Had a great dinner at Parche! The Tumaco Ceviche was fresh, with a nice touch of sweet drop…read morepeppers. Our favorite was the Empanada de Ajiaco--filling, perfectly crusted, and served with delicious jalapeño cilantro aioli. The Patacones were good, though the beef, onion marmalade, and tropical salsa were a bit sweet for my taste. The Cacao Nariño dessert was amazing, especially with our Carajillos and Espresso Martinis. Friendly service, quick food, and a fun meal overall!

Vibrant flavors, high price tag…read more Parche is a beautiul space in downtown Oakland serving family-style share plates of contemporary Colombia dishes. My group of four shared a variety of plates but we all felt were small for the price. We started with two cold plates, the Santa Marta Ceviche and the Salmón Salpicón. I couldn't decide which of the two were ma favorite and I definitely think both were my favorites of the whole meal. Following up with two small share plates, the Arepa de Las Monas and the Empanada de Ajiaco. Finished with the Mojarra Frita, fried whole branzino, which was perfectly fried and not oily at all. The cocktail menu had lots of creative options, but I opted for the Ojos Asi, which I would recommend only if you like bitter cocktails, that said I very much enjoyed it!

You Guava be Kidding Me…read more A bakery and juicery that has been serving up delicious Colombian specialties since 1999 in Colombia, before emigrating to the US and opening up shop here in Cambrian Park in 2014. Milohas (mil hojas) means a thousand layers in Spanish, and one taste of Milohas' pastries will make you understand why they picked that moniker. The Good: * Large shared parking lot * Friendly service * Covered outdoor dining * The crust of the empanadas was buttery, flaky, and delicious. All the fillings were good, but you have to try the Hawaiian filling! It was truly fantastic and had us wishing that's all we'd ordered. * Guava Finger has the same perfect crust and tasty guava jam--I could eat a dozen of these and come back for more. *oink oink* * Carissa really enjoyed their lentil soup. I didn't try it, so I can't comment. The Meh: * I kind of prefer the chunks of meat in Peruvian empanadas to the ground meat in Colombian ones, but that's just a personal preference. It was still delicious, so at the end of the day, it's all academic. The Ugly: * No indoor dining, and outdoor dining is limited to only a handful of seats. Conclusion: We've been on the hunt for the best empanadas in the South Bay, and we finally found them.

Friendly staff. It's not exactly a restaurant like you might expect from the listing/reviews…read more There's no inside seating and very limited outside. It's basically a bakery-like store that has a wonderful selection of Colombian style empanadas and colclos (so?). They also have some delicious looking flans and a few other items. Need to go back and try more. The chicken large empanada and Hawaiian empanada I had were both amazing. Limited beverage selection, unfortunately. Friendly staff and reasonable prices.

This is for the pupusa review only! Please stop making this and calling it pupusas. The masa was…read morenot cooked thoroughly, very undercooked. Not well made at all, and no curtido to go with it? Terrible

Wonderful new addition to the area. Loved their pupusas and caldo de res.read more

This place makes me want to visit San Mateo just to eat here!…read more I am currently on a very difficult journey to try everything on the menu, but the problem is I keep wanting to reorder the same staples, especially their famous Cubanos. Everything I've tried has been delicious, and the sauces are seriously amazing. They make their own chimichurri sauce, a super spicy habanero sauce, and a creamy white sauce that somehow makes every bite even better. The fresh juices are also worth trying. You can tell they're actually fresh. This spot is flavorful, memorable, and absolutely worth going out of your way for.

Went on a hike nearby and found this place for food afterwards…read more It's a small restaurant with some outdoor seating as well, right on El Camino. The place wasn't very busy . They have a variety of options , including salads, bowls, wraps and sandwiches. They also had multiple customizable options for vegetarians or vegans that included impossible patty, broccoli or veggies . I got the Quesawrap with Maduros ( plantains ) and veggies options. It came with a side salad as well. Unfortunately , they made the wrap with some seafood or meat , the 1st time. Luckily ,I checked before eating and notified the staff. They made a new one for me and comped off some amount from the bill. The staff was very friendly. They also have a bunch of interesting sauces . Would try this place again

Nice people. The waiter gave me a free bottled water for my to-go Pollo Dorado$18. This dish is a…read moredeep fried chicken thigh with a little side salad and rice. You have a choice of beans or fries. They truncated the menu. One side is Mexican food, the other side is Colombian food.

Very nice and welcoming service. Food was delicious! I love the arrow con pollo. He also gave us a…read morelittle sample of the arrow and a small smoothie. Delicious!!

We wanted a quick, casual bite at the awkward late Saturday afternoon time. We'd always wanted to…read moretry this spot. We stopped by -- and it was spectacular. It packed the flavor punch of homestlye cooking and would rival more expensive sit-down restaurants. What a gem! We ordered the Venezuelan arepa, birria empanada, mushroom empanada, side Macondo salad, and passion fruit juice. Every dish was fantastic, and I'd easily recommend any of the above. Venezuelan arepa -- the was ridiculously yummy. The perfect balance of creamy, rich avocado sauce with chicken. It was hearty, balanced, and perfectly seasoned. Birria empanada -- this was delicious, rich, and perfect for the particularly chilly late afternoon. Birria on point. If you're craving birria in a delectable, crispy empanada format, you'll be quite happy. Mushroom empanada -- yummy. We love mushroom empanadas and they executed this one well. Macondo side salad -- surprisingly fantastic! Did not expect it to be so tasty. It was only a side dish for the combo, but it held its own among the baked goods. That's how yummy it was. Passion fruit juice -- sweet and relatively thick. They definitely didn't water it down! If you're a fan of passion fruit juice, you'll must try this one. Environment was fast casual. Only drawback was althe comfort level of a few of the dining chairs, which sloped backwards in an awkward way. The bench actually felt more comfortable, so we opted for that. Take out seems easy and common here, so we'll like try that as well in the future. Located on a busy street, but you can almost always find free parking down one of the perpendicular side streets. Looking forward to coming back for a delicious, casual bite!

The empanadas are the star of the show for me. This place is like your aunties cooking inside and…read moreserving the home made food you grew up eating. Not that expensive, hot, and full of flavor. And yo can buy them ala carte if you don't want to spend too much. It's small, no seating but a small bench outside, so it's basically to go only. The ladies are nice inside, and are fast. It's a small little Alameda gem.

Delicious food, great service and love the authentic menu items. I love that the menu isn't…read moreoverwhelming and look forward to trying new items in the future

Excelente atención, y demasiado rica la comida.. y si van…read morecon niños pidan los buñuelos que combinannnn muy bien con la lechona!!

I had to try The Empanada King for a second time since my students enjoyed it the first time…read morearound. They make large orders for groups so easy with their online menu options. As long as you give 24hours notice you can order in bulk by the dozen. Some of our group favorites are the organic chicken & spinach-artichoke savory empanadas! Of course, you can't go wrong with the sweet banana and chocolate either. The sweet ones tend to be a bit bigger in size! The pickup process was seamless. I highly recommend for student events or group gatherings!

Wrapper is light and not heavy which I like. The filling tasted very strongly of olive so if that…read moreisn't your thing then you won't like the classic beef ones. It has ground beef, boiled egg, and olives. Overall it was okay, I would have preferred it come with more stuffing for the money.

Amazing experience at Fonda Colombiana! The food was absolutely delicious!!! full of flavor and…read morecooked perfectly. You can really tell everything is made with care. We order the bandeja paisa, la toxic, and side of empanadas Carlos was our server and he was outstanding. Super attentive, friendly, and made sure we had everything we needed the entire time. His service definitely made the experience even better. Great food, great service, and a welcoming atmosphere. We'll definitely be coming back!

This place is a hidden gem. It's a small shop tucked away in the middle of a tiny strip mall, but…read moreonce you walk inside, it's beautifully painted and decorated. It has a super homey, welcoming vibe. Here is the breakdown of what we ordered: Bistec with Chorizo: The serving size was huge! Definitely big enough for two light eaters. It was really tasty overall, though I do wish the beef had been a bit more tender. Beef Empanadas: Hands down, some of the better ones I've ever had. The skin was thin and perfectly crispy, and the filling was packed with flavor. Pair them with their chili oil sauce... yumm! To top it off, our waitress was incredibly friendly and made us feel right at home. I'll definitely be returning to try some new dishes next time!

Good vibes and good tacos…read more We got some tacos at the pop up at almanac brewery in Alameda, and they were a great bar bite. The owners are super friendly as well. Next time, I want to try their columbian twist on a banh mi!

Ran into Mezcla while visiting a local brewery in Alameda. Their pop up was about to shut down for…read morethe day, but Juan offered to get something going for my friends and I! I had the chance to try their delicious hard tacos. Paired with their salsa, these become really competitive. Their menu was more interesting - columbian food with a Vietnamese twist. Their customer service and enthusiasm for fusion cuisine makes the food feel more meaningful. Hope they'll be doing more pop ups in the Bay Area!