Makus Empanadas

Best empanadas I've had in the triangle! Friendly service too! Ordered both the chicken and beef empanadas, fairly priced and absolutely delish!

The food is great but the staff could work on their people skills. The cashier was rude

Good but not great. My family had the ten empanada meal (perfect for three people). The empanada crust was nice, not greasy, everything freshly made. Really liked the two sides, black beans had a lot of flavor and the spinach salad was nice with a good dressing. I also thought the chimichurri sauce was excellent, maybe the highlight of the meal. All the empanadas were good, but although we got six different types, they did not taste that different. The flavors did not burst out, you almost had to tell them apart by color and texture. Again, they were all good, but not that exciting.

Makus Empanadas was excellent. Five stars all around. They checked all the boxes for me: food, service, and value with nice touches sprinkled throughout. This is a quick, convenient, and delicious food option.Makus is pronounced "make us" as in "make us empanadas." I believe this location in Durham, in the Hope Valley Commons shopping center with Harris Teeter, was the first of what's now three locations. This original location opened in 2015 with the Morgan Street Food Hall (Raleigh, 2018) and Duke University Hospital locations coming after.This is a fast-casual restaurant with a polished look and sleek marketing/branding/design. The restaurant isn't very big and the menu is streamlined. During my visit, on the menu, there were 10 different kinds of empanadas ($2.75 each), chipa (Latin American cheese rolls, $3.25), a small handful of sides (most $1.75 each), two sauces, an "empadog" (hot dog wrapped in empanada dough, $2.95), sweets such as cochitos (dulce de leche and coconut cookie, $1.95 each), craft beer ($5 per serving) and wine ($6), and self-serve fountain drinks and tea.They also offered combo meals, party packs, and daily specials such as:* Monday and Friday: buy a dozen empanadas, get 3 free* Wednesday: 50% off all bottles of wine* Monday-Thursday 3-5pm (happy hour): get 2 empanadas + 1 sauce for $5* Every day: get 4 empanadas + 1 bottle of wine for $21.95Finally, they sold frozen empanadas and frozen chipa which you could bake at home. 12 frozen empanadas for $33 and 15 pieces of frozen chipa for $8.95. I think they started selling these bake-at-home alternatives because of COVID.The decision of what to order was easy. I went with Makus' Family Meal (appropriate for 2-3 adults, in my opinion) which came with 10 empanadas, 4 sides, and 2 sauces for $28.50. Since this was our first time having Makus, this allowed us (my wife and me) to try one of every empanada on the menu as well as all of the housemade sides and sauces. Here's what we got:10 empanadas* Beef* Chicken* Pork Chimichurri* Pepperoni* Bacon & Cheese* Ham & Cheese* Onion & Cheese* Sweet Corn* Spinach* Veggie (zucchini, leek, onion, rice, spices)4 Sides* Black beans and white rice (2)* Cole slaw* Spinach salad2 Sauces* Chimichurri* Red HotEach and every empanada tasted terrific. My wife and I independently concluded that all of the empanadas were equally enjoyable. Some flavors were more memorable than others, but that didn't diminish the quality nor satisfaction of the "less memorable" ones. For example, the empanadas that stick out in my mind were the pork chimichurri, ham & cheese, onion & cheese, and sweet corn, but empanadas like the beef, chicken, and spinach were just as tasty and gratifying.If I had to pick a least favorite empanada here, it'd be the pepperoni. It reminded me of a pizza-flavored Hot Pocket, which isn't a bad thing. The problem was there wasn't enough pepperoni/pepperoni flavor for me. Maybe it was just the particular empanada I had. The spinach empanada was like eating spanokopita (Greek spinach pie).At the end of the day, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the empanada choices on Makus' menu. They were all great. The ones with cheese (bacon, ham, onion) were rich and succulent. The beef, chicken, and pork chimichurri were meaty, tender, moist, and savory. The sweet corn and veggie packed more of a flavorful punch than I expected. The crispy, flaky dough wrappings were baked to perfection and generally, each empanada had the right proportions of ingredients (just take a look at my cross section pics).The empanadas were yummy enough on their own that no sauce was needed. In fact, I think the two sauces - both the chimichurri and the red hot - can overpower the flavors of the fillings inside each empanada. The sauces were very good though. The chimichurri was strong and garlicky while the red hot tasted like straight-up Tabasco.As for the sides, the black beans and white rice were money. It's basic Latin comfort food and Makus does it well. Their rice and beans also contain a little bit of peas, carrots, and corn. The cole slaw and spinach salad were more par for the course, but still, not bad. The slaw had coarsely-shredded green and red cabbage and carrots and was light on the mayo. The spinach salad contained dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, and what I believe was a strawberry vinaigrette salad dressing. Everything was fresh.I ordered and paid online using my phone, following the link on Makus' website. They used ChowNow for their online ordering platform. The entire process was easy and straightforward. My order was ready in less than 15 minutes. When I arrived at the restaurant, the server finalized assembly of my order, ensuring maximum freshness.The edges of Makus' empanadas are stamped with letters, distinguishing the different empanada types. Ingenious.Get the Makus Empanada app and use code GET15 to get 15% off your first order.

Great food. I got beef and chicken. Both very delicious. Pretty small though. Guess next time I will get the lunch special that comes with 3.Their prices have gone up since the photos that have been posted. I have taken a photo of todays pricing.

I feel like this location has declined over the years. The quality used to be there but seems like they've lost their passion. Their reward program/kiosk has been broken for quite a while now. I was unable to redeem my rewards months ago. I stopped by this past weekend and it's still has not been fix. At the moment, it's dine in only but there are a few tables outside if you're planning on eating there.

I ordered seven empanadas, choosing to go with all the meaty options as I was looking for something savory. I added the sauce and hot sauce with my order, later finding out it was kind of a necessity.For one, I appreciate the empanadas being stamped with their respective labels, as it was one of my main concerns ordering with my brother. I have no doubt their service is great, but solely judging off of taste, the empanadas are a bit underwhelming. When I say the sauce is a necessity, I really mean buying the sauce is crucial to the overall taste. Without sauce, the empanadas come off as too rich or fatty, lacking flavor.While I think this is one of the most unique options in the area, It is not one of my go-to places to satisfy my cravings. Personally, I place heavy importance on value, and for 21 dollars plus tax for 7 empanadas and two sauce containers, the pricing doesn't do it for me.

Cashier was not very friendly. She told me it would be about 3-4 mins for my party pack. Ended up being 15 minutes and she didn't smile or greet me nicely. Find a new cashier or keep her in the back.

Very friendly. I got the kids meal which came with a drink, 2 small cookies and a small empanada. Small restaurant with relaxing music and vibes. I got ham and cheese. It was good, but I wish the empanadas was bigger for the price.

False advertising: Their "homemade" choc chip cookies are a scam. I added them to my empanada order, expecting real cooked-from-scratch cookies, but instead they were taste-less, like the worst of store-bought cookies. The empanada with the sauce was pretty good.