Ruben’s Empanadas
“Great lunch spot with solid service, Seinfeld playing in the restaurant…”
“But i seriously liked the cheese empenada, to the point where i'll totally go back next time i venture toward the South Street Seaport for whatever occasion occurs.”
“And the yellow rice and beans, though not heavily spiced, were very comforting to me.”
Ruben’s Empanadas
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Inexpensive
8 reviews
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I like the place for a few reasons…
1. For quick eats, it's an alternative to the burger/chain places and the steam table/pizza slice spots that dominate the area.
2. Grab and go… near Fulton station, I've taken them home for dinner.
3. The pastry isn't too thick, which often mars dough-encased foods.
Taste-wise, I think it depends on what you order. I had chicken, for example, and it was simply decent – but nothing special. But the spicy beef with beans/peppers had a nice little kick.
It might not be as good or cheap as you get from the donkey-led food cart vendor on the way to Machu Picchu, but for downtown NY, it's not bad.
Very tiny location but the chicken empanada is okay & filling for me. Service has been friendly enough when I've gone. Good place to go if you're just looking for something small to eat that you can take back to the office. Plus, they're a grade A oasis in a sea of not so great food options in the area w/grades to match.
They are large!
So large they had trouble closing the container.
Our office had a big takeout order from Ruben's .
I tried the chicken & corn Empanadas with order of sides (rice & bean).
The filling was not flavoured well and tasted bland. The hot sauce is nothing special.
The other Empanadas I sampled were just average.
Ummm okay… Where do I begin
I always walk by this place and I was very excited to try it. Turns out the emapanads are HORRIBLE! The dough they use taste disgusting, the chicken inside of it was disgusting and the rice and beans it came with were disgusting!!!!! I'm completely disappointed by this place. Being that its called "Rubens Empanadas" you'd think empanadas were their specialty!!! Think again because its not. I actually did not even finish my lunch I ended up just throwing the food in the garbage! I would not suggest this place for anyone for anything! Yuck!
I don't agree with other Yelpers who have given Ruben's a 2.5-Star Average Rating. The reason is due to cost ($4 per empanada), as people are used to paying $1-$2 for cheaper, lower quality, Fried empanadas. Ruben's are Baked, so the people who are used to fried ones aren't used to the "texture" as they call it in their reviews.
But Ruben's Empanada is 4-Stars in my book.
I've been coming to Reuben's since 2003 when I used to work at Deutsche Bank nearby, and Ruben's has been around since 1975 in Brooklyn.
As Argentina is known for…
– Malbec wine
– Steak
– Soccer
– Tango
– Empanadas
– Pizza
– Gelato
– Ushuaia
– Good Looking People lol
…Empanadas are all over the country. I've been throughout Argentina and can vouch that these are probably as close as you get to Authentic Argentine Empanadas. I say close, cause they're not as good as the real ones, but still very good.
For those who don't know, the difference between Argentine and other Latin American empanadas, is that they're Baked vs Fried.
Argentina and Mexico will BAKE their empanadas, whereas the Caribbean Latin countries (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, etc.) will DEEP FRY them.
I prefer Baked empanadas over Fried ones, as I think they taste better, not as greasy, and are not as bad for you as the fried ones.
Ruben's has 22 different flavors of Empanadas, and all of them have a very soft, buttery crust, but my Favorites, IN ORDER, are:
1. Argentine Sausage: ground beef, pork & onions sauteed in a red wine sauce
2. Ham & Cheese: diced ham, mozzarella, ricotta & cheddar cheese
3. Beef: ground beef, sauteed onions, raisins and spices
4. Chicken: chicken breast with onions in a creamy white sauce
5. Turkey: ground turkey, garlic, oregano, onions and cumin
The Dessert Empanadas are Ok, but not great.
I'd get the Alfajores instead, which is the National Cookie of Argentina, and next to impossible to find in NYC. It's a sort of dry chocolate cookie-cake filled with dulce de leche. Very Decadent and Good!
And I agree that they're a little pricey for empanadas, but the quality is really good, they're close to authentic, and you only need two of them to get full as they're really big.
Lastly, I Prefer this Fulton Street location over the Pearl Street location as it's bigger, more seating, and less busy.
Overall, I really like the empanadas from Ruben's and get them every few weeks, so I highly recommend this place!
This Ruben's gets a bad rap and it's not all that terrible. I get the Argentine sausage empanada and beyond that I don't need to sample the entire menu. Their chili is pretty good. The reason I keep coming back here is because the owner always listens to and sings Madonna. So if you're having a rough morning and by 11 AM you need an empanada with hot sauce, you can rock out to Borderline as an added bonus. Really it could be worse – it's the only empanada spot in the area.
I may have had some stale one but the flavor and taste has gone down significantly over the over the year. The Argentina empenada was a poor quality of meat. I tasted not pork or sausage
The breakfast sausage is really tasteless.
I felt like i wasted my money
I also had the guave empenada. It had to teaspoons of guava wrapped in Pastry puff. It was a waste of effort.
I really like their empanadas, especially the beef with raisins. And the yellow rice and beans, though not heavily spiced, were very comforting to me. I also like the tall chairs and the tv with Seinfeld playing, making this an enjoyable place to have lunch and forget Fulton street for a while.