

    AMAZING EMPANADAS. Hopefully you are blessed with a visit from her while at the beach.

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

    A kind older lady selling empanadas out of her bag. I am sitting here on my last day I'm PR hoping she comes back.

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    Page 1 of 3

    Review Highlights - Empanada Lady

    I cannot believe the strength this woman has at her age carrying around two heavy bags full with empanadas!

    Mentioned in 29 reviews

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    Casita Miramar - Arroz con Mariscos (seafood paella) and Churrasco (steak); Follow me @RimyEats on Instagram

    Casita Miramar

    4.5(1.7k reviews)
    1.2 km
    $$$

    What a great food experience!!! Casita Miramar easily earned a spot in my top 2 restaurants I've…read morehad the pleasure of dining at in Puerto Rico when it comes to quality food and an overall amazing experience. The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful, and the service was excellent from beginning to end,from the hostess to the servers and bussers. Our server, Jeffery, was amazing! He was energetic, professional, attentive, and you can genuinely tell he takes his position seriously. I loved that! We were greeted with complimentary sopa de plátano and bacalaítos, and I was NOT expecting to love them as much as I did. This was by far the best sopa de plátano I've ever had. I never thought I could fall in love with a soup, but here we are! (I ordered a whole extra regular size bowl )The bacalaítos were another surprise because they're normally not something I order or even particularly like--and I've tried quite a few in my life--but these were absolutely delicious. My S/O and I shared the churrasco with arroz mamposteao, along with a side of avocado salad and majado de viandas. Everything was a straight 10/10. Not one disappointment on the table. They also make an amazing Rojo Pico, which was the perfect addition to the experience. 100% recommend Casita Miramar. Don't overthink JUST GO! Beautiful atmosphere, excellent service, and most importantly, genuinely delicious, quality Puerto Rican food. This place absolutely deserves the hype and its spot in my top two!

    The workers were honestly the sweetest. the environment is so welcoming and calm…read more although i wasn't very happy with the food. i went with my family and we found the food very bland and overpriced!! my mom LOVES cooking and she could tell when frozen beans are served to her. the food tasted old and the rice look like it was reheated from days ago.. definitely might be a tourist trap. the aesthetics are beautiful but isn't worth the price. on the good side, they sell natural juices and the parcha juice was the best i ever had!!

    Photos
    Casita Miramar - Indoor Dining Room

    Indoor Dining Room

    Casita Miramar - Amazing chocolate Fudge Cake delivered to restaurant (Cakes by Glorimar in PR). Staff sang and added candle

    Amazing chocolate Fudge Cake delivered to restaurant (Cakes by Glorimar in PR). Staff sang and added candle

    Casita Miramar - Pastelón - Delicious thick Caribbean soft meat and plantain taste and texture

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    Pastelón - Delicious thick Caribbean soft meat and plantain taste and texture

    Orozco's

    Orozco's

    4.0(1k reviews)
    0.3 km
    $$

    I have been to Puerto Rico four times and this is the best Puerto Rican food I have ever had…read more First, let's talk about the service. Lény was amazing. She saw me walking by, chatted me up, invited me in to dine and the rest is history. She was so personable and so funny and really made me feel welcome. Same for the rest of the staff. They created a really light and chilled out atmosphere that was just so inviting. You can tell they genuinely enjoy working with one another. And that definitely translates over into the guest experience. The pina colada I had was hands down the best one ever. This definitely did not come from a mix in a bottle. Just unbelievably delicious. I started off with the alcapurrias. Wow. You have to get these. Perfectly fried, chewy, meaty, seasoned perfectly... If that's the only thing I ate here it would have been well worth it. I haven't had mofongo in over 15 years and I recently learned about trifongo, which is a combination of mashed sweetened and unsweetened plantain, as well as cassava. I ordered the trifongo with shrimp and steak. Oh. Wow. The flavors. The textures. Every bite was something different. At each bite was amazing. The meal little pricey, but OMG was it absolutely worth it. If you are visiting Puerto Rico, no matter where in Puerto Rico you're visiting, you must make a trip here.

    The ambiance is casual cool. The service is EXCELLENT! Our waitress answered all our questions and…read morehelped us figure out what we should drink and order. The food was delicious and nice and hot! We had shared a plate and it was just the right size for us. Excellent choice!

    Photos
    Orozco's - Seating area

    Seating area

    Orozco's
    Orozco's - Tree milk

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    Tree milk

    Cocina Abierta - Second Course

    Cocina Abierta

    4.4(746 reviews)
    0.5 km
    $$$$

    PHENOMENAL This is…read morenot just a restaurant, this is a dining experience. This is upscale elegance in a relaxed environment. This is global techniques blended with locally sourced Puerto Rican ingredients. From the moment you walk in, you feel welcome. I was there to celebrate my birthday (a reservation is a must). I asked if I could be seated in a different section of the restaurant, and even though they were packed, they said absolutely and found me a lovely seat in the bar area. The staff is knowledgeable and attentive. I suffer from severe food allergies but wanted to experience their tasting menu. My server spoke to the chef directly and then took the time to walk me through every option. I TRULY appreciated that they did not take anything off the menu but rather told me how they could adjust for my allergies. That is very rare and so very much appreciated that they went that extra mile for me. I highly recommend the tasting menu. It's 5 courses and they give you 3 options to choose from, within each course. And for the price ($85), a great value. Everything was delicious but I highly recommend the Breadfruit Gnocchi, Rainbow Runner Crudo, and Criollo Duck Mofongo. Chefs kiss! What I also noticed was, even though they were insanely busy, they didn't make you feel rushed. The invited you to savor the experience - which I did. Next time you are in San Juan, make a reservation and go. You won't be disappointed!

    4.5 stars. Cocina Abierta was one of the better meals of our trip. The food was excellent overall,…read morewith the lone exception being the empanadas, which were simply too salty. Everything else was very well done. The two of us split one order of the five-course tasting menu plus an additional starter, and it ended up being a nice light meal. Had we each ordered our own tasting menu, it would have been far more food than we wanted...something we found to be a fairly common theme with portion sizes throughout Puerto Rico. The standout of the evening was the Criollo Duck Mofongo, which was absolutely exquisite and easily the best mofongo we had on our trip by far. The cocktails were tasty and unique, but a bit small for the price. This definitely isn't an every-night kind of restaurant...the prices are on the higher side. But if you're looking to splurge a little, it's a fun place to do it.

    Photos
    Cocina Abierta - Bar

    Bar

    Cocina Abierta - Snook

    Snook

    Cocina Abierta - FRESH LOCAL CATCH CEVICHE - Leche de tigre | avocado chips

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    FRESH LOCAL CATCH CEVICHE - Leche de tigre | avocado chips

    Santaella - FILETE DE SALMÓN ORIENTAL

    Santaella

    4.3(699 reviews)
    1.0 km
    $$$

    Great food and the service was fast. The place had a great vibe and the employees were nice.read more

    Kept seeing a bunch of reviews on how amazing this place was and honestly it's up there…read more To start off, I'm not really a sweets guy so my take is going to be a little off from the general public. We were able to snag a reservation but for a late time which was about an hour and a half before close. The service was super great but one thing I wished they mentioned that the bottled water was going to be a $40 charge lol. Makes sense for any upscale restaurant though. Should've mentioned we wanted tap so fair warning, ask cause you WILL get charged haha. We had a group of 10 and for how big the group was, the food came out pretty fast. I don't think we ever had a time between drinks to entrees where we were waiting for food to come out. We got the watermelons mojito for drinks since it was the most raved about. It was good but personally nothing crazy for me. 8/10 score on that. We also curry popcorn chicken, the ahi tuna lollipops, the empanadillas and the goat cheese quesadillas for apps and honestly overall 9/10. This is where I don't like the sweetness part of this meal. The empanadillas were what I was most excited for but it was more sweet then savory which sort of lose my appetite a little. I think if you like that kind of taste then it's going to be good. It wasn't a bad taste at all. Just too sweet for my liking. The curry popcorn chicken was good and the lollipops were great. Again, nothing crazy. The goat cheese quesadillas was good as well but again, too sweet for my liking. Now on to the entree, they didn't have the porkchop since we came late so I ended up getting the porkchop belly dish. When it came out, it looked amazing but then I got a whiff of it and smelled cinnamon. That's when I was sort of disappointed. It was like eating pork but tasting Cinnamon Toast Crunch and as said before, it tasted great but too sweet for me. This one was way too sweet to where it seemed like a dessert item. I just had poor luck and got one of the one items that were sweet. This doesn't tank the rating down whatsoever because I also should've read it had cinnamon. It would've been great if they made a dipping sauce or something to pair it with and not have it on the pork belly itself. I got to try other dishes my friends got which were good as well but I wish I got to try something else. If I came back I would try the sold out item which was the pork shank or the sea bass. I know for a fact the sea bass was amazing. Had a bite of it and thought "I'll come back for that" Overall, 10/10 experience and nothing bad about the place but gotta try different items when I go next time. I understand the hype now

    Photos
    Santaella - Dinning room area

    Dinning room area

    Santaella - Pulpo Parrilla

    Pulpo Parrilla

    Santaella - Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream

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    Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream

    Cocina Al Fondo - Rabbit meatballs, root vegetables 'al pilón' - good!

    Cocina Al Fondo

    4.6(103 reviews)
    0.9 km

    We visited at the recommendation of a friend and WOOOOOOW. This was my favorite dining experience…read morein San Juan...maybe all of PR. The high quality preparation combined with the classic tastes of the island... mwah chef's kiss. LB and I ordered apps and split and entree. There was sooo much food and it was all so delicious. Our server was a DELIGHT and made it feel like we were dining with friends. Love the ambiance. The location. The menu. Put this high on your list of things to check out

    Farm to table Puerto Rican food, James Beard winning chef. Highlights for me were the appetizers…read moreand cocktails. The buñuelos de malanga and the longaniza empanadas were excellent. The Funk Fashion was an interesting take on the Old Fashioned. My wife ordered a few other cocktails which were also very good. As for main course dishes, My lamb fricasse and the rice with rabbit were delicious. The only reason I'm taking off a star is because it was hot af. Seating is mostly outdoors. Interior seating is very limited so expect to be seated outside. The patio is very nice, but there is little to no breeze so it gets very hot. My parents went earlier in the year when temperatures were lower than they are this summer and they experienced the same. My suggestion is wear light breathable clothing: shorts, skirts, open toed footwear. Maybe bring a personal fan. Overall, a must foodie destination.

    Photos
    Cocina Al Fondo - Indoor ambiance

    Indoor ambiance

    Cocina Al Fondo - La Maja cocktail, Beets and 'Lucía' goat cheese terrine, honey, cherry tomatoes, almonds, artisanal bread toast - lovely

    La Maja cocktail, Beets and 'Lucía' goat cheese terrine, honey, cherry tomatoes, almonds, artisanal bread toast - lovely

    Cocina Al Fondo - Funky Fashion - their twist on Old Fashioned

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    Funky Fashion - their twist on Old Fashioned

    Empanada Lady - spanish - Updated September 2026

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