Empanada Kitchen | Argentinian Fast Food Restaurant in San Diego

Empanada Kitchen is a casual Argentinian-inspired restaurant specializing in freshly made empanadas with a variety of fillings suited to diverse tastes, including vegetarian and meat options. The establishment operates with a fast food service style, offering dine-in, takeaway, kerbside pickup, and delivery to accommodate different dining preferences. Open daily with hours tailored to breakfast, lunch, and early dinner, it provides a convenient option for quick bites or casual meals throughout the day.

The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, featuring outdoor seating and a family-friendly environment that is also LGBTQ+ and transgender safe, ensuring inclusivity for all guests. Accessibility considerations include wheelchair-accessible parking, entrances, seating, and restrooms. The restaurant accepts multiple payment methods, including credit cards and NFC mobile payments, and facilitates reservations and catering services for groups.

Empanada Kitchen emphasizes comfort food with healthy and vegetarian choices available, alongside specialty coffee and desserts. Pricing is moderate, reflecting quality ingredients and handcrafted preparation. Whether dining solo or with groups, patrons can expect a straightforward, efficient experience in a bright, approachable setting.

For a comprehensive look at the full range of offerings, including seasonal specials and desserts, users are encouraged to explore the complete menu available through the dedicated menu page.

Outdoor seating
Kerbside pickup
No-contact delivery
Delivery
Takeaway
Dine-in

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Solo dining

Wheelchair-accessible car park
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Wheelchair-accessible seating
Wheelchair-accessible toilet

Credit cards
Debit cards
NFC mobile payments
Credit cards

Sherry Hudson

26/03/2026

Chicken empanadas are truly juicy and have good flavor. The lamb could use a tad bit more seasoning. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal especially with the dipping sauce.

Patrick Mederos

24/03/2026

After a long day at the Baloboa Park we wandered past the San Diego High School and City college down Park Street and decided to walk towards the downtown on C Street. We saw this beautifully painted bright yellow store front and decided to give it a shot. From the outside walking in, the mouth-watering smell of the kitchen smells lured us in this lambently lit area. There's a couple of see-thru display showcasing the empanadas so you can pick exactly which one you want. The excellent options of flavors is very broad. They offer vegetarian, beef, chicken, mushroom, lamb and more! We tried the chicken, ratatouille veggie and beef empanadas. They are the best empanadas I've had! The chimichurri sauce both spicy and regular are very delightful! The spicy is perfect. I recommend everyone to go here and try this out.

Brandon Hickey

21/03/2026

This place has the BEST empanadas in San Diego!!! I got the beef and the sweet corn and basil. They were both great! The chimi churri is made fresh each day and is almost better then the empanadas but fact that these were handmade really stole the show and you could taste the love that has passed through from the kitchen to the food and to then to us. Do you self a favor and stop by.

Will Finley

13/01/2026

Cool spot that is basically grab and go. Got the ham and cheese, beef, and Italian sausage (the special). Their 3 for $11.95 is...not bad. Would love to run the menu on this place. The spicy chimichurri was good. It's medium not crazy hot. The chimi with the Italian sausage was excellent

Colton Crist

11/01/2026

Absolutely great little place serving delicious meat pockets. I've had to go here a couple times before I could try their lamb empanadas, they sold out on previous days before noon. I would definitely recommend getting their house made chimichurri sauce to go with your pockets. I also love how each empanada is crimped uniquely so that you can tell which one from your plate full you are eating. This is a new favorite on my list of hot spots

Ree Z (Reezi)

07/01/2026

It’s a very cute empanada shop. They are made fresh throughout the day and they were the perfect texture. Crispy on the outside with delicious light filling inside.

Linda H.

03/01/2026

Placed a catering order for 18 people to be delivered to a local hotel as we were there for a multi-team offsite. TLDR - great food and very accommodating for a large catering order. We were working through lunch as we had a lot of things to discuss and work on, so I emailed to clarify our location, which was the second floor of the hotel. I didn't realize that their normal delivery method doesn't allow for this, but they totally made it work for us and Sophia delivered our food to us herself. Despite our large order and having add ons, they got it right. Would totally order for them again.

Ivy Ebanks

28/12/2025

I was looking for a bite to eat that was small and inexpensive since I had food at home and didn't want to overspend or overindulge. As I perused Google Maps to find out what was in the area, I came across Empanada Kitchen and after reviewing the menu and determining they were in budget, I walked around the corner to their downtown location on C Street. The place is hard to miss with bright yellow painting color blocked against a white wall with black lettering. The venue is very clean and the menu is simple and easy to navigate. This was my second time coming here and both times service was great. (Shoutout to Chris and Dan!) The second time around I ordered one instead of two empanadas and settled on the pollo (chicken) with the chimichurri. I LOVE that the empanadas are baked versus fried for those that care about how their food is prepared. It was flaky and not too crispy on the outside and then succulent on the inside. The chimichurri is heavily seasoned (which I like) so if too many flavors simultaneously in your mouth isn't your kind of party, don't ask for it! Will definitely make this a local go to spot. If you like supporting local and small businesses, put your money where your mouth is!