Marini's Empanadas is a Houston institution for a reason. They've been around forever, and the consistency and quality still hit every single time. The selection is expansive. There's truly something for everyone...and honestly, I've never had anything here that wasn't good. That said, I always come back to my staples: Las Adelitas, The Oinker, and Italian Marcelo. Each one is packed with flavor, perfectly seasoned, and made with love. Whether you're a first-timer or a longtime Houstonian, Marini's never disappoints. A must-visit...and revisit. read more

This place has been on my radar for a long time and finally stopped today. That was best decision I made all day. The place was tucked off in plaza I had to get up in there and was so pleasantly surprised. So cozy and cute. They have a great selection of empanadas and all the ones I had were sooooooo good. The spinach was a little juicier than I anticipated but everything was made so fresh. The Tia Maria and eggplant were my favorites and the sauces were a great addition in flavor. The dessert empanada sweet potatoes was top tier. The filling was just sweet enough, definitely want to taste the others, especially since they make their own fruit fillings. I can see how they've been around for so long. New customer alert ! read more

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As the city's most beloved businesses, the Original Marini's Empanada House carries with it over 5 decades of tradition and legacy as the oldest Argentine business in the city. It is still run by the original family of the founders (#1) and is a destination for all things empanada and Argentina. Despite the original location closing due to a fire 40 years ago, the current setup is still reminiscent of tradition and a rich history. From photos of the Marini family adorned throughout the walls, to the old school feel of the interior and outer corridor, the place feels like it's from another time. Their menu consists of a variety of empanadas, some of which lean heavier toward the traditional Argentine flavors such as their beef gaucho, which is an excellent mix of ground beef, hard boiled egg, olives, onions, and spices. The humita is a veggie friendly choice, with seasoned creamed corn, with onions, spices, and mozzarella cheese. Some other more creative options, such as the chuckwagon (ground beef, red wine sauce, mushrooms, onions and tomato) or Texas BBQ (slow cooked beef in bbq sauce) are a deviation from the traditional stuff but are no less fun to order. the Tex-Mex ups the ante from the Texas BBQ with added serrano peppers, jack and cheddar cheese. Almost all the empanadas are around $4-5 each. Empanadas might get all the shine, but the most fascinating part to me is the specialty sandwiches. Their series of milanesa based sandwiches are impressive, as well as the choripan ($13.50), which is a grilled Italian sausage with veggies, is not easily found in Houston. The churrasco ($18.50) is the heartiest choice, with chunks of marinated New York steak in chimichurri, in sandwich or salad form. The service has been friendly and the parking is a non-issue. Prices have steadily crept up over the years, but there aren't enough businesses with the same repertoire that brings the same kind of versatility that Marini's has. I look forward to many more meals and hope to make a dent in their vast selection of dessert empanadas. I genuinely hope they continue to keep their tradition and family legacy alive for the future generation. ____________ (#1) The children of Marcello and Pelusa Marini. read more

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Incredible food, especially the desert empanadas, great people, good vibes, must try the gaucho empanada read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Fig w/ everything, Evita Peron, Chuckwagon, Gaucho - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

I'm not the first to tell you this but you should eat at Marini's. This place has the best empanadas you'll ever come across, and they're dirt cheap to boot. The service here is also lovely and you'll be remembered if you come often enough. read more

Pretty good empanadas. But they need the chimichurri. The tuna one was underwhelming. Corn one was good but so much cheese!! read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

Always stop by when I'm in town. Empanadas are so flavorful and if you enjoy spiciness, use the habanero sauce. A few of my favorites are Nacho Macho, Texas BBQ and Chicken Diablo. Haven't had many of the desserts but the S'mores is top notch. And the staff is always so kind and welcoming. It's like going to see your grandma or your favorite Tia. read more

Every. Single. Time. This place is tops. Ate outside on one of the two balconies, surrounded by plants and Houston sunshine. Best for a long lunch, to go lunch, dinner, anytime... sweet and savory, an "ORIGINAL"! read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Empanadas (Magnificat, Four Cheese, Chicken Al A Queen, Figs with everything) - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Incredible empanadas in Houston. Love the rustic old school dining room. It's very European so you can see it and feel it, teleported back to Europe. The empanadas are $4 each and if you make it a double, it's $7.50/8. Love how flakey, brittle, buttery, crispy the exterior crust for the "porker" empanada. Fresh flavors with moist pork meat, awesome how clean it tasted. Add the chutney and man, it's a flavor bomb. The ground beef empanadas is lovely beef flavor, fresh ground beef with super moist interior meat. The green chutney adds alot of freshness and it cleanse the pallet for sure. The organ he red chutney is super spicy. Mix it with all the empanadas including the all cheese. A must try to be in Houston and for me, I'm a sauce guy, I want all the sauces. read more

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As an Argentine, these empanadas taste just like the ones back home. They are absolutely incredible, and if you have not tried them yet, then you are really missing out. I am lucky to live far away from Marini's, otherwise I would be eating their empanadas every single day and putting on many pounds. We usually order a regular sized dozen because the doubles are huge. Some of our favorite flavors are beef gaucho, fugazetta (mozzarella & onions), humita (fugazetta + creamed corn), and tuna. Also, I always get the box with mixed alfajores by the register and they are delicious. The atmosphere is cozy and the italian music is a nice touch. Employees are super friendly and service is fast. There are tons of parking too. I love this place and highly recommend it! read more

Marini's never fails to impress. Having been to Argentina many time, business and personal, Ive had a few empanadas - in restaurants and steer vendors and in homes - and Marini's is as real as they come. I had the Nacho Macho and a pizza style this time. So good. Crunchy French fries. Home made chimichurri (?) sauce. And a sweet treat to finish lunch off. Not my 1st time and won't be my last. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - The 2 empanada lunch combo. - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

Es un negocio donde son especialistas en empanadas argentinas y están deliciosas tienen una variedad asombrosa, que ni se imaginan,hasta de fruta tienen y están deliciosas , tienen alfajores para chuparse los dedos ! Toda la comida deliciosa , aparte de las empanadas d carne y de vegetales , hay steaks, que están deliciosos , sopas, bueno yo estoy encantada con toda esa comida , la atención ni se diga es de primera , lo recomiendo ampliamente amig@s ! Los precios muy accesibles también vengan y prueben esta comida que les encantará . read more

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Came in after work because of two tik tocs I saw earlier that day I was going to preorder, but then I thought I should spend more time In there and look around, and I'm glad I did. The place is like a time capsule, pictures of the couple who started it as well as old newspaper clippings, and a empanada machine! You can actually watch them make and cook your food! They make it all by hand! And when your food is finished as a Togo order they bring it out to you There's music playing and they played music like hozier, Kane brown ,Ariana grande, and Bobby brown The woman who took my order was nice, and I didn't feel rushed, the menu is really big and they have over 30 items to choose from. I ranked mine in order from 1-4 1. Beef gaucho, 2. Hawaiian chu chu, 3. Chicken bbq 4. Texas bbq I would go again to try new ones.. read more

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The food is authentic and delicious. If you're looking for a quick meal then this is not the place. They take their time because the food is freshly made. Well worth the wait. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - English and Chicken a la Queen DELICIOUS - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

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One of the oldest running restaurant in Houston. They are Argentinian style empanada, and they have a pretty big menu that it maybe overwhelming, you can just get the combo as all combos served with a side choice of: soup, salad or curly Fries and small drink they have plenty of seating here the decor feels very homely. The service is your typical order at the counter and take a number. read more

This place has great empanadas, but why on earth do they close so early during the week?? 6pm, seriously?

Why 5 stars? Because I need to come back here several times. --- --- --- This might be the restaurant with the longest gap between when I bookmarked it and when I actually visited. When I was living in Tampa back around 2012-2013, I developed a love for churrasco. So I bookmarked a bunch of places that served churrasco and hoped to check this one out during a future Christmas visit when seeing family. Fast forward a decade and I live here now. But I'm about an hour away from this place and have never had the opportunity to stop in. But when eating a late lunch nearby, I decided to make the trek over and pick up a couple of savory and a couple of sweet empanadas, mostly to eat later that night for dinner at home. But before I got in the car, I had to at least take some sample bites, and I was not disappointed. Maybe it's because I had just come from lunch, but the sweet ones were really hitting the spot. But later at home, I actually liked the savory options better. And they were just as great re-heated, by the way. As for what I ordered, I went with the Chicken Diablo, the Texas BBQ, the Banana and the Oreo. I could have stared at that menu for about 10 minutes and still not decided on what to order because there were about 400 options and 350 of them sounded amazing. But because the cashier was just waiting on me awkwardly, I decided to finally just come up with something. I would definitely love to come back with people so that I can try more empanadas, but also so that I can try some of the non-empanada menu items. I cannot believe it took me this long and I pledge it won't be 10 years before I make visit #2! read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Texas BBQ, Chicken, Banana and Oreo - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

Been coming here for years. Authentic family owned restaurant, friendly staff, and lots of choices. You can always ask the cashier for recommendations. 3 empanadas per person will probably fill you up. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

This place has a perfectly crispy empanada! Can't go wrong with getting any of their vast selection. We got both a sweet and savory one. The savory was the typical ground beef, great with some tomatillo salsa tossed in there for a little spice. The sweet was basically a blueberry-raspberry jam, probably my fav between this and the savory. Would love to be able to try more, until next time. read more

The customer service is super nice here. The empanadas were just ok. Having lived in Buenos Aires for 10 years I was so happy to be able to have a taste of 'home'. Sadly they didn't quite hit the mark in the store. Now we took them home and reheated and they were much better. Maybe because the dough is so thick it needed to cook longer. The filing was nice but the dough is really off. Quite thick. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Beef empanadas - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

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It is not often you get to have authentic Argentinian empanadas and then visit with the husband / wife dynamo team who created this Houston treasure. Although I have been to Marini's original empanada house many times , it has been awhile since Covid that I was willing to eat inside. The food was ordered and delivered to our table quickly. Fresh, hot and made to order !! 1 bite into the succulent spinach empanadas and I was hooked .We shared a few bites of the chicken milanesa that my table ordered and I was in " food heaven". For dessert we ordered sweet potatoe empanadas with lightly sprinkled powder sugar. Have I died and gone to HEAVEN? Pure bites of deliciousness that was not overly sweetened. A few moments later after we had placed an order to go, the wonderful founder Mr .Marcelo Marini came by to say hello . We shared some beautiful stories of his humble beginnings after leaving Argentina and even brought his desert chef out from the back Mrs.Marini to chat for a moment. A wonderful experience. A beautiful soulful restaurant. Yes!!! We wanted some empanadas later for when we had some evening munchies. Return: Absolutely Parking: plentiful Price: reasonable read more

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Food in Acadiana with Empanada Guy has me spoiled The dough was classic but man just not the same as artisan Empanadas at Empanada Guy in Lafayette, La read more

Some of the best empanadas I've had probably ever! Even though the place seemed a little hidden from the main street, the inside felt very homey. My wife and I bought a variety of flavors and enjoyed every one of them. Everything was made on the spot and came out pretty quick. read more

We probably wouldn't've ended up here were it not for a couple of our friends who insisted on showing us this place. We're Austinites, but we traveled out to Houston for the furry convention in the next door hotel. That's right, this review is written by a furry. Enjoy that knowledge, LOL. When you're at a weekend-long con, you gotta eat, and you gotta fuel yourself with something actually decent too, not just greasy fast food. I'm not sure how far off from that this actually was, but pfft. Anyway, upon entering I found myself pretty dang impressed by the menu because um, that's a lotta empanadas. That said, it was almost too many options because my brain was on overload trying to decide (I guess most would consider that a good problem). It definitely convinced me to get two flavors, not just one. Snagged the Beef Gaucho and Hawaiian Chu-Chu. I reckon most people see a menu like that as a reason to return repeatedly to try all the flavors. I know our friends went multiple times over the 3-day convention, so that shows you. Personally, I didn't find my choices all that compelling. The Hawaiian tasted exactly like a Hawaiian pizza, and the other was sorta unremarkable too. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised? But I was expecting better for all the hype. The fries were hella good though. I dunno. I don't really see myself stopping in again in the future when there are lots of other places to try in the area. Not that it wasn't decent, just that it wasn't incredible, y'know? Pricing was decent. Maybe I should've tried a dessert empanada... maybe that'd've changed my tune, LOL. I'm open to the possibility I just didn't pick the good ones. The ambiance was sorta fun. Lots of kitschy stuff to look at, kinda homey. We waited quite awhile for our meal, but we had good company and there was room to sit and vibe. So sorry, no five-stars from me, but it was fine for a one-off stop. read more

The place is a nice surprise! The empanadas are tasty, fresh, and feel very light. They have both sweet and savory ones, and they can customize if you have a preference. They offer multiple drinks, including with alcohol they have both red and rose, and a varied selection of sodas. They also have plenty of goodies to take out, like palmeritas, suspiros, and alfajores. It's self service, so you order from the counter and seat. They will bring the food to you, and recover the plates after you are done. You have indoors and outdoors seating, and it's good for big or small parties. read more

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This place was incredible! Very fast service and super friendly. The empanadas were to die for and the price was very reasonable. I had the four cheese empanada and one with chicken, mozzarella, and spinach.l with a blueberry dessert empanada. 10/10 highly recommend!! read more

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Finally made it here since it's quite far from where I am. Food was OK, I think it's a bit too doughy. Price range was good and the portions are big. The regular size is big already so the double are huge. Definitely can be share with that size. Service was fast. The place is small but they have patio for outside seatings. read more

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We did not like the milanesa sammy without the bread, the chicken was very gristly....2 stars. The curly fries were tasty. The Pampas, Texmex savory empanadas were 5 stars, as well as the mini pumpkin empanada, a cup of tortilla soup, these and a bottled water made up the 5 star #1 combo. This combo gives you the option of fries, soup or a salad, I chose the soup. We picked up a few extra empanadas for our kids and some palmeritas cookies. read more

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I love this little Houston Westchase staple in the Carillon shopping center. Marini's focus is empanadas, and they have undeniably been serving the best ones in Houston for decades. While they do offer sandwiches and full sized salads, I am here for the empanadas. The selection of empanadas is quite extensive. From meat to vegetarian to savory and sweet--they offer it. One can also choose more traditional Argentinian varieties, or choose from one of their fun creations--mostly Mexican, Italian, and even bbq inspired. One can even choose the baked option or a whole wheat option if one desires. If you'd like to try several items, go for the Numero Uno combo which includes two regular sized empanadas, a small dessert empanada, and your choice of side. There's definitely some more unusual choices. On my last visit I tried the Hippie combination which was salami, sautéed onions, and raisins. It sounded bizzare and unappetizing, but it was an interesting contrast of salty and sweet. I enjoyed it. The traditional Gaucho is a much more safe and popular choice. The most fun things about this place is sitting on the left side of the restaurant. It feels more like a bar, while sitting on the right side of the restaurant carries a totally different vibe. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Combo - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I ordered the Hot Tia Maria, Linda's Chicken, and Spinach empanadas. They were flavorful and there was a substantial amount of filling. My favorite was the Linda's Chicken. The Hot Tia Maria had spicy beef inside and reminded me of a spicy beef ragu. I would definitely go back to try the other menu items especially the desserts. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Menu - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

Marini's is one of those place that welcomes you with a warm embrace and sends you off with a full belly. It is family owned and has some of the best empanadas with SO many fillings (savory and sweet)! The interior is full of signatures and pieces relating to the owners and creators. If you're on the west side of town I definitely recommend it. We love coming here every chance we get! read more

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Awesome place for hot and fresh empanadas. I love how many options there are to choose from. My favorites were the beef gaucho and humita. If you love cheesy corn, the humita is perfect. The beef gaucho was so savory, and I loved how the pastry soaked up all of the grease. The chicken bbq and italian marcello were more non-tradional flavors, and I enjoyed them. They both tasted how you'd expect. The hot tia maria just tasted like stewed beef, and the green hulk just tasted like spinach. The fries were delicious!! It seems like they use freshly cut potatoes. They're fried so well and I love that they're curly. read more

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Run, don't walk to this empanada house. I have been eating here for over 15 years and it's as good today as it was 15 years ago. It's the best in town for authentic Argentinian empanadas! read more

My first site of this place was on Guy's Diner, Drive in and Dives. I started off with a sweet tooth with the the dulce de leche and cherry. When ordering online you have the opportunity to add chocolate to it. I decided to add the chocolate to the cherry. I will say I made a mistake with that. I should of just left it as cherry. Now grant it the flavor was not bad but I won't do it again. The empanadas a a nice size and they are not stingy on the filling. They do have some outside seating and seating inside, the there were a lot of people coming in out and out, you can see them making it fresh. Customer service was good and the service was not long. It was filling I can see this as a dinner with a salad. There is lot on the menu that I will keep in mind to have on my next trip. read more

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Yelp does it again! We were in Houston for the Texans/ Steelers game and found this place nearby. When I tell you it hit the spot... I got 2 savory and 1 sweet empanada. It was so delicious with the spicy green sauce! It filled me up for sure. Got the homemade sangria and it was a perfect combo with the meal. The service was quick and they were very friendly/ helpful. The place was a good packed and you could tell this was a town favorite. Will definitely come here again! read more

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Marini's is 10/10! They are super popular and now I understand why. They empanadas were fresh and the staff was friendly. There not much I can say, other than - WOW! "Spectacular! Give me 14 of them!" read more

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Being from Argentina, this place brings me back to my roots. The empanadas are legitimate and they offer a variety for every taste. I would also recommend the Milanesa Sandwich either the beef or the chicken with those delicious curly fries. Great service and you just might see Mr and Mrs Marini there. It's always a great conversation with him. I highly recommend them. read more

The Original Marini's Empanada House - Latin American Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Just Jumping in to update my review from my last visit....you know, had to eat another 5 in a sitting for "quality control"... And while my eyes were way bigger than my stomach on this one, I have to say Marinis continues to grow on me. Although arguably similar, I could swear, like fine wine, these little fried puffy babies get better each visit? Maybe I chose a better selection this time (the demichelli in particular)- but I'm thankful these little fried puffs, "born in Europe(Spain), Grew up in Argentina and baptized and were given a name [right here in] Texas" read more

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Personally I like the inside stuff Like the chicken Diablo, hot Tia Maria they are really good But I really don't like the outside of the empanada They are not crispy at all And they feel like a hard dough I really can not get used to it The place is packed so many people I strongly recommend to order online first read more

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Excellent creative menu. To go options. Fast efficient and friendly. A must stop if traveling and staying at nearby hotels