Best salteñas I've ever had -- hands down. Perfectly baked, packed with flavor, and clearly made fresh. If you're anywhere near Pan American Bakery & Grill, it's absolutely worth the stop. I'll definitely be back! read more

Food? Delicious -- especially that lechón sandwich... easily the star of the show. Tender, flavorful, and worth coming back for. The spot itself has that cozy, mom-and-pop vibe with decent seating and good accessibility -- wheelchair-friendly, which is always a big plus! Now for the downside: customer service needs serious improvement. The ladies up front aren't exactly bringing the warm and fuzzy vibes -- more like cold and confused Also, the bathroom could use some TLC -- not a dealbreaker, but definitely not a highlight. Would I recommend it? Yes -- for the food. Just come with a little patience and low expectations on service. read more

The shop is hidden in a small plaza but you can easily distinguish it because it's the only one that is wheelchair accessible and has a ramp. The saltenas were absolutely amazing. They were large, packed full of filling and flavor, and less expensive than I anticipated- I think $5-6 a piece. We also bought a bunch of their desserts to try which were equally as good. One thing that could be improved upon is price transparency by displaying the prices for the baked goods and desserts which are in a display case. We only got that information by inquiring. We weren't offered a menu so I don't know whether the prices are listed there. Apart from that the food we tried was fantastic but we got it to go so I can't comment on table service. read more

Excelente almuerzo. Atención rápida y sin esperar el postre. Silpancho y sopa de res deliciosas

Me encanta la comida, súper buena, la atención muy amables y sobre todo el lugar es muy bonito y limpio lo recomiendo.

El servicio 0/10 Nunca nuevo a venir aqui las Meseras Son muy irrespetuosas, No tratan alos clientes bien. Como que uno de gratis les estuviera Pidiendo , Never Again read more

I only love their saltenas so far, both beef and chicken. For those I give 5 stars! I've tried their empanadas, but it's just air, with a slice of thin cheese. Very dry, nothing to it. So hit and miss with food here. My friend got one of the sandwiches, but it wasn't worth the cost. It had beef, fries, rice, cheese, tomato, egg. It was mostly bread, rice and fry wasn't needed and could've used a slice of tomato, not a couple of diced pieces. I think it was about $10. I will only have the saltenas from here. read more

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The food was great and should have been given five stars. I took off a star because we had a bad start. The TV was too loud and I had to ask a few times to have it lowered. Also the waitress was scarce even though the restaurant was empty. Once we ordered, everything went smoothly. read more

We went here today and I was pleased with the food. I was not very pleased with the service, the other waitresses were more attentive than our own. I was very disappointed that we were automatically charged a 16% tip, upon payment. When I asked about it, I was first told that the waiters do not get paid and only get paid with tips. This was "the system." I was then then told it was a city of Alexandria requirement for all orders over $50, and that is a lie. After reading their reviews, it seems like this is a consistent pattern. So fair to say we will not be going back. Sí ustedes van a ir a este restaurante les recomiendo ordenar su comida por adelantado. Si comen en el restaurante el servicio no va a ser el mejor. Y el restaurante les va a cobrar una propina automática del 16%. Nosotros no regresaremos. También por lo que veo, parece que el restaurante cambia los precios cada rato y se disculpa con decir que estaba escrito en el menú. No vale la pena y da pesar que los dueños no tomen en cuenta estás quejas. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Receipt - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Such a big fan of their chicken saltenas, beef saltenas and D'royale empanadas! Not an expert on Bolivian food, but when I tried their saltenas and breads the first time I became a fan. And don't forget the salsa verde to go with these objects of delish-ness!!! They are usually busy at this location. Typically, my interactions with their staff have been very decent, if not excellent. I get an opportunity to practice on my Spanish, if/as needed. Although I rated it 4, it's really a 4.5 out of 5 rating. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Beef saltenas. Glorious bites filled with goodness! - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Baked goods were pretty good. The empanadas and salteñas are a must. My son ordered salmon, chicken sandwich, flan, choripan (Argentinan sausage sandwich), passion fruit cake, and dulce de leche cake. The savory options seem to be better than the sweet ones. Disappointed with that choripan. It was missing chimichurri sauce. Service was attentive. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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These salteñas are the best in town, I can eat the beef or chicken ones every single day and I'd be happy

This is more of a 3.5 stars, with a half star that can go either way depending on the day and the meal. It's a small grill with an extensive bakery that focuses on Latin American dishes. Tacos are pretty good, but I think their baked goods are the specialty. They have a large patio deck for outside dining. Nothing fancy but at a time when outdoor dining is sought out for, this place was ahead of the game. read more

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Las meseras de lo peor siempre estan de mal humor ni una sola sonrisa y luego quieren tip de que dar propina por ver su mala cara de amargadas read more

If you don't know what a Saltena is..Get familiar now. But if you do know and already are familiar with this location, you already know how great the food is! Quick and fast service makes getting your food almost instant! Plus the extremely sweet staff lead by the gorgeous, Isabel, who will make sure you leave with a huge smile of satisfaction! Nice TVs also make it a nice place to enjoy your meal in peace. Amazing and thank you to the entire Pan American Bakery Family! read more

I'm so glad I stopped by Pam America today after a long day of world I wanted to taste some authentic Bolivian bread. Obviously I went for bread and guess what I ended up buying a little of everything!! I was so excited to find a restaurant that makes my favorite Humintas I can't express so delicious they are you have to try a slice when in the Virginia area. Not to mention they had Cinnamon ice cream also known as Helado de Canela this brought tears to my eyes because I remember being 6 years old at the time and my grandfather would take me to a place in Bolivia that was my absolute favorite. I can't wait to come back with my family again and I recommend you do the same. There is outside seating and all Covid procedures are taken as soon as you walk in the door. Oh By the way I didn't include a picture of the Helado de Canela because I literally enjoyed every spoon I had and forgot to take a pic it was so Good read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Huminta, rollo de queso - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Best Saltenas in town! Great Food and Even better service! I love the family atmosphere and it is nice to catch up a soccer game on their TV! read more

The place was horrible. Our server was very caring although the other servers at the cashier were very disrespecful and they were talking about other empleoyes and costumers. The food was very very expensive and it was not good I ordered a "gizo de papa" and the dish had no meat it was only potatoes and rice, my family member ordered a meat dish and it was ok we just felt like it did not have enough food we can eat with the meat. The ambience was... not so good. In total we payed 44 dollars for 2 dishes that were... not good. I don't recommended this place read more

The sáltenlas are the best! I love their tres leches cakes too!! They have three locations as well! You'll probably need to know what you're ordering in Spanish. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Birthday Cake - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I always get last minute cakes for birthdays and other celebrations and they're always very tasty and very well packaged and decorated ; BUT on Saturday, April 29th I got a cake for my mom's last minute birthday party and it was a TERRIBLE experience! The lady who took care of my boyfriend literally was so over her day, with an "attitude" and when my boyfriend asked her what to write on the cake (it was supposed to say 'Happy Birthday Mama') she said, "I'll just put something that says Happy Birthday and I'll write the Mama... look at the pictures I'm attaching, please... the mama part LOOKS TERRIBLE! Not a single effort at all whatsoever... read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Cake - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Pan American Bakery & Grill has 3 locations - one off of Columbia Pike in Arlington, one on Pickett St in Alexandria, and one in Fairfax. They offer a selection in breads, cakes, and even grill items such as salads, burgers, subs, etc. We ordered the carne saltena and the pollo saltena. The carne was okay, but this location's version of the beef seemed to taste better than the one in Arlington. I did, however, enjoy the chicken one a bit more, as it seemed to be more flavorful. Both saltenas were super fresh, and I liked the exterior sweetened crust. We also tried their flan and the dulce de leche desserts - both were just not good and had to be tossed. The flan was grainy, an dthe dulce de leche was just a soggy mess. Service was friendly and sweet, and there's parking available in the lot. +parking in shared plaza lot read more

When I'm in the area, this is my go to for the best saltenas! Not many place in Woodbridge has saltenas and the 8nes that do d9nt even come close. These are huge, the pastry slightly sweet and baked perfectly. The filling is super juicy so when you take that first bite, the juices oozes out like a pot pie. Meat and veggies are tender and super flavorful! They have beef and chicken, my favorite is the beef! When I worked around the corner, I got carryout often so their other dishes and soups are just good...but for me, the saltenas are the most memorable! read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Beef saltenas - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Shoutout to my dad for telling me about this place! This is a Bolivian restaurant and bakery that has great lunch specials. There are multiple location in the NOVA area but I am unsure if these specials are offered at the other locations. I normally come here for lunch with my dad and they offer a drink, soup, entree, and dessert for a fixed price. It is lunch portions but still one of the best deals around. The food is also very tasty and fulling. They also give you homemade bread and a green salsa to put on your food. They also make cakes for events that looks so beautiful and prices are reasonable. I have tried their parrillada and salteñas both which are great! If you love Bolivian food or are curious about trying it, I suggest visiting during lunch hours and asking about the lunch special. The women here are very hard workers and offer great service! Give this place a try! read more

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Located in an industrial strip mall off S. Pickett St., pan American Bakery and Grill is not much to look at; but what really matters is on the inside. My to go order was handled quickly an efficiently, not the friendliest service, not rude, just brusque and efficient. Two beef saltenas were more than enough for lunch. Savory beefy goodness inside of a crisp, sweet pastry shell that held together even after being cut into was delicious. I saved the mocha cake for later and thoroughly enjoyed it for dessert later in the day. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Mocha Cake Slice - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

During our DC trip our Uncle brought us here for lunch. It was not our first time as we had come six years ago. The place looked like we remembered but at the same time less lively. We tried various things, huminta both from the oven and boiled, not bad but my mom's is much more flavorful. The salteñas were okay, I only had chicken and I would say I was able to finish them but wouldn't get them again from there, the crust was too thick and a bit dry. My sister had the meat one and said it wasn't fully cooked. My mom got the sopa de mani and afterwards got an upset stomach. : / I got to go the alfajores and I was glad I did! It needed a little bit of zest but aside from that if you just prefer them sweet they were very good! I would definitely go back for desserts and mogochinchi but not for the food. Only reason why I am giving it 3 stars is because the staff were very friendly and overall were glad to be in a Bolivian place even though it was a bit disappointing... read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I would have gave this place a 5 but the service and waitress could have been better. No one even checked on us and the women working here were just on their phones or doing nothing in the back. The food is amazing though. Even the meat platters looked so yummy when they came out. The food is at a reasonable price and large portions. They do bring out bread with butter and aji. The bread should have been toasted at least. I would recommend this place because the food is that good. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - TRUCHA- Grilled Trout Filet comes on a bed of Lettuce, Tomatoes and Onions, served with a side of steamed Rice with French Fries - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Food is decent BUT their customer service is terrible. Had me on the phone waiting over 10 minutes just to place an order. Ridiculous. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Proof of how long I was waiting just to place my order. - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

La comida es buena el servicio da mucho que desear, las meseras son muy ordinarias e irrespetuosas, por lo demás muy bueno!

This has been a great weekend escape! Had an amazing foodie and drink adventures in Arlington, VA; Washington D.C. ; and Alexandria, VA. It has all been amazing until THIS PLACE... My girlfriend, friend and I walk in and do not even get acknowledged... No "welcome we will be with you in a moment OR you can sit anywhere you want.." etc etc. you know the usual spiel.... NOPE... not here. Not even a glance our way.... I finally had to say hello and how are you doing in Spanish to be acknowledged and let them know we are patrons. Another waitress finally comes after we were standing at the entrance confused for like almost 10min. We stated we wanted to sit outside, and we had to grab our own menus, they didn't even offer.... Once we got outside, the chairs and tables were locked with a bike lock, with another patron telling us they opted to not sit at that particular table because the waitresses didn't have a key for that setup.... So yeah.... We waited outside for almost another 10 minutes with no one coming to unlock the bike lock OR once again, acknowledge us............ So long story short, we left. With that kind of greeting, tables and chairs that are locked by a bike lock and nowhere to sit and ZERO acknowledgement - our spidey senses told us to LEAVE! Off to DUCK DONUTS we go hahahaha! read more

Food is delicious and inexpensive! And still tastes amazing the next day. Highly recommended

Cashier is the rudest person ever she had such a stank face! Did not greet us and threw my change on the counter as I held my hand out.

Empanadas are on point. We got beef and an order of churrasco sandwich - my husband is Chilean so he had to see if it was hype. The empanadas were stuffed nicely with beef and potatoes. The green spicy sauce is a good touch to it. The churrasco sándwich, however, was basic but flavorful. Glad to find a solid Latino bakery and restaurant close by. read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Empanada Grande - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

I was looking for Saltenas close to my job. I googled Saltenas near me and this place came up. I was excited because I had been to the Arlington location a few times, several years ago and was pleased. On my first visit here, the person who rang me up wasn't very friendly, but that was okay with me. I paid about $8 for 2 beef Saltenas. That was a little expensive for me as I am use to getting 2 for $5 at another place in Arlington. They were tasty even though I didn't care for the unnecessary raisins in them. I went a 2nd time and a different person rang me up. She was so sweet and pleasant. I once again paid a little over $8 for my 2 Saltenas by debit card. I checked my account and saw the $8 charge was pending. Once it cleared my account, I noticed that the amount had changed to $12. But why? I didn't leave a tip. So apparently one of the very sweet workers decided to leave themselves 50% tip on my debit card. So I will never patronize this business ever again, and neither will my friends, family, or co-workers. I'm all about supporting minority owned businesses, but if I will be taken advantage of because I am not Hispanic, or because they assume that I do not speak Spanish, then I refuse to support this business. read more

Bad service , servers talk to you like they're doing you a favor. If you dine in they include the tip and so service is for sure bad ! Also they close at 7:30 not 9pm even though that's what it says on their wedsite . read more

Food is good. Salteñas are hard and big, not traditionally. Service is the worst. We ordered Salteñas and two omelettes at 11:30. Server comes back with Salteñas and a careless attitude "it's too late for breakfast. Here's the menu." Rude, didn't care. So you're going to bring out everyone's food and then ask if I want to order something else??? Not even a sorry, let me talk to manager or even offer anything. I understand when breakfast is done I won't argue with that but no effort or anything. Everytime I've come here the service has been the same, awful. I get stuck coming here with family sometimes but after this I'll for sure decline. read more

So 4 stars because the only food we have ever had there are the salteñas, especially the chicken ones. BUT when the fam goes up, we really want to eat there. Again, to know a place is good and legit is if locals go there, and there were a ton there every time we go! We try to get salteñas on our way home to VB. Their chicken ones are soooooooo good and I love the spicy sauce that comes with it. Salivating! I need some in my life right now! read more

This place is a big surprise! You can not imagine that around here you will find such an amazing food and great service! People are extremely nice! It's my first time in a Bolivian restaurant and we tried a couple of things and everything was just great! read more

Pan American Bakery & Grill - Bakeries Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

Salteñas are the bomb! So tasty and delicious. I tried the meat one and it was so good. They have really good dishes in their menu too but def try their salteñas. read more

I love empanadas, including the ones you eat at 2 A.M. from Julia's after a night of dancing. If it's stuffed with protein and fried, I'll eat it, with pleasure. Now, enter its long-distance cousin, the saltena. What is a saltena, you ask? Imagine pot pie (chicken or beef) fillings inside a thick, semi-sweet, and flaky shell. Essentially, a baked empanada that hails from Bolivia. When I was finished Wikipedia'ing this, drool had already settled into the crevices of my keyboard. Immediately, I Yelped for the nearest Bolivian bakery/restaurant and Pan American Bakery & Grill was the winner. Or, so I thought. Food: This place has a cafeteria look, but I do not mind that because from past experiences, such no-frills establishments produce the best foods. Pan American is known for their large grilled meats platters. As Hilvic Ryan N. mentions, each can serve two fat people or three skinny people -- true that. I was here mostly for the saltenas, but my friend and I figured we'd share two entrees as well: tranca pecho and lomo montado. Clearly, our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. We started with two saltenas ($2.50 each); one beef and one chicken. Sweet, flaky shell with juicy, meaty interior. Good, but a bit messy to eat. The filling is piping hot, so make sure not to burn your tongue like I did! A bit of tomatillo salsa adds nice tanginess to each bite. Sadly, I still prefer the empanada because I like it consistently savory flavor profile and its drier filling. My friend, however, prefers the saltena, so I would suggest trying it for yourself to determine your preference. As for entrees, I opted for the tranca pecho sandwich because it was described as a flat steak sandwich with eggs, fries, salad, and rice. I thought it was a steak and egg sandwich with some fries, salad, and rice on the side. No, it was everything I mentioned between two slices of thick/dense/dry bread. I really had no idea how to attack this thing. The ratio of carbohydrates to protein was overwhelming and quite honestly, I am just not a fan of eating rice as a sandwich filling. Considering the sandwich was the size of my head, I sliced it in half, removed a lot of the bread and rice, doused the meat with some ketchup and hot sauce, and went to town. It was a lot better than left as is, but still one of the worst sandwiches I've ever eaten. I am a lifetime member of the Clean Plates Club, so leaving the other sandwich half uneaten should tell you much. My friend ordered the lomo montado, which was a platter of grilled steak on top of fries with a side of rice. The steak is also topped with two fried eggs and pico de gallo. Compared to my entree, the lomo montado was like scallops and truffle risotto. As a standalone dish, however, I'd say it was good, but nothing I'd return for because although the steak was seasoned and grilled (medium by default) decently, the rest of the ingredients were plain. The fries, which were also present in my sandwich, were clearly the frozen and bagged kind. Drinks: I had read about their mocochinchi juice, which is basically dried peach, cinnamon, sugar, and water. We thought it was very sweet and forgettable, but the true reason for ordering it was we wanted to say the name: mocochinchi, mocochinchi, mocochinchi. (Update: According to a recent episode of "Bizarre Foods", "mocochinchi" means "booger juice". No joke.) Conclusion: From the good, but limited reviews, I entered this restaurant with high expectations. Sadly, I was disappointed about the entrees. Their glass-enclosed baked goods section is very appealing: single-serving napoleons, tres leches cakes, tiramisu, French horns, cheese bread, and scones to name a few. For that, I would return for strictly to-go baked goods. read more

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The chicken saltena was delicious, the chicken in the inside was perfect and juicy. The corn tamale was ok. The establishment is nice and quaint and they also sell pastries. Parking can be a little difficult depending on the timing. I had mines to carry out and the service was quick. Also the green sauce was perfect. read more