Felix’s Handmade Empanadas

Someone described food from this place to me as the "best empanadas they ever had". I've been anxious to try them since then. I didn't know the name of the restaurant until I arrived and that's when I recognized it as the same empanada place in Optimist Hall. I've had empanadas from there and loved them. My first impression of this location wasn't great. I immediately noticed the clutter on the messy counter, a woman preparing dough in the front window and the lack of activity. Honestly, it looked like they were still setting up and weren't ready for customers. I expected to get turned away, but a guy walked up to greet me and take my order. When I attempted to pay with cash I was asked to use a card instead, since they didn't have change for a $20. Interesting. I went with the special and ordered 3 empanadas: 1 chicken, 2 beef. They were ready pretty quickly, but it would have been helpful if the different meats were separated, since I had to take a guess at which was which. Sadly the beef empanada was very dry and needed more seasoning. I wouldn't order that again. The chicken was slightly better, definitely more moist and I liked flavor. Overall the crust on both was really tasty. I wasn't as pleased with my visit here and I don't think I'd return. I have had several positive experience at the other location and would return there in a heartbeat.

We were really looking forward to our order and we got to sample the results, we ended up a little disappointed with our selections.It was not terrible and maybe there were better options on the menu to our liking that we did not know about.We ordered the 3 for $ 12 sampler empanada options here.1. The Carnitas option we ordered was just ok.2. The other one we ordered was the Cubana one which was recommended by the worker and that one was a hard "no" as soon as we took one bite. Both of us did not care for the strong taste at all. Kind of dry.3. The last selection was the chicken and it was also ok. Needed a sauce and maybe a slaw filler to improve the outcome.

They have a lot of empanada options, with a couple vegetarian friendly ones. They savory and sweet options and sell them individually or in a pack. Mostly a takeaway space since they don't have much seating. When ordering takeaway empanadas, it was missing the sauces, which would have enhanced the flavors even more. Employees were friendly.

Stop by on whim to see if they could accommodate a walk-in order for 12 ppl. Oh and have it ready in 45 minutes. The gentlemen did not flinch and hooked me up. I ended up with 28 delicious empanadas: chicken, steak, cheeseburger and spinach, plus rice and beans. These guys saved the day for me and made my monthly team meeting a success. Can't wait to come back and try some other flavors.

I walked right past this shop at 5:00 on a Wenesday afternoon. Turns out I was hungry, hadn't eaten anything since lunch at 1:00. So I tried to open the door and it was locked. LOCKED! There was a woman just inside doing some prep work. So I showed her her Yelp listing which shows the hours until 6:00. She came to the door and said "We closed. closed".

I got three chicken empanadas and they were by far the best I've had. My wife and I love trying empanadas from places we travel to and we even experiment with making different types ourselves. Highly recommend these to anyone looking for a flaky and flavorful little heavenly pastry.

I've never had an empanada anywhere else so my basis for comparison is non existent. Still, I love this place. Anytime I'm at optimist hall I grab 1 or 2... or 5... to go. My favorite is the guava and cheese. It's not too sweet and the flavors are unique. Always a friendly face at the counter and reasonable prices. It's a win all around.

fantastic empanadas and sauces at a great price, a new favorite lunch whenever I'm in Charlotte. Had the fig, bacon goat cheese, street beef, and chicken, all were on point! Love the sweet sauce

Some of the worst food I have ever tried in Charlotte. Ordered a 6 pack of 3 different flavors, ended up throwing it all away.

Don't make the mistake of trying to order online. They'll tell Yelp/Chownow they accepted your order (even when they're not taking online orders) but never send you a confirmation. Getting a refund is a lengthy process.