I love getting the empanadas from here. They are authentic crispy fresh and gluten-free. I also love their salsa. Very good. Definitely recommend trying a few different ones. This restaurant offers walk in or to go and offers a lot of indoor seating options. read more

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The woman who took my order behind the counter was just so friendly, and she had a smile the entire time we talked. After I placed an order for 2 empanadas, she pointed to a blackboard I had missed to let me know I could convert that to a lunch special which included a small salad and a lemonade, which I did. For a salad that, as far as I could tell was just lettuce, shredded carrot and dressing it was quite tasty, and I wonder what their dressing is. The lemonade was mango infused. I do not like overly sweet lemonade, and this had very little of the overt sweetness you might get elsewhere - all flavor. The empanadas are well made. Of the ones I tried today, I preferred the chorizo and cheese, which had a taste and texture of meaty and gooey. I had expected the chicken in the other empanada to be a bit firmer, until I remembered that it is more of a chicken stew. Both were very good, and I enjoyed both of the sauces that came with them. It's getting tougher and tougher to come to Galleria 7 and know what I want to get, all the choices are so tempting. read more

Viva Empanadas - Lunch special - 2 empanadas with salad and lemonade - Latin American Near Me - Latham, New York

They make it fresh when you order thats why it takes a while to get it. I only ordered the colombianita but it is yummy served with light green sauce. i wish they serve it with fresh sauce rather than blended one. This is located inside Galleria 7 Market. read more

Viva Empanadas - Colombianita - Latin American Near Me - Latham, New York

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Got my order to go when I opened the carton my chicken empanada had exploded and the ingredients were burnt rendering half of my lunch inedible.when they packed it up they had to know that it was not satisfactory and they served it anyway.first and last visit here!! read more

Excellent steak. Since it's an empanadas place and I am trying the low carb deal, I went for the steak and was very satisfied with it. I will return next time I am in the Albany area. read more

So delicious and made right in front of your eyes. Pico de gallo was amazing and all those sauces that came with the empanadas were delicious highly recommend.!!! We moved from Denver and these matched or exceeded anything there! read more

Viva Empanadas - Restaurant view - Latin American Near Me - Latham, New York

My wife brought me here and I had to try their Empanadas. There are several other area restaurants that focus on these fried delicacies, and I have to say that I liked the ones here the best. I ordered a beef one (with peppers and onions) and a spicy chorizo one (with potatoes inside). The chorizo empanada had a really nice cornmeal crust with more crunch then a heavy metal concert, and it was a nice change of pace from the normal empanadas I get. It wasn't terribly spicy, though. The beef empanada was a bit more typical and while I did enjoy the stewed beef filling, I had trouble navigating the onions inside and had pick and bite around them. The dough was still fried but it wasn't as crunchy as the other one. Both, however, were a bit greasy but they were deep fried. At $4 each, I thought the price fair for empanadas this good. My wife ordered the tostones which were really crunchy as well... perhaps they are always like that, but this was my first time trying them. I liked it though it made it really hard to eat without dumping the contents onto my shirt. They were topped with cheese, beef, some pico, and crema. The price seemed fair enough, though I will stick with my empanadas next time. I ordered a lemonade which was homemade and was flavored, or mixed with, some other fruit. I thought perhaps mango, but I can't be sure. As a lemonade lover, I found it really nice and a bit different. The woman server was very pleasant, and it was a nice meal to enjoy. I just wish it were warmer outside on the day of our visit, as it felt more like street food to be enjoyed in the sun. I also would have liked a bottle of hot sauce or two to help augment the flavors of the empanadas. read more

If you like your empanadas frozen, you might like this place! We waited for close to an hour for food, and when I asked them to take it off our bill, they did not. I wouldn't recommend this place. The idea and concept to have an empanada restaurant, means that your empanadas need to be good, or at least cooked. Also how hard is it to run some fryers? I feel like it should be an easy enough process... oh well, I hope folks don't go here! It was NOT a good experience at all! read more

Highly recommend this restaurant. Viva Empanadas I'm reviewing it for the gluten-free community as well. The food is excellent. If you haven't had one before it's a fried turnover basically very common in southern Europe and Latin American countries filled with a variety of fillings and she has a full menu of options not only empanadas. We've tried so many things on the menu now and I'm very comfortable recommending it for the gluten-free community as I have celiacs and have had absolutely no problems. I have brought trays of these treats to parties and I've served them to friends and brought them to catered events and have always had positive results and excellent service and quality food. read more

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Service was friendly and food seemed to be priced okay. The tostones ($12) were crispy with a wonderful avocado crema. Four tostones come to an order with cheese, crema, beef and pico. The Empanadas ($4 per) my husband ordered were also good. The beef had lots of peppers and onions. I by far preferred the chorizo even though it was greasy. The Empanadas crust was slightly grainy like cornmeal was in the dough which was great. We ordered 2 tropical lemonades ($4) which were also good. Id ask for less ice next time. read more

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A week ago my wife got empanadas from Viva Empanada while I was at work, and since she has insisted daily that we go together to try them for myself. We originally tried on Sunday but they were unexpectedly closed (the owner later told me they closed due to selling out of their daily inventory) so we came again today. Immediately we could see the menu was very inclusive with vegetarian gluten free and vegan options. The menu was very reasonably priced as well, with an assortment of dishes. When we walked up the owner, a very sweet woman named Veronica greeted us and helped us with their menu. We chose after her suggestions 2 Chicken Sofrito, 2 Chorizo, and 2 Colombianitas. My wife got the 2 Chicken, I got the 2 Chorizo and we split the Colombianitas. The dough was so perfectly fried in all my empanadas and chicken and potato filling was seasoned perfectly. The chorizo had a great flavor and texture and the cheese was nicely melted. Each empanada came with sauces as well. I had gotten the spicy pico, cilantro avocado, and chimichurri. The spicy pico had nice chunks of onion and tomato, and the cilantro avocado was subtle and tangy. The chimichurri was very well balanced as well. Veronica especially was so nice after as well, so wonderfully passionate about the food they make. When I mentioned that it was a special day for us, she kindly gave us a very sweet gift. Can't wait to come back and try and enjoy many more of their dishes in the future! read more

We did not expect to find this excellent quality of home made foods. We are shocked and delighted and will be sending our friends here and coming back ourselves read more

Viva Empanadas - Viva Emoenadas!! - Latin American Near Me - Latham, New York

We've been eating here for a while, and the food is consistently delicious. The portions are generous. We especially love the rotisserie chicken and arepas, in addition to the empanadas. We're so lucky to have this place right down the road. read more

I can't say enough wonderful things about this delicious find! My fiancé and I where in the area and ordered from this amazing place, we tried the ropa vieja, chicken, spinach and chorizo empanadas that came with a tasty salad and NOT overly sweetened mango lemonade. Not only was this a great deal, the empanadas where fantastic. The owner is lovely and super friendly, even has the most lovely necklaces and colorful jewelry on the display! Will definitely be returning when we are in the area again. LOVED this place. read more

This place served one of the best Latin American food we have ever eaten! It was very flavorful and had good portion sizes. We got the vegetarian viva arepas and vegetarian viva special (2 empanadas + rice + beans + pico de gallo). There aren't a ton of veggie options but what they have is really good! The place is situated in a food court hall and is a nice place to hangout. Definitely recommend it! read more

Viva Empanadas - Vegetarian viva arepas (bottom) and viva special (veganlicious and spinach empanadas) - Latin American Near Me - Latham, New York

I ordered the viva special which included two empanadas, rice, beans, and a salad. WOOOOOWWWW! I ate it so fast I didn't even have time to take a picture. I cannot recommend this place enough. The food is phenomenal- super fresh and the lady behind the counter was so nice. I went back and got some churros which were super good as well, nice and crunchy and just the perfect amount of sweetness. read more

Viva Empanadas - Latin American Near Me - Latham, New York

We did a variety of the gluten free empanadas and really enjoyed all of them. Tasty and safe for a gluten allergy.

I ordered the viva empanada special and got the D'verde and beef. The beef empanada was amazing and the D'verde was ok. The beans were pretty good and so was the rice. The service was pretty fast as well. I would definitely eat here again. read more

Delicious! We only had the gluten free Empenadas and they were the best I've had in the area!

I had a chance to eat at Viva Empanadas Albany the people who serve are so helpful also the food was so delicious I ordered a steak It was really very nice and I enjoyed the place thank you all. read more

I cannot say enough good things about the meal I had today at Viva Empanada. My mom and I went and shared the half rotisserie chicken with rice and beans, empanada de pino, and the beef tostones. My mom isn't a cilantro fan, and the man behind the counter was great about adjusting items to her request and pointing us in the right direction in terms of empanada choice. All of the food was incredible! There was a ton of flavor in every item- and there was more than enough food. We came home with a large amount of leftover chicken, rice and beans. I would highly recommend this place to anyone! read more

Great food, very flavorful with a nice variety! Friendly service, appealing presentation and reasonable prices

Everything I've tried here is so delicious. The empanadas are perfectly fried, and the fillings are beyond. And the service is always so friendly! Even if she is super busy, she still has a smile on her face . read more

I have the chicken Sofrito empanada and the shrimp ceviche and it was amazing! Great flavors, very happy! Will go back and try more things

Amazing food and nice and amazing staff! Empanadas great, as well as the rest of the menu.

The service and empanadas are fantastic! Ordered catering for 15 people and we had more than enough. The chorizo and verde were crowd favorites. The churros were also a huge hit. Very easy to work with for catering and the order came out perfect. read more

Really good food! I got the vegan licious meal. The rice was fine. The beans were good. The star of the show the, empanadas, were definitely great. Will be back. read more