Mami's Empanadas

I have been “anti-food truck” for a while because I felt that the prices you pay for a food truck is the price is you supposed to pay for a restaurant. However, after Covid, the restaurant prices have all gone up between $2 - $5 & the food truck prices have gone up $1 - $3, which is what the restaurant prices were. So I guess I have to cut out price (for now) & use it as my last gauge for a review. With that, I missed the bus and found Mami’s Empanadas calling me. I’ve never had a “real” fresh empanada so it was tempting. A good menu and had to choose between the combo plate & Cubano sandwich. Decided to get what the name of the place says… empanada! Did the combo plate and it was good. Empanada was crunchy and tasty and the pulled pork was soft and tender. But, as I’ve discovered later in life, it’s the side dishes that can make or break the dish. Rice & beans may sound like an easy thing to make but it also easy to mess up. Mami did not mess up. The combo plate hit the right spot. Granted, this was my first real empanada, the rest of the combo complimented the crunchy empanada and while the rest of the plate served as left overs, the empanada was happily in my belly. Definitely recommend this food truck & will be having a Cubano next visit… and a sweet tea is always good on a hot day.

Genuine, delicious Colombian food in Hawaii, what more can you ask for. The home made hot sauce they serve is a real standout. Use it with their meat empanadas, and you can not go wrong. Excited to go back and try the rest of the menu. As a Colombian in Hawaii, I am so happy I found this place.

The customer service was AMAZING! They gave me a sample and answered all of my questions really nicely. They even brought my food to me which was really nice because I was sitting far away and they’re a food truck. The empanadas were the best I’ve ever had and the sauce was really good (I liked the pink one the most). I’d highly recommend the chicken bacon ranch and cheeseburger empanada!

First time to a Cuban food truck. The corn empanada was filled with plenty beef and had an amaizing flavour to it like no other and the hot sauce made me want more! Thank you for the great service and nice conversation. I will be back to try more…

Alex has a great personality for this gig and is clearly passionate about his food. I would recommend this truck to anyone. The empanadas were fresh, hot, delicious and came accompanied with 4 sauces.

These were by far the BEST flaky empanadas I have ever had. Normally empanadas are to thick and minimal filling on the inside. NOT Mamis!!! These were stuffed full and exquisite. I had the beef, beef and potato& arroz con pollo all delicious. You can get two sauces..I chose the green and garlic. Apparently the green is the fav and it’s good but my favorite was the garlic. It added to the flavor of the empanadas more in my opinion.

It's a food truck but there's covered seating that's surprisingly clean. All the food was great! And the empanadas were gluten free!

I thought the empanadas were good and a great price at 3 for $10. I wasn’t sure which to get, but they let me know I could try both, so I got two beef and one chicken. I preferred the beef, so glad I got more of it! The red sauce they recommended was also really good. Affordable compared to some of the food places here.

Love this place - the food trucks really make great chow - this place is the top of tier in that category though. Should be a full eatery but they would likely get raped for rent and have homeless pissing on the front door nightly if it were. This town is going downhill fast with all the homelessness and meth use in that area. No effect on this business - the owner runs a solid place and the miscreants steer clear.

Ordered 3 of these and felt underwhelmed to be honest! They didn't taste super fresh and had sort of an oily taste. I got 2 beef and potatoes and 1 chicken. Got the garlic sauce and a pink sauce for them but didn't really help. The beef potato ones almost had a curry taste - didn't taste like a latin american treat. Maybe I just came on an off day...price was fair for 3.

The food was incredible the wait time was about 6 minutes for 6 empanadas but they are made fresh and taste amazing! This place is wonderful and is great for stopping by for a snack or light meal before the beach would 100% recommend coming here!

We loved these! Pleasant surprise. Reasonable prices--we got these & went to the resort & made rice & cut up a pineapple! Delish! We had chicken, beef & potato & bean cheese. Beef & potatoes was our favorite. Masa was perfect! I love how a lil cutter marks which empanada has what filling in it!

Great empanadas and decently priced. Tried three flavors- chicken, beef and potato, and domino (beans - cheese). My favorite flavor was the domino, but they are all tasty and filling. Bonus that they are gluten free since they're made with corn masa.

Quick eats. Amazing service. Really nice owner of this place. His truck is parked on a side street with a few others. We got 2 beef potato empanadas and requested for a few sauces and he was so excited to share sauces and let us try a bunch. Highly recommend. We actually walked out of our way to try this!

We tried Mami's Empanadas after noticing several food trucks on the street outside our hotel - this being one of them. The experience was just okay. The empanadas weren't fresh, they had been sitting in a warmer. We tried all 3 varieties of empanada and all 4 sauce options. The empanada's tasted good, but they were luke-warm on the inside. If they were hotter I think I would have enjoyed them even more. The meat filled empanadas were very good, but we found the domino (bean and cheese) to be a tad lackluster in comparison. The truck was a block or so from the southern end of Waikiki beach; so a fairly quick walk for a beach day snack!

Delicious and have had them several times. Located By the zoo in Waikiki. Short commute from the beach

Off to watch sunset at Waikiki & fun thing to do with that is have something to munch while enjoying the sun setting in for the day. Got myself some empanadas to go and glad I did. This food truck was conveniently located on Hyatt Place's side street. Along with other food trucks (which I'm gonna try next time) Mami's Empanadas humbly offers 3 flavors ftm (beef & potato, chicken, vegan potato). Food: Chicken Empanada - filled with chicken meat, tasty and seasoned well. A bit dry but for quick eats like this, not bad. Beef & Potato - more on potato and less beef meat. Kinda dry filling and would probably skip this one next time. I'm not sure but the empanadas looked like air-fried. I'm so used on deep fried empanadas way back home and it's always hit differently. These empanadas are small too so don't expect too much from it. Other than that I enjoyed my sunset viewing with my empanadas. The guy who's also a cashier and at the same time preparing the food was very nice and helpful. He even suggested the garlic sauce on it which I agreed and t'was actually a good idea for dipping sauce. Mahalo for reading and happy juandering fellow yeeps!

Nice assortment of different empanada options, including a couple vegan ones. Reasonably priced, especially for Waikiki.

Came to try the Media Noche Cuban sandwich. One of the best I've had. The meats have been well seasoned and cooked. And it is all wrapped in a bread that has its own seasoning. All in all, my new favorite. Better than the more bland generic versions with no zest.

Hands down best Cubano sandwich so far on Oahu. Of course, they are known for their formidable Empanadas. So, you may want to save room or order more to eat at home. The people are friendly and there is also much attention to hygiene, careful preparation and product quality. You will not be disappointed!

Braddddddah hooked it up. I ask him if an order of 3 would fill up a semi hungry smmmmmedium size dude. He said maybe, so I hesitated and wanted the order of 6 instead. He saw my eyes and say how bout you get an order of 4. He knew I was lightweight and probably know I couldn't finish 6 haha. Overall great experience, great workers and the reason why I am even writing this review, GrEAT food! The sauce was what made it ono!

It is great ti have latin flavor in Hawaii, service was great! Spot is convenient and available parking

I was excited to try these because it's the only Colombian food I was able to find in Hawaii. I ordered the chicken, beef, and Domino empanada and tbh they were pretty mid. The dough was bland/flavorless and they didn't really have much meat in the inside. The temperature was okay, could've been a little warmer. Overall, I wouldn't go out of my way for these again. I've had better empanadas in other places (I'm Colombian so I know a thing or two about empanadas). However I do need to say that the guy working the food truck was very friendly and helpful. He provided great customer service.

Got a beef empanada and chicken soffrito empanada. The empanadas were ok but definitely worth a try. The prices a bit steep for one empanada. It's still worth a try though if you are in the area. They are in Waikiki near where all the hostels are. Parking can be a bit challenging but if you are on foot in the area then you should check it out.

This food truck has the best food I've ever had. Their empanadas are AMAZING!!!! We have eaten here every single night so far except for 1 day because he was off for the day. The beef and potato is amazing and soft. The chicken is so tasteful. The domino is almost like a fiesta bowl with all of the different flavors that complement each other. The Bacon Cheeseburger is by far the best one. I immediately fell in love as soon as I took the first bite. Just went back a minute ago and got 5 more. We're definitely going to keep coming back until we leave to go back home.

Charging $4 for an empanada that's literally 3 bites is expensive. I had the black bean & cheese empanada & it was okay at best. I've had some very good empanadas & these didn't even come close.

I was staying at the Hyatt which is right next door and wanted to try this food truck. After reading all the great reviews and recommendations on calling/texting your order in advance I did just that. I ordered beef and chicken empanadas and the arepa de chocolo. The food takes awhile so you need to order in advance, my order took about 40 mins. The beef empanadas were good but the chicken ones were amazing. I'm usually a more of a beef eater but I was surprised how delicious the chicken ones were. The arepa was also amazing. It was really nice to find a Colombian place in the middle of Waikiki.

Flavorful empanadas. I had the beef empanada with mild salsa and it was a nice snack. I would love to come back and try the other items as well! There was no line and it was quick and easy to get my food.

Sorry but that's a hard NO, the empanadas were really small and very dry. I tried both the chicken and beef and they were both small and dry, not to mention overpriced. The sauces that came with the empanadas were good.

Okay, so the ordering process is complicated and tedious...we basically got the lecture from owner to text him first before ordering....if he has the item you're ordering then cool otherwise wait until the next day...!?!? We tried both the Cubano sandwich and empanadas. IMO, Cubano sandwich was decent but too salty for me. Empanadas were kinda dry. But I still think others might like it they were it is, to each his own.

This place is fire! Love the service, the delicious daily selections of empanadas. I could drink the green dipping sauce and the garlic sauce by the gallon, it's that delicious. Thanks, chef Alex

This is a quick place to get food since it is a food truck. The empanadas were alright, but they didn't have that much meat inside. I thought the outside was crispy and a decent size. I probably wouldn't come back just because there are other options in Waikki. If you need a quick and easy food spot, this street is the place to go. There are other food trucks around too.

Loved the empanadas. Food was nice and simple which I like for an empanada. Some make them so complicated but the beef and the chicken were simple and good. I really like the corn flour skins. Service was great with a smile. Ambiance was a food truck so it was chill to sit on the curb and eat them. Salsa verde was great.

best empanadas i've ever had, the spicy sauce is sooo good and has so much flavor 11/10.

3 chicken/2 beef and potato/ 1 apple Text the cell number before heading there. They will send you a link to order online. Took about 10 minutes for them to say your order is ready. Food was delicious! The chicken one was the best with the garlic sauce! Definitely get all 4 sauces to try!

My husband and I were excited to try Mami's as it was directly outside our hotel, & believe me it did not disappoint! Friendly staff, easy to order online, and both were delicious!

Visiting Hawaii and this was one of the only places open on Christmas that was nearby. Ordered these empanadas: bacon cheeseburger, beef and potato, sofrito chicken, and Argentina style. Four empanadas for $10. Pretty sweet deal. Also tried all the sauces. I don't remember the name of them but I liked the green one! I ranked my favorite empanada from most to least up above. The Argentina includes raisins (which is traditional) but I'm not too big of a fan of it. I reallllly liked the bacon cheeseburger empanada, it had the right amount of crunch on the outside with moist meat and cheese in the inside. Overall, this place is pretty good. As a tourist in Hawaii, I probably wouldn't go back a second time but it's a good place to try out!

Best empanadas I've had in my life and I've tried a lot of empanada places in Toronto - nothing comes close. Everything is made fresh daily so the flavours can vary. What's available for the day will be written on a chalkboard in the front. All the empanada orders come with sauces, there's 3 - a green spicy one, pink one (can't recall the exact flavour) and the white garlic. I was biased towards green and white. You can get 1 empanada for $3 or 4 for $10. We always ordered all the flavours that they had for the day - trying flavours like sofrito chicken, beef and potato, curried veggies, bacon cheeseburger, guava, and plantain and cheese. Best were the beef potato and the guava ones. Oh man the guava was a perfect end to our meal. It was like a dessert empanada. Move over apple pie pockets, guava's giving you some fierce competition. The best thing is knowing you're eating a little bit healthier since it's all air fried. It's hard to know when they open because the hours aren't always consistent. So I often came to a closed truck and would have to keep checking back since I really needed my empanada fix. I'd be more annoyed about this if the food wasn't so good lol. Will return again and again and again.

I've been to Hawaii countless times, and I almost always stay at the Marriott across the street. I've finally gotten around to trying this empanada food truck and I was not disappointed. The lady that runs it is super friendly and helped recommend a couple for me to try. I got the domino and beef with potato, both were awesome. But I think the best thing overall was the spicy aji sauce, it was incredible. I could seriously drink it through a straw. I'll be back next time I'm in Honolulu!

To all who are seeking delicious food with flavors that will satisfy you in every bite...STOP AT THIS FOOD TRUCK!!!! Dani is the young lady that served us and gave us the experience. She was informative of the flavors and spices they have. She also recommended a sweet treat for us to enjoy in the sun while we waited for the food. From the Bolis,to the Empanadas, to the salsas....ALL INCREDIBLE! Dani, Thank you for everything and may you and your business thrive. This is NOT A TOURIST TRAP, nothing but quality here. Also, you can order Empanadas frozen if you want to take some home. HIGHLY recommend stopping here and treating yourself.

Mami's Empanadas offers outdoor seating only. It's Hawaii. What more to you need then a table and chairs. Chef Alex Arango is the second coming of the Soup Nazi (Seinfeld). You must text to get the menu or "No Arapa's for you". As it turns out there were no Arapas at that hour, but there were Empanadas and Chicken Sofrito. This was the best food we had on our 9-day Hawaiian stint. He cooked the Empanadas in an air fryer. He serves them with four sauces. The all white meat chicken he served was divine, and it done with dark meat it would have still have been heavenly. A perfect match for the beans and rice served with it. The Empanada Officer shared his passion for cooking and sharing recipes. He recommended I get PAN flour to make my Arapas with. I have it and will try them. If he is reading this, I thank him for his generosity in sharing that and his contempt for Sushi. He's not alone.

I love the creative flavors of empanadas offered by this truck. When I came they had a samosa empanada... Which is truly The Best of both worlds in my book. I love both samosas and empanada so I was all about this. the feeling was fantastic, if I ate it blindfolded you couldn't tell me that it wasn't an authentic samosa. However, because it was an empanada I expected the shell to be just a little bit softer. I overheard the owner telling someone that he is an air fryer. Not sure if that's what made empanada a little tough to chew, but it was still really really good. I also ordered an arepa which was also delicious. I didn't see any hours posted on this truck, and I had been trying to catch them for most of the time I was in Honolulu. I walked past this truck at least a dozen times and only saw it open twice. I think that it opens in the evenings (after 5?). Not sure when it closes though.

Such a nice person! The owner let us taste test all the three salsas he had (salsa verde, mild, and garlic). All the empanadas were so delicious and we definitely went back for more the next day. Also loved that he marked the empanadas so we knew which was which.

The empanadas were not awful but they were not good. As someone with a gluten sensitivity I was very happy that they use corn flour based gluten free dough. Unfortunately the chicken was pretty dry and not very flavorful and the dough was also an interesting texture. I read a different review that said the empanadas seem air fried which I could believe so I guess it's nice that it's healthier (maybe?) but it didn't turn out right. Garlic sauce was good though. Overall wouldn't recommend.

Beef empanada was bitter and unflavored, chicken empanada was fully condiment with cumin, and no salt, tasted like a bitter ball of cumin dough, I asked for refund and the employee called the owner to have authorization but owner didn't make it right, that was going to be my kids dinner so I have to go and pay more money for a decent bite.

We first care here in 2019 when my husband and I were walking around at night. Let me tell you, we loved them. Went again on this trip and bought a dozen since we had the kids with us. Bought 6 beef and 6 chicken. The sauces are the best too!!!

This truck and several others are parked on a side street behind the Aston Waikiki. I walked by earlier in the day and decided to go back at night. Just like the other reviews mentioned, you have to text the chef's number asking for the days menu. Lucky for me, it was a somewhat slow day and I was able to get my hands on some of the famous empanadas. I had the chicken sofrito, Colombian beef and potato and the vegan potato. I also ordered one corn arepa with cheese. The empanadas were served with 4 different dipping sauces ranging from mild/savory to spicy. Everything was made fresh and delicious! Chef Alex was so friendly and attentive. He kept the conversation going and asking if we needed anything else. He advised us to text daily because his menu constantly changes. No wonder his truck was voted in the top three food trucks on the island.

Delicious food and friendly people. The empanadas and sauces are gluten free, made in advance, and separated from other foods so low risk of cross contamination. A great find if you have celiac. They occasionally have a gluten free and vegan potato option as well.

I came here and brought a good friend of mine from the east coast along with her family. I was so excited to share with them a little bit of what we have here on the island. They're from the East Coast and are Colombian and Puerto Rican. I was very disappointed with the taste. First and most obvious is the empanadas weren't fried they were air fried! I mean come on?! I understand wanting to be healthier but you don't air fry empanadas! The outside was like dried play dough, is the best I can describe it. Second, the chicken was dry and had no flavor. All the other stuffing we had was dry too with little flavor as well. I'm not sure id drive to Waikiki for this, you can probably find something else more flavorful and appetizing. Not worth it.

Where's the beef, or in this case, the pork belly and chicharrones? Really Yelpers, 4.5 stars for this place? We chose it based on the great reviews and arrived to a quiet food truck with a few people waiting for orders. We were given the spiel about how busy he is and how long of a wait it would be but we decided to stick it out. So he texts us the menu and we text back our choices and he goes to work. About 20 minutes later our order is ready. Veggie samosa- too salty Sweet corn arepa - decent Pineapple and walnut empanada - interesting and not bad Arepa with pork belly and chicharrones- two corn tortillas with no discernible meat of any kind, some cheese sprinkled on top and cooked in an air fryer. An arepa, I don't think so! Arepa with jalapeño and cheese - same as the other one - 2 corn tortillas with some cheese and a few jalapeños inside cooked in an air fryer. Dry, chewy and tasteless! Don't believe the stars and the hype, you'll find better food almost anywhere.

Great chicken empanadas, outstanding sauce. Quite filling, 2 is all it took for lunch

The empanadas have a super buttery crust. Kind of tastes like they should be out of a Parisian bakery. The garlic sauce was just superb. I wished I had tried note of their sauces if they were anywhere as good as the garlic sauce. Very decent value. Nice people. Oh I also had a Colombian soda. Very interesting. Kind of reminded me of Irn Bru if you've ever had that. Highly highly recommended.

We tried all of Alex's empanadas today. They were all excellent. I appreciate that he is a sauce guy--we are sauce people too so it worked out well. He gave us 4 different kinds of sauces and each was unique and flavorful. The green is fairly spicy. My kids liked the white sauce. The biggest compliment I think I can personally give to a chef is when my whole family, including my food picky kids, rave about the food. That is what happened here. We shared a table with a nice older veteran man who was eating a Colombian hot dog--it looked really good. The man lives 2 miles from this food truck and comes by daily for the hot dog. Before leaving we already agreed that we would be coming back tomorrow. I would like to point out that almost all of the negative reviews here have to do with people not knowing how this food truck is run. I was a little annoyed when I stopped by last night and it was closed when Google said it would be open. You need to text him earlier in the day and he will send you the menu for that day. Each day he has different ingredients and therefore different menu items. Text him what you want and he will let you know the estimated time he will be opening. He told us to inform him when we are 15 minutes away and he will start making the food. It worked out well.

Let me start by saying that this spot is definitely worth trying! The food & the four sauces were all delicious. Finding good Colombian food is quite difficult but this spot will not disappoint. My fiancé is Colombian and he loved the empanadas!! We also tried the hotdog which was great. He makes his own buns for it. The reason I'm deducting a star is because of the inconvenience of eating here. You have to text him the morning of to tell him you want to order food. He will then send you the menu available for that day & then you have to select a time to pick it up. It was quite difficult trying to plan our day around picking up the food. The first night we tried to eat here we waited around to get helped only to tell us we couldn't just order food on the spot. He's the only one working & he gets busy so it would've helped if he had a sign saying that in front of the truck instead of being turned away after we waited a while.

3.8 stars. You'll need to text ahead to get an order in. Alex is a genius in creating the hype. If you go there without having placed an order, he'll tell you that the empanadas are life changing and you can't leave the island without having them. Definitely are not, the food is just good. The samosa was the best thing we had, followed by the Cubano sandwich. The chicken empanada was whatever and the arepas suck. You won't be upset you did, but you won't be upset you didn't either.

Empanadas were dry and unpleasant. No wonder they had no business while other food trucks had lines

Cute little food truck on a side street in Waikiki, close to lots of hotels and the beach. I felt like the empanadas were very expensive despite being very small. Ordered online and food was ready when expected