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Sarah's Empanadas

4.5

5410 NC-55
Durham, NC 27713
Phone: (919) 544-2441
Visit Website

Hours:

Monday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Friday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Sunday: Closed

Price Range
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Sarah's Empanadas
Mapped location of Sarah's Empanadas

Google Reviews

4.5
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Photo of Anup Mulay Anup Mulay
Jan 16, 2022 4

Great Taste. Worth the Money. Something new to try in Spanish cuisine. Improvement would be good ventilation in the Restaurant. Frying smell remains in the restaurant.

Photo of Justin Fishel Justin Fishel
Feb 5, 2022 5

This place is an amazing gem! Support local businesses! Delicious empanadas and other wonderful treats

Photo of Janice Quick Janice Quick
Mar 1, 2022 3

I order three savory and two sweet empanadas. The fillings were good but not impressed with the pastry. Not a lot of flavor. It shouldn't compete with the filling but it doesn't complement it either.

Photo of Chris Nelson Chris Nelson
Feb 11, 2022 3

The food here is great but unfortunately they seem to be suffering from pandemic-related staffing shortages. I dropped in the other day, and waited 10 minutes, but no one ever greeted me, so I had no choice but to go elsewhere. This place is 20 minutes from me, so I can't make a special trip only to be ignored, but if I'm in the area, I'll continue to drop in and hope that they will be able to resume their previous excellent service. The food is good!

Photo of Victor-Alan Weeks Victor-Alan Weeks
Mar 2, 2022 5

Great food, pleasant staff, homey atmosphere. I looked up food and saw empanadas—couldn’t resist. Upon entering I was greeted and offered a chance to practice my Spanish. I can imagine it gets tiring for non native speakers who only know a few words to approach a conversation in Spanish, but I appreciate their patience with me while I ordered my food. The food came out fairly quickly

Photo of Gary Thompson Gary Thompson
Feb 5, 2021 5

My favorite lunchtime spot in Southern Durham. Delicious and fast.

Photo of BJ Slater BJ Slater
Oct 10, 2020 5

Really nice empanadas for a really great price.

Photo of Johanna Hux Johanna Hux
May 11, 2018 5

I had the cheese and chicken empanada, and a beef and cheese empanada with a salad and it was delicious and very filling! Wait staff is awesome as well.

Photo of Kay Lee Kay Lee
Oct 5, 2016 5

Quick service and the empanadas are consistently good for baked empanadas. Their chicken and cheese is like a higher quality hot pocket and their spinach empanada is simple but delicious. The only thing I'm not a fan about is their furniture - it has a repurposed Chinese buffet feel to them.

Photo of Steve Wood Steve Wood
Dec 16, 2015 5

One of my favorite lunch spots. They are only open for lunch Monday-Friday, and they usually get packed around noon. The Bolivian baked empanadas are awesome. I usually get the SPINACH WITH CHEESE and the CHICKEN WITH CHEESE with HALF RICE and HALF BEANS; but you can't go wrong with any of the selections here. The sauce that comes with the meal is also made in house and is scrumptious.

Photo of paul w paul w
Jul 8, 2020 5

One of the best value spots in the triangle. The empanadas are extremely good and cheap as hell, and the salsa is unique and incredible.

Photo of Jeana Routh Jeana Routh
Apr 11, 2017 5

This is a great spot for your lunch break. The service is prompt and friendly, and they drop your check when they bring your food so you can get up and pay at the door as soon as you're ready. The empanadas come very quickly and are consistently good. Prices are reasonable. Sarah's offers a reliable, pleasant experience that won't make you miss your afternoon appointments. Edit: recently tried the fried yuca and it is delicious!!

Photo of Michael Scott Michael Scott
May 17, 2019 5

Great empenadas! Even better with great people.

Photo of Zaid Alemam Zaid Alemam
Nov 9, 2019 4

First time I've truly had authentic empanadas. I ordered a Beef Empanada, a chicken and cheese one and a mushroom and cheese one. Both the Beef and chicken empanadas were great and flavorful. The mushroom and cheese were more on the bland side, but the salsa they serve really enhances the flavor. I give this place 4 stars mostly due to the fact that you will smell like fried food for the rest of the day. They do not have proper ventilation in the store and it reeks of hot oil. I felt kind of embarrassed to be back at work smelling so bad. Add proper ventilation and this is easily a 5 star restaurant.

Photo of Mike Kilmartin Sr. Mike Kilmartin Sr.
Dec 6, 2019 4

Good food came out fast at a busy lunch time

Photo of Kat Kat
Dec 13, 2019 5

Great late evening place. We went at the last minute to eat a vegan meal & it was Great!

Photo of John Morris John Morris
Aug 29, 2019 3

Good food and environment. I ordered the two chicken empanadas and half rice and beans. They took forever +1 day for my food to come out and I was the last served at our table. However, the empanadas were excellent! So, I wouldn't avoid going there if someone wanted to go but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Photo of John Foley John Foley
Oct 20, 2019 3

Been going here for years. Not much has changed other than the ownership. Maybe I've just grown tired of the menu, but the food was uninspiring. Serving sizes seem to be smaller than back in the day, but the prices are not. My other complaint is the decor, tables and chairs have never been updated. Some of these chairs are so old there's no padding left in the seats. Found it very uncomfortable on my lower back. For that reason I have no plans to return.

Photo of Denilson Nastacio Denilson Nastacio
Aug 13, 2019 5

Food is served very quickly and it is always consistently good.

Photo of Julie Vazquez Julie Vazquez
Jul 31, 2019 4

Not fancy, but definitely yummy!Great empanadas and super fast lunch service.

Photo of Meaghan McGrath Meaghan McGrath
Jul 31, 2019 4

A fast, consistent, and budget-friendly lunch option in the RTP area. The empanadas are good, and Sarah's usually has some pretty decent daily specials throughout the work week as well. Staff have always been friendly and accommodating.

Photo of Steven Daniels Steven Daniels
Apr 20, 2019 5

Hadn't been here in years. Well, that was a mistake. The meals are delicious and reasonably inexpensive. Gotta make the journey over here more often!

Photo of Sytechedge Sytechedge
Jun 16, 2019 3

Went with coworkers. Food was good but not a big fan of fried food.

Photo of Jet Sperlazza Jet Sperlazza
Jun 17, 2019 5

Well seasoned, delicious hand pies, tostones, and yucca fries. Sad they are not open for dinner/weekends since I live down the street and only had the opportunity to try them when working from home, but I will be going back at the next chance!

Photo of Marilyn Prickett Marilyn Prickett
Apr 24, 2019 5

Love this place. Only open Monday through Friday from 11am to 2pm so they are busy, but they provide quick service. Empanadas are the best I've had anywhere. They've enlarged their menu options too.

Photo of Mac Lee Mac Lee
May 16, 2019 5

It's not that the food is mind-blowing, or the service is extra amazing, or that the environment is killer, or anything like that. They execute a consistently good meal fast, tasty, no-nonsense, and affordable every single time. Five-star lunch spot for the working local, doing one simple thing fantastically, every day.

Photo of J. J. Swick J. J. Swick
Dec 24, 2021 5

Used to go there all the time when I worked near there but had not been for a long time. We've recently and it's still as great as ever.

Photo of James Mackintosh James Mackintosh
Apr 29, 2021 5

Finally got to try this place, they're amazing. Wish they had more hours, hard to get here during the week from 11-2!

Photo of Norman Gage Norman Gage
Mar 3, 2021 5

Food was excellent and the atmosphere will keep your attention. Loved it.

Photo of Jim Elliott (RapidEye) Jim Elliott (RapidEye)
Jun 8, 2022 4

Interesting mix of central American foods. Was pleasantly surprised when they had gazpacho last time I was there.

Photo of Brendon Loxton Brendon Loxton
Jun 15, 2022 5

Love this place. If it’s your first time, make sure you give the desert empanadas a try. Everything is delicious and so glad a restaurant like this is in my neighborhood.

Photo of Hal Sandick Hal Sandick
Jun 24, 2022 4

Empanadas were very good. Good fried sweet bananas. Arepa was so- so, more like a pancake than a cornmeal pocket.

Photo of T Perez T Perez
Jul 23, 2022 5

Great family owned restaurant with amazing food. This was my first time dining here and I will definitely be back.

Photo of Nancy Hatcher Nancy Hatcher
Aug 31, 2022 5

Great food, hot, tasty, and an abundance of choices. The staff is wonderful. They were all so kind and helpful.

Photo of HallWay Video Productions HallWay Video Productions
Jul 4, 2022 5

Quite possibly the best empanadas I've ever tasted! We visited Eno Fest in Durham where we tried a chicken and cheese empanada which was already amazing, and then followed it up with the guava and cheese empanada which was pretty much a religious experience 😆. Highly recommend and can't wait until my next one!

Photo of OT Dev OT Dev
May 17, 2022 5

Friendly family owned business. The empanadas and the plantains were both delicious!