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    Mama's Empanadas

    3.4 (282 reviews)
    InexpensiveEmpanadas
    Open 10:30 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Alberto J.

    Excellent service very friendly a variety of empanadas and other food been coming to this great establishment for a few years now and they are 10/10 Much check out spot

    Menu
    Gajtana S.

    Cash only empanadas chain remains solid. I had corn chicken and potato and beef and potato empanadas. $2.35 and up for a tasty treat. Always check your order for accuracy. I had to ask for the mild and spicy dipping sauce.

    Half empty

    The more they sell the worse it gets. I used to work at QCM this used to he my daily lunch, loved it. But they disappointing now. I went to get chicken and beef, they were all dried and hard and filled half way empty. If they are busy and make you wait all the time they should have fresh empanadas. SECAS, TIESAS Y VACÍAS POR DENTRO. La foto no miente

    Menu as of 2/21/25
    Michelle X.

    A staple empanadas institution of NYC. They offer a wide selection of empanadas and other non empanada options. I enjoy coming here to try a variety of flavors. It's never a miss and always an adventure. It's a grab and go spot with counters to stand and eat at. You get 1 sauce for every 2 empanada ordered; i love the green sauce. Cash only. No credit card.

    Lina L.

    Having tried both this location and the one in Jackson Heights, I can confidently say this spot is the better choice in terms of service while the latter is better for food. The girl behind the counter was nice and generous with the verde sauce, which I really appreciated. Again, like their other locations, the verde sauce is amazing. However, the empanadas themselves were a bit disappointing. They didn't seem very fresh and were actually kind of hard, which took away from the experience. It's a shame because the service was great, but unfortunately, the food didn't quite match up. This place is definitely more of a grab-and-go spot. It's a small station with no seating, but they do have a long counter where you can quickly eat if you're too impatient to wait until you get home. While the service was good, the empanadas were just not up to par. Probably will not be visiting again - it's tried and done. Tip: this spot is cash only, so make sure to bring cash!! 2 stars out of 5 (mostly for service).

    Kat E.

    I was introduced to this place through a friend. First time I tried them I was hooked. There are variety of flavors to choose from. My favorite the chicken fajita. They are affordable and they also have entres. There is no place to sit and eat so it's an order and go. Highly recommend.

    Chicken
    Kitty Y.

    I'm pretty sure I got food poisoning from here. I ate nothing out of the ordinary besides the empanadas from here that day and a few hours later I am on the toilet for half the day. I was really excited to try the empanadas here. I've been to the location in Astoria and loved it there. It was a great late night snack for those drunken nights. This spot is cash only which surprised me because the Astoria location accepts card. Maybe they're not the same chain. I wasn't able to find out. I tried this spot because I was by QCM and needed dinner before I caught the bus. It's around the corner from the R and M train so it was easy to walk to. There was one person in front of me and he got his order quickly. The lady who took my order was okay. Wasn't the most friendly but wasn't horribly rude. I ordered 3 empanadas so I expected to wait a bit. It would have been nice if we were told how long they would take as soon as ordered. I knew it would take a while but this took a lot longer than I thought considering there was only 1 person who ordered ahead of me and he had gotten his so fast. 15 minutes later, I finally got them! I went inside to pick them up and I didn't realize how dark and unsanitary the actual kitchen / deep fryers were. There was one guy who I guess was doing the deep frying. He was just standing around. He didn't have gloves on but I think he was wearing a hat. I didn't think much of it at that point because I was hungry. I ate the empanadas and they were all great! Nothing tasted weird or suspicious. However hours later I am in serious pain and spent way too long on the toilet. After reading other people's reviews and knowing that this was the only new thing that I ate out of my normal routine meals, this has to be the reason. I'm not sure what the health rating of this place is but it needs to be checked again. The Astoria location feels so much cleaner and brighter. This one is in need of a clean up and maybe get some gloves for the workers! I was very excited to come back and try more empanadas but now I don't think I can without being scared it might make me sick again.

    Cheese empanada
    Weilu H.

    Got 2 cheese empanadas and one beef. Yet to try the beef yet but cheese empanada was really good! Nice and crispy and the mozzarella was delicious. I would suggest not waiting too long and eat it while it 's fresh so you get the cheese pull before it hardens. The size is decent and for all three it was around $9. Not sure if it was an off day but the cashier was not the friendliest. Nothing wrong but not super friendly either which is fine but I guess it's noticeable

    Menú
    Tatiiana L.

    Stopped by here for a variety of empanadas right before their closing hours. We tried these empanadas: chorizo, cheese steak, Italian sausage and peppers, plain cheese one, cheeseburger, Biagra *seafood empanada* and the hotdog and cheese empanada. All tasted amazing and fresh. The only one I'd pass up next time is the seafood*biagra* empanada which tasted too fishy for my liking. We also got the chorizo with the arepa. Good eats.

    Phil H.

    50 different empanadas? Can I try them all? Challenge accepted! Coming out of the Queens Center Mall this joint is right across the street. If you're looking for some quick cheap eats and want something different than the food court head here. With so many to choose from it was easy for me to eat non-meat choices. With each costing only a few bucks each it didn't break my bank. Pretty tasty and I was more than filled up with a combination of cheese, vegetable, and pizza too!

    menus and prices
    Chika D.

    More of a 3 but the green sauce pushes Empanadas Mama towards 3.5. I don't know if that's a positive (the sauce is *that* good) or a negative (the sauce carries the empanadas) but it's a really good bite. I ordered the corn and wheat empanadas and the wheat was the better of the two for me. Chicken and potato filling is slightly bland but that's when the green sauce comes in and saves the day. Prices are reasonable and the empanadas are fresh out of the oil. Yes, fried but isn't oily. Would recommend

    Glenn V.

    Not much to look at from the inside and certainly not from the street and that's my kind of place. Two sides of thick plastic and fiberglass shield the customers from the bite of the frosty cold air, I couldn't tell which side to order from for a moment, then I noticed the menu board and the register. "Aaah, a clue" I thought. A woman ordered after me but only had the plastic to pay which wasn't an acceptable form of payment. She left, I followed calling to her to order what she wanted, I'd gladly pay for it. She did and was very grateful, the homies behind the counter looked at me quizzically and I said " it's the holiday season, be kind to your neighbors". They smiled, first i noticed since my arrival so i hit them off with some cabbage also. The outer shell is a mouth top grater if you shovel it in quick like, a common problem of mine and I'm tounge rubbing the scrapes now wishing I had gone at them a bit slower. The insides are Chernobyl hot, so ease your roll on that approach as well. Getting into the goodies in the center is a dangerious game you'll likley lose unless yoyr equipt with an asbestos encased mouth, your likley to endure Chernobyl tounge, a bad combination with top and bottom under burning duress. You get banged for $2.00 (&.09) each which isn't much as they are about the size of a half of a stick of butter and carry a flavor or authenticity that legitimizes the name Mama's. So after hooking up the other customer, then the workers, they became so friendly -- offering me more sauce, even a special sauce and the mood was immediately elevated to holiday spirit happiness. It was a sweet moment. I'm just doing what I can to help out.

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    2 months ago

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    8 months ago

    Very expensive place. Service is just ok. I like the vegetable empanadas. The green spicy sauce is good.

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great taste fast service and delivery. Would definitely recommend this place for a quick bite and great food.

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    4 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Mama's Empanadas

    Always pass by this place whenever I'm shopping at Queens Center Mall and didn't come here until few days ago.

    Mentioned in 20 reviews

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