Kimo Sabe
For anyone looking for a quick review I’ll just start off by saying these classes are amazing and is 100% worth the time to experience. My wife is Puerto Rican and I brought her here for a surprise empanada making class for valentines day and she absolutely loved it. Chef Inez is very friendly and professional. She did an amazing job teaching us about the process of making empanadas, showing us the tips and tricks, and giving us some of the culutural background of empanadas. We got to choose from a variety of delicious fillings to make our empanadas and I happily made one of each. Once we finished Chef Inez fried up the empanadas and we got to enjoy them with some Puerto Rico rice and chimichurri. Everything was absolutely amazing the empanadas and the fillings were good, the chimichurri sauce was so good and brought it together, and the Puerto Rican rice was so good and I can’t wait to brag about it to my mother-in-law. 10/10 a great experience and I can’t wait to come back and see what other experiences they have to offer. Thank you so much for the great time.
… moreGillian McLean
Inez was patient with us and was so great sharing her skills! The coconut mojito was so delicious and the dough and fillings for the empanadas were to die for. Highly recommend it!
… moreTouré “RayDid1”
This was a really cool place to grab a bite to eat. I got a chance to meet the owner and let me tell you, she’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met!! The food was amazing and they did everything in their power to provide me with more vegan options. The interior design was also eye catching. Chicago Empanada Mama will definitely see more business from me in the near future, THANKS!!
… moreDenise Bouras
This empanada workshop was a really fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon with friends. We learned about the origins of empanadas, had hands-on cooking time and enjoyed the very tasty end results along with some amazing arroz con gandules prepared by Inez and her team. I highly recommend this experience, it was a 10/10 all around.
… moreJennifer Pearl
Thank you so much!!! You have 6 happy nurses. Your food is absolutely delicious!! I want to drink the chimichurri!! Love it!!! We so appreciate you and your restaurant. We were going to order Panera. I said no. We need to order from our community. Plus to celebrate Bad Bunny! Xoxo
You hit it out of the park! Stay safe.
… moreDasha Guyton
Empanada Mama has a visually immersive romantic atmosphere, so it’s a great place for a day or night out on the town. My tastebuds were overjoyed by the street corn dip with plantain chips bursting in a rich, creamy, and mildly spicy flavor. Best ropa vieja empanadas ever! Unfortunately, it was downhill from there. There were only five people being served in the entire restaurant, yet service was slow. Everything was fresh and high quality ingredients were used, but there was no balance to the flavor. The peach cobbler empanada was bland because cinnamon, butter, and nutmeg weren’t used. It was just peaches and bread. The chicken empanada was juicy and herby, but it needed sea salt to bring the flavor out. Although they missed the mark on seasoning, I love the atmosphere, how nice the staff is, and they have great apetizers, so it’s definitely worth a try.
… moreZach Jansen
We did a group empanada making class around lunch and it was really fun and the food was great! Inez and her team made the experience so fun for us, I would go back with another group. We also did a mocktail experience and they were quite good!
… moreDr. Erika Montgomery
This experience making empanadas was amazing!! Great food, fun and educational process, Inez was welcoming, warm, kind, and fun,
The atmosphere was lively with good music and we ate our empanadas and Puerto-Rican rice to end the activity. We left feeling full, happy, and created wonderful family memories!! Looking forward to doing it again with my bold club!! Thank You Inez and wonderful assistants!!
… moreMaria Moreno
My daughter and I drove specifically to this place for their empanadas! Wow, they bursted with flavor! To start, the place is absolutely beautiful. We came when the restaurant wasn’t busy but, my guess is that at certain times it’s packed. Jessica was our server and she was great. The food was seasoned well, they’re not afraid to use salt, garlic and all those wonderful spices that make the wonderful Puerto Rican dishes so exceptional and unique. My daughter even commented “the chef cooking definitely comes from the island”. Their arroz con gandules was so tasty, I had to take some to go. My only regret was not eating more! I’ll be back to try more of this delicious menu. The owner, is extremely engaging and welcoming. It’s absolutely apparent she takes pride in her establishment. We were proud to support any Latina woman and her small businesses!
Also! The Lechón is AMAZING… you have to try it!
… moreLauren Schramp Castro
Great experience to assemble empanadas of all different flavors in a commercial kitchen. They pivoted quickly to accommodate our daughter’s allergies and ensured she had a great experience. The total time was just over an hour, easy parking.
… more