Michael L.
Yelp
That Umbrella Guy @ Jumbo Empanadas.
Came in around 7 PM on a Monday night. Compared to some other places in kensington, this place isn't too small, with seating for maybe a dozen or so. Lots of decor, with some spanish show playing on TV in the corner.
The washrooms here require key access, and the key is only given to dine-in customers. The person tending the cash called out when I went downstairs and informed me that a key was required, which is pretty nice. There's a very escape-room feel to the basement, with doors that say "DO NOT ENTER" and arrows leading you to the end of the corridor where the washrooms are. Pretty low-lighting as well, so it's really got the game atmosphere going. Hope you're ok with the dark.
Prior to entering, I saw the pictures of the empanadas on yelp and was impressed by the size of it, but unfortunately that's about the only thing that impressed me in the end. When I asked about the empanadas, the staff pointed to some racks carrying meat empanadas, opened a fridge or something up and showed us the cheese empanadas, and then opened another fridge with all the corn pies.
We ordered a chicken empanada, a vegetable empanada, and a corn pie. After asking whether we wanted sauce on the side or not, she then proceeded to toss them into an oven and served it after a few minutes. She brought over some cutlery as well.
The empanadas were quite tough to chew and also quite doughy. Felt like they had been sitting around for awhile. I was kind of expecting something chewier, flakier, hotter, juicer.
The chicken empanada came with some pulled chicken, a couple olives, and half a hard-boiled egg. But it was very bland and very dry: The chicken was pretty tasteless. Overall, I wasn't sure what I was eating. I would prefer if it had hot juices inside with a thinner wrap, but I don't know much about empanadas so maybe this is just how they are.
The vegetable empanada wasn't that much better either. It came with preserved vegetables, chopped mushrooms, a few olives, and carrot strips. It did have more flavour than the chicken version, but I didn't like the flavours. Not sure if it was the mushrooms that didn't work out for me.
The corn pie was a bit better than the empanadas. Definitely had more meat than the chicken empanada and had more flavours that I would expect of beef. There was a lot of corn on top, and a lot of minced meat on the bottom, but it was pretty average to me. Wouldn't try it again.
It's definitely a jumbo empanada, but the texture and the flavours didn't do it for me. Is it because I came in the evening?
On the bright side, I did enjoy the Soursop nectar that they had in the fridge. Service was also good. But I value food over atmosphere and service and unfortunately the food didn't meet my expectations.