Bianca C.

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!

Josh G.

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.

Ritchie C.

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

Matt G.

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!

Nalicia S.

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!

Frank T.

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?

Diana M.

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

Morgan Y.

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!

Patty P.

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

Jiovani R.

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.

Angela W.

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.