Delicious fresh food. Love the meatless options! The sauces were so tasty and I definitely will go back food was so craveable!

Kind of a bare bones place with one long bar height table by the window, a table for 4 & a table for 2. Clean but spare looking. Other than a giant map of Puerto Rico & a couple of mini-signs of hot sauces, there is very little wall decor. The very friendly service makes up for the minimalist interior. Order at the counter & pick up your food in cardboard containers on trays. Comprehensive menu of many kinds of empañadas plus chicken tenders, side diy, desserts, sodas, etc. Pre-made empañadas are brought to the restaurant, placed in small, open bags, are kept warm in a glass case & are replenished throughout the day. We each got a Combo meal which included 2 empanadas, a soda & fries (rice & beans, as a substitute, cost a dollar more). When our order arrived incorrect, they were swift to fix it in a mist gracious way. Prices are very affordable. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Main counter - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

All it takes is to be good at one thing, and this place nails it!!! This place makes solid empanadas!!! Great for company too, makes things easier and are definitely a crowd favorite as I dont think I ever met someone who didn't appreciate an empanada!!! I'll hold back my favorites; however, pork always seems to be the crowd favorite so order at will and enjoy! read more

Very good empanadas. I had the Spicy Beef and Sweet Plantain, and also the Traditional Beef and both were very good. Between, the two, I prefer the Beef and Plantain because it was a little spicy and also had a bit of sweetness. I will come back and try their other flavored empanadas. read more

I had never ordered empanadas in New York. I've had them out of the country and they are usually beef, chicken, and cheese. Island empanadas probably had at least 15 choices. We ordered 10 to get a discount. I liked the 4 cheese. I would order that again. I didn't particularly like anything else. The broccoli and cheese was runny. The chicken was dry. Some didn't have much flavor. On the whole I was expecting much more. read more

Got 30 empanadas from them today for a lunch in at work. They were delicious, 10 of the empanadas were the Oreo ones, and they came individually wrapped in containers, the presentation was great. All my co workers rave about the empanadas and wanted to know where I got them from, and the service was very nice and made it easy to order. read more

Came to this location today just found out this location was here as my bf and I would travel a little further to another location. We found the menu online and discovered they now offer plant based empanadas with plant based meat! Very excited we immediately ordered a box (10) over the phone. Online it said they did not have anymore Latin shrimp empanadas available however when we went in they did have them so I also got 1. The plant based empanadas also had potato inside they were good great taste, Fresh and hot! Delicious The Latin shrimp was also fresh and had about 4-5 shrimps inside. Customer service: We we're greeted upon walking in, the cashier asked if we wanted anything else if we wanted to add a drink I feel like all of those things are important for customer service. I did check in after they do offer $2 off your order so when we come back I'll definitely use that! read more

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Excellent food! Soo many different empanada options and all stuffed and fresh! Service is quick and very friendly! I highly recommend!

Ahh the empanada life is good. I mean I don't live a life filled with empanadas, but knowing this Island Empanada is located in Nassau (unlike basically every other location!) is helpful on days/nights when a little trek down to Merrick works for dinner (which is what happened tonight). Now I had already previously been to this IE storefront for a Yelp Elite perk, but the two experiences can't truthfully be reviewed in the same light. Ya gotta go as a regular ol' person without any employees knowing you're there as a Yelper to ensure an unbiased review. With that in mind, the staff was definitely friendly tonight and quickly made up our box of 10 empanadas (with a side of yellow rice and beans). Dollar-wise, that box can feed about 3 people comfortably (maybe 4?) and for around $40 that's a pretty reasonable price. Beyond the staff and the cost, the empanadas are almost always consistent in quality and taste. I'd say my chipotle beef and spicy cheese crescents were filled with my favorite usual flavors. Maybe there was a slightly-off ratio of crust to interior, but that's what their sauce is for. Both green and red are the way to go, but you can grab some chipotle or regular Cholula which is just as good. With all that in mind, I'd easily slap five stars on this place had it not been for two small snafus. One would be an incorrectly labeled or placed empanada as my third crescent was supposed to be chorizo y potato and instead was what tasted like buffalo chicken. It wasn't bad, but not what I (or any of us) wanted. Also, a little extra sauce would've gone a long way as one red and one green for a box of ten just isn't enough. They do have a slight charge for more sauce, but I'd be happy to pay it if I knew that this was all we'd get. Small things in the grand scheme of the trip, but enough to knock off a few flakes from five down to four (maybe a half can be tacked on?). Overall, Island Empanada of Merrick is delightfully delicious. It's got a friendly staff and it's totally worthy of price. Yeah there were a few negative factors that came out of this order so I can't say everything was perfect (hence four and not five celestials), but any trip could easily be worthy of the max amount of stars. Perhaps my next trip to this Nassau spot will make that happen and hopefully that's sooner than later, because the empanada life is always calling. read more

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Leaving a long overdue review to one of my favorite empanada spots as someone who works from home and loves ordering from here, they seriously never miss. However I'm writing this hoping the business owners will see and consider making their guava empanadas again! They were my favorite and I ordered them as often as I could because they remind me of my abuelita, she's the only other person I know who used to make them. In any case, love this spot and definitely recommend! read more

Love the empanadas!! $13.03 for a lunch combo. Fast service awesome staff. Perfect spot when you're in a rush!! read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Island Empanada lunch special - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

Very cute take-out place. They have a large variety of empanadas and some other nice options on the menu. Service is fast. And the empanadas have a good flavor. Nice neighborhood find! read more

Great new spot in the Merrick Mall area. Came here for lunch and got some great empanadas. My wife and I split an assortment of empanadas and all were very good. Our favorites were pastelon, broccoli, and chorizo and potato. We got the lunch special for two of them which came with rice and beans and plantains. Rice and beans were decent and the plantains were very good. The staff was very friendly and helpful. The location has a few tables and chairs so you can eat in or take out. Overall a great new spot which we will definitely revisit. As a side note these empanadas would be perfect for a party appetizer. Enjoy! read more

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Please be sure to follow CDC guidelines in regards to COVID and please do not visit restaurants if you or someone in your party does not feel well. I went to Island Empanada as part of a Yelp Elite event and was happy that I did! The restaurant was clean and fairly spacious, and had tables for dining in. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and made great recommendations. I had the Latin Shrimp ($3.69) and Asian Chicken ($3.49). The Latin Shrimp was well seasoned and well cooked. It had a blend of peppers and onions, and had a nice Latin flavor to it. It was a 8/10. The Asian Chicken was really well done but a bit on the sweeter side. I wish it was a bit spicier since it was made with spicy Asian sauce. For me, it was a 7/10. Overall, this is a great spot for empanadas. It's clean and there's such a variety to choose from on the menu (over 25 flavors, including vegetarian). I recommend popping by if you're in the area and grabbing an empanada or two! read more

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Welcome Island Empanada to Merrick. Very happy you are here and will be in the regular rotation for me. My order was a Monday night "Thughub" order. We did a corporate order where each of my team members got a $75 credit for a team dinner. I chose this establishment. Did a box of 15. The crappy UI in the grubhub app doesn't allow you to order more than one type of empanada so I put notes of the order and called to confirm. Did three of each - chicken, beef, pork, potato, + one of each of the chipotle (beef and chix) and a Cuban. The box of fifteen comes with only two 2 oz sauces. The chimi was great (mild green) and the hot was really good! Pro-tip, you need more sauces, a two oz container will only sauce up three empanadas. The fact that they cheap on the sauces is the only thing I can fault. Everything else here is 100% on point. The fillings are delicious. The fillings are inventive, and perfectly cooked and seasoned. The cooked dough wrappers had a nice flavor of lard and were very crispy. Think about a Chinese restaurant where they give you wanton noodles with duck sauce.... that is the crisp/crunch you are getting here. Another nice touch is that each empanada comes in a wax wrapper, with a sticker indicating which one is which. Definitely try them, the order was delivered a bit ahead time and accurately. Grubhub is THE WORST! Why not just hire a delivery person? How does this math add up? read more

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Wow.... If you haven't been you need to RUN ‍ over there ASAP!!! The food was amazing!! Veggie empanadas: spinach & feta, three cheese, broccoli & cheese, and veggie All were SO GOOD & the sauces made it even more flavorful! The rice was delish & the fried mac and cheese ball was insanely yummy. Such a great delish place & the staff was super friendly! Can't wait to go back read more

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If you need something on the go, I definitely recommend stopping here or any of their other locations! They have so many different kinds of empanadas... I couldn't believe it. I've never seen any restaurant with this many different flavors. My favorite was the chicken bacon ranch empanada, but I can't wait to try some more flavors next time! We also tried their new chicken tenders which were so good. I loved the honey mustard sauce with it too! We also tried their Mini Loaded Potato Balls and those were so unique and delicious. We also had to get some plantains and rice and beans because my family love those. They have dessert too, so make sure to leave some room for that. We got the churros with ice cream, and they made them fresh once we ordered. Thank you to Ashley and staff for the amazing service and kindness. She gave us all of her recommendations, so we really appreciated that! read more

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I had a free lunch & the drive was worth it !! I had the Latin shrimp (good!) & platano with mozzarella (so good!!) the rice/ beans/ maduros on the side had good flavor Besides that we order an extra 10+ empanadas So far all we tasted were delicious Just didn't appreciate how I got 1 sauce for the big order I placed! They wanted to charge me for more sauces! Which is like really?! 14 empanadas, 4 different people & 1 sauce for all ?! They eventually gave me more sauces !! I would definitely come back ! There's a closer location to me Hopefully they're just as friendly & good read more

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Long over due, review for these delicious empanadas that I tried from a food truck at the amityville park, went to a event slammed by the bay and they were there selling empanadas! The lines were so long and they kept making new empanadas, they were trying to keep up with the demand of empanadas that everyone was ordering. Chicken/Shrimp/Carne empanadas we're all tried and all of them were very tasty and fresh! Highly recommend visiting a physical location, if you can't find the truck. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

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Yummy empanadas! They're a bit on the expensive side but I understand they're specialty empanadas and not just beef or chicken. My favorites were definitely the Cuban and the chorizo. The shrimp w/ mango salsa packed almost no flavor and left me the most disappointed. Staff is friendly and quick. They put two of one type into our order which was a small mixup but worked out fine. read more

Island Empanada's Merrick location was a hit. I came in and ordered the lunch special which consisted of 3 empanadas, rice and beans, and a fountain drink. The empanadas I chose were, chicken, Spinach and feta cheese and shrimp and mango. The were all pretty tasty. The meal, in my opinion (IMO) was reasonable. It was the same price, if not a little more, than if you were to order 3 empanadas by themselves. The rice and beans cooked well; it wasn't too Salty, but the plantains were a little on the dry side. The selection for the fountain drinks were a miss for me. I'm not a soda drinker. They only had 1 option for juice with everything else being soda options. All in all, this is a good place to grab a bite to eat. You'll leave feeling full and appreciate the fact that you got a decent meal at a good price. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Lunch meal: 3 empanadas, plantains, rice and beans. - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

Great tasting empanadas on time ready when you arrive. Clean environment simple great !!!!

Amazing empanadas! Fast delivery! Favorite is the beef and cheese, Latin shrimp, pork, chorizo and potato! Tostones are fantastic when they have them too. Rice and beans are good too!! Only downsize is that they forget the sauces sometimes so just have to check the bag/box :) read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Showcase of empanadas - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

Fantastic in every way! Pastellon empanada, any kind of shrimp empanada, etc. are my go-to. They don't give sauce on the side unless you ask for it directly. Staff is always friendly and prompt. Place is clean & they're technology forward. It's in a shopping center & always a highlight when I go there! 10/10!! read more

Really loved coming here and trying out their empanadas! Definitely a great grab and go type appetizer that I can bring home for house parties or bring somewhere. The boxes are so convenient. The flavors are also so delicious! The loaded baked potato empanada was for sure my favorite and I also really loved their French fries. For those salty lovers like myself, the combination of that and the crunch of the French fry itself was soooooo good. Not to mention, their wings were great since they were just the right amount of spicy. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

I really love this place. These have the BEST empanadas and have a variety of flavors. The crust is perfect - I'd eat it on its own. My family had them cater for an event and everything was wonderful - no leftovers because everyone went back for more. The bacon mac and cheese ones are great and so are the chipotle beef and plantain ones. The only thing is that they keep forgetting to include sauces - even when I've asked in person or wrote it in the order form. One time I asked before I left and the cashier assured me it's in there. I walked out and checked, saw no sauces, went right back and asked for them and they didn't even say anything like, "Whoops - here you go." The sides are just okay in my opinion - the empanadas are the real stars of the menu. I think everything is fairly priced and they've always had my food ready on time. read more

I was one of the lucky Yelp Elite individuals to receive a complimentary lunch courtesy of the owners of Island Empanada in Merrick. And what a delicious lunch it was!! I'm so happy to take advantage of this awesome offer. This is the perfect quick meal for anyone who wants a filling, comforting and delicious option. I ordered over the phone and asked if they have any baked empanadas instead of fried. They were able to accommodate my request and add my empanada order to the oven so I could save on some calories. They were so delicious and filling. I ordered a variety- chipotle beef with sweet plantain, chipotle chicken, shrimp and mango salsa and BBQ Chicken. Although they were all amazing, my favorite was chipotle beef and sweet plantains! Just the perfect combination of sweet and savory. The lunch special came with a generous amount of really flavorful sweet plantains and delicious rice and beans. I definitely will be going back to try some other flavors, including the dessert ones that looked amazing! read more

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Craving empanadas and came across this place. First off, my boyfriend chose it and I hate how he chose a franchise/chain. Empanadas here were not good at all. The shrimp one tasted like the shrimp was microwaved. The chicken was dry and had no flavor. The only good one was the beef empanada for me and my boyfriend enjoyed the spinach one. Definitely disappointed and my cravings were not satisfied. Super disappointed also that we had asked for freshly made ones being that we ordered about 30 of them, only for about 5 of them to be fresh and the rest were probably sitting there for who knows how long. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

When I walked in, i was automatically greeted by the staff. There wasn't that many people inside so I was helped right away. There's a selection of empanadas on display which had their names of different types of empanadas. It was my first time here so I chose to do the basic beef & the basic chicken. I asked about what sauces they come with, & I was told a red and green sauce, or I can change to pink. I usually like pink sauce so I opted for the pink along with the green. I went to my car to eat the empanadas and although they were warm, they were missing the sauces I had asked for! The chicken tasted like it needed more flavor, but the beef was good.I also feel like it should've been a little more filled with meat. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Beef empanada, could've been filled with more meat. - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

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Great empanadas and finally a plant based one that satisfies! I tried both the Veggie Lover and Plant based beef empanadas and while both are good, I preferred the flavor of the plant based beef. The empanadas aren't greasy even though they're fried and perfectly crispy. The rice & beans are filling and tasty. The plantains were good but I thought they needed to be cooked a tad more. Came here for a Yelp event and received this meal for free. Hubby bought a lunch special for himself and enjoyed it, we felt the lunch special was a great value. I'm so happy to have more plant based options and would definitely come again for either their lunch or dinner specials! Support local businesses! read more

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Ordered the lunch special which include two empanadas . Rice and beans and some sweet plantains and a drink . They have a very good variety of crisp empanadas for all tastes from loaded potato , Latin shrimp. Chipotle chicken, Cuban and more. The rice and beans are very flavorful and delicious. Try it out if you want to taste authentic Puerto Rican cooking ! read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Lunch special, rice and beans , two empanadas , sweet plantains and the drink is not pictured - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

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What a busy place! All the empanadas are all freshly made. They have so many different flavors to choose from. My favorite was the classic beef and chicken. Sweet banana, rice and beans are always so comforting. Also yummy churros are made to order. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

My wife and I had gotten a little coupon in the valpak, so we decided to give this a try. They had tons of different kinds of Empanadas. My favorite so far was the Beef Chipotle. The woman behind the counter had recommended it, and she was right! Staff was very nice, good portions, wife really liked the food too. Solid food! Would go back. read more

I am in love! I am so happy that there is an empanada place so close to my house now! I have been seeing ads for this place on Instagram for such a long time and one night I was at a bar nearby and realized how close I was to Island empanada! I convinced my buddy to come with me and we got a deal which was 3 empanadas some, rice/beans and plátanos for a great price. The only thing is that this is only during a certain time so you have to make sure you get there in time. The restaurant had a lot of choices for empanadas and there is no way you'll be able to get to try all of them in one shot. This is how they get you to come back. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure which flavors I got but I remember them all being absolutely amazing! I will definitely be coming back for dinner, lunch, a snack, or any excuse I can use to come back! read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

This place is a small storefront café with a few seats serving Puerto Rican-style empanadas across Long Island. They do in fact have a large variety of empanadas; you name it they have it! Some of the interesting ones are the Philly Cheesesteak, Cuban, Loaded Potato, Bacon Mac & Cheese. Delicious! I tasted the Chipotle Beef & Sweet Plantain and the Chipotle Chicken. How I can tell the empanadas are good is if you don't need the sauce. If you can eat them without reaching for the sauce they are delish and I didn't use any sauce. They also provide catering, lunch and dinner specials, and family value packs. For a quick bite to eat I would definitely recommend them. Oh and check their website for coupons! You know I love a good food discount, makes it taste better when you can save some money. read more

The empanadas were just ok in my opinion. The plus side of them was that they were less greasy than in other places. Service was not the greatest because after we ordered we realized there was a deal that the person at the register didn't offer. Prices for empanadas were not the best and it's definitely a comparison to Colombian spots I've been to. I made this comparison due to the fact that this cuisine is questionable. Puerto Rican cuisine doesn't include the items offered at this restaurant. While the decor shows Puerto Rico as its basis for the cuisine, I have to question the validity of the place. Churros is not a Puerto Rican, and the sofrito wasn't potent in the food. I'd say the food needs some work. For a quick bite sure, but if you're looking for the real deal this isn't it. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Packaging of empanadas - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York

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A bunch of pretentious young assholes that runs this establishment! I 'm here at least twice a month and order atleast 7-8 empanadas on my visits. Recently I ordered empanadas in person, after the order was placed and my payment was accepted I was told that they're out of sauces. You should be valuing your customers by leading with that first before taking people's money because let's face it the empanadas need their accompanying sauces! After that visit the entire staff of young kids have just been nasty! I was there again today and Jason took my order, I made sure i asked if they had all sauces before ordering. They had the sauces, I ordered seven empanadas and asked for 6 sauces and he charged me for the sauces! I told him I'm confused because I thought I should be getting a free sauce with one empanada. He got so bent out of shape and agitated, proceeded to bring the outside 'sauce extra charge sign' to show me and walked away to the kitchen with an attitude when I asked for the manager! He smirked and said he's been working here the longest anyway. Message for the business owner: check your staff! & service, will never step foot in there again! read more

Fantastic little reasonable spot for some solid empanada with a huge variety of flavors. Question is do you order 2 or 6? Because that's what ends up happening. We get the 10 box or the lunch special both are solid choices. And don't be afraid of their uniquer flavors. Shrimp mango is the jam. read more

Incredible empanada spot! Their pastry crust is so buttery and delicious they can put almost anything in it, fry it, serve it to me and I would eat it. I got cheese and chicken; sweet plantain and mozz; and nacho. Everything was made fresh to order. The sweet plantains and mozz were my favorite but honestly would order all of them again. read more

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Sweet Plantains are embarrassing and by awful. Empanadas are meh. Wrong flavor soda, wasn't a fountain soda and expired, yes soda has an expiration. Rice and bean are good. Thankfully DoorDash refunded some of the money. The Lindy location is much better. read more

Island Empanada - Merrick - Latin American Near Me - Merrick, New York