Half Moon Empanadas

Miami Beach, United States

2.8

20 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 305-532-5277
Website:
www.halfmoonempanadas.com
Address:
1616 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL, 33139
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
110 ftWASHINGTON AV@16 ST
420 ftLINCOLN RD@WASHINGTON AV
560 ftLincoln Rd & James Ave
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Today

Today –
Local time (Miami Beach) 7:37 PM Thursday, June 12, 2025

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Description

Specialties

EMPANADAS AND MORE EMPANADAS! Made from scratch, by hand and with the best ingredients…

Here at Half Moon, we make 17 flavors of empanadas, both baked and fried, as well as 3 types of sweet pasteles (pastries). We make our empanadas entirely from scratch, each and every day. From our secret dough recipe, to our specially prepared ground beef made with superior cuts, to our unique «soufflé» cooking method, our obsession with quality is manifest every step of the way.

History

Established in 2008.

About 5 years ago, I had a business idea I just couldn’t get out of my head. On one of my yearly trips back to my native Argentina, I went to a gathering of family and friends, like I usually do when visiting. At one point, one of my cousins asked everyone whether they wanted to order pizza or empanadas. Just about everyone voted for empanadas. That’s when I thought to myself, «why don’t we have that in the States?» The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that the empanada is a perfect food product for the US market, and also, for selling it via delivery, like pizza. The US Hispanic market alone (40 million people) is about as large as Argentina’s total population and most Hispanics are quite familiar with the empanada.

Meet the Business Owner

Juan Z.

Business Owner

My family moved to the States from Argentina when I was eight, but I return frequently to visit relatives and friends. My love of Argentine culture and appreciation for our customs and traditions led me to create Half Moon Empanadas…

We look forward to serving you!

Vicinity

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20 reviews of Half Moon Empanadas

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Place rating: 2
Miami, FL
This is a permanent concesionaire at the Army and Airforce Exchange Services (AAFES) Foodcourt at the United States Army Garrison — Miami. I feel that the food is over priced and service is on slow side. The quality of the empanadas is no better than something you could purchase in the frozen food section of the grocery store. If you are stationed on base, have time, and money you could give it a try. Everytime I eat there I think to myself that I would have been better off packing my lunch.
On the plus side, they do have a diversity of empanadas and their coffee bar offers quick service and is tolerably priced.
Overall, if they reduced their prices 20% they could possibly increase their business and afford adequate staffing.
Place rating: 3
Los Angeles, CA
This place is pretty alright… my boyfriend seems to love it though.
My favorite flavor is the beef, and I like how they brand the empanadas with what filling is inside. The spinach is good as well. I think they’re a little overpriced for what they sell though. There’s a good selection of vegetarian stuff too.
Place rating: 2
Miami, FL
This place can not call themselves Argentinean! Their empanadas are an American fast-​food nightmare! We got 7 different empanadas and only 2 of them were just ok, and they were variations of the same flavor, beef and spicy beef. These 2 empanadas saved half moon from a one-​star review.
Breaking it all down, the dough they use at half moon is not good. Thin and flavorless. As far as fillings go, besides the beef, we tried the chicken, spinach, corn, and broccoli. The fillings were overly thick with a very unappealing mouth feel. The vegetable empanadas were filled with more flour as a thickener than they were vegetables. Cheap.
The worst part of this experience: one of the empanadas we got (the Americana?) had turned bad! The bacon on the inside had spoiled and my boyfriend and I both had to spit it out. Sorry for the mental image.
These empanadas are obviously frozen for ‘high volume’ and they still managed to serve us a rotten empanada. Two words: QUALITY CONTROL.
Place rating: 4
Miami Beach, FL
If you are in South Beach and want a quick bite but not pizza and not McAwful, or TacoHell then Half Moon is a great alternative. I make my own baked empanadas so I’m picky but I have to say these are very very tasty and well worth the money. The only thing that gets me is the added cost for special sauces. they should do like LIME and offer a sauce bar. Other than that it’s a clean little spot for a delicious mid-​day snack. I’ve been there twice and will totally go back.
Place rating: 4
Miami Beach, FL
Not as good as my wife’s homemade empanadas, but good. A fair selection. I had the spicy chicken and spicy beef — both are spicy enough that you don’t need to add anything else.
A good place to grab a bite to eat. Realize that they make these fresh when you order, so if you’re looking for fast food, go elsewhere.
Place rating: 4
Miami, FL
I love half moon! Yes, I am American so no I didn’t grow up with a specific type of empanada crust/​filling/​name/​spiritual blessing/​whatever! Get past what you consider empanadas to be — and these are delicious. Call them pies if you need to.
Spicy beef, spinach, and the creamed corn are among my favorites. Yes the crust is thick and pie like, and they are stuffed to the brim with fillings. They taste amazing and are always consistently baked.
The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because there is NEVER parking nearby (big surprise huh). And the staff is never very nice or paying attention to customers in the store. I used to frequent this place a lot more when I lived on the beach (delivery!) and they seemed to be a lot friendlier/​better service when they first opened. And I have to say the simple empanada menu was the best. Sweet potato fries were bland, and I’m not sure I’m willing to pay $ 5 for a «gourmet empanada» or boring wrap.
Don’t think I’d go out of my way to eat here, but when I am in the area (and already on foot!) — I can’t resist!
Place rating: 3
Dallas, TX
I’d rate this one as 2.5.
I agree with Marcos R. here — they’re average empanadas in a trendyish atmosphere.
I find that these empanadas have good fillings, but the empanada dough leaves more to be desired.
And prices are just okay. But I’m not in a rush to come back.
While I’m not crazy about GoGo’s empanadas either, GoGo’s empanadas are noticeably better.
Place rating: 3
Alexandria, VA
My first foray into the world of empanadas was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Empanaderias were abundant, and it was my typical mid-​day snack or light lunch/​dinner options. Because I was exposed to empanadas in Argentina, I always assumed empanadas were baked.
Not until I moved to Florida did I realize most of the world deep fries their empanadas. After many empanada experiences that were unlike my Argentine ones, I gave up on finding those beautifully flaky and baked empanadas.
But, then I came across Half Moon. And the empanadas were exactly like the ones I remembered in Argentina. Just not as good. But, at least it was an attempt at reliving that memory.
Place rating: 4
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Half Moon = Full Tummy.
This is one of the few places in SoBe that I can fully satisfy a creamed corn craving (in the form of the corn empanada). I don’t care if everyone else says it reminds them of baby food, I LOVE it! I also favor the spinach empanada and there are various other vegetarian options!
BONUS POINTS! 1. For stamping the contents of the empanada on the shell itself, so I don’t accidentally ingest any of my boyfriends’ poultry-​filled pastries and 2. For having fun & funky designs in-​store and online.
Check it out:
Place rating: 3
Miami Beach, FL
I have ordered from Half Moon Empanadas for delivery only.
The empanadas here are not bad, but they are certainly nothing special. Do not expect the traditional soft, flakey crust. The crust here is hard and tough, but all the fillings we tried were tasty.
Delivery was not terribly quick but the meal came hot.
I won’t mind eating here again if someone else has their heart set on it, but I’m in no hurry. Go-​Go down the street does a better job with their home made pies, which trump these seemingly frozen ones.
Place rating: 3
Sacramento, CA
I cannot believe I have not written a review for this place, yet!
My heart breaks a little that we do not have this restaurant back home in Sacramento, CA.
My best friend and I vacationed in Miami a few months ago and we strolled into this place while walking up and down the street shopping.
Their empanadas are sooo yummy! They are available in beef, corn, chicken, cheese, and more! These make the best food for when you’re hungover and need something filling. My best friend and I enjoyed this so much we each bought a dozen to bring back home to Sacramento. It was our little piece of Miami…
Place rating: 2
Manhattan, NY
I went to this place twice. First, I had the empanada wrap with beef. They use the beef for the empanadas and add lettuce tomato and avocado. Sounds delicious… but not so much… the beef was strange and bland. I wasn’t a fan. Also, it took 20 minutes for them to make it. I think they made the empanadas from scratch or something, I don’t know, because those take forever. I can understand that. But filling a tortilla with meat and a salad? 20 minutes? Toooo long.
I had it with some french fries. They were crispy and pretty good but VERY salty. They were really tasty though.
I went back so I could try the actual empanadas. I had a cheese and pepperoni empanada and a spinach empanada. First thing’s first: I bit into the cheese and pepperoni and it squirted a bunch of grease on my dress. So yea… that’s number one. I had to blot the inside and outside of the thing just for it to be edible. And then it was really salty and the flavors were indistinguishable. I believe another Unilocaler referred to one of their empanadas as «The Blob»… that’s about right. The spinach empanada was gross. It had this creamy cheese and spinach filling that tasted like blended up spinach. Not appetizing whatsoever.
The people there are nice and the ambience is cool but I won’t be going back.
Place rating: 3
Miami, FL
Half Moon Empanadas are good little bite sized snacks. I don’t see myself having it as a meal simply because I don’t think I would actually get full… but they are pretty good. I had the beef and the chicken empanadas on my most recent visit. The beef one was very good and I was very happy with it… they chicken one on the other hand I thought was just OK at best. It’s not that the chicken one was bad… it just wasn’t as good as the beef one. They have many variations of empanadas with different fillings which was a nice change of pace… so I will probably be back around just to try out the different variations. I also had the soup special of the day which was mushroom bisque. It was pretty good although a little on the salty side… and I like salt… a good amount of salt… so for me to say that it’s on the salty side means that it’s probably overwhelming for others.
Place rating: 3
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Half Moon was the perfect place to eat cheap after a night of drinking at Lincoln Rd Mall. It’s just around the corner from the mall on Washington. I tried the spicy chicken Empanadas and the spicy beef, but I will only go for the chicken next time, since it seemed more flavorful than the beef. I ordered two Empanadas and a drink for $ 4.99! On weekends they are open until 6am, so you can stumble by late.
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
The empanadas are edible, but I’m not sure I can say much more than that in their favor. The menu offers an odd mix of seemingly authentic possibilities (I tried spicy beef) and totally inauthentic ones (I tried three-​cheese). The former was better than the latter, but neither filled me with a desire to return.
That said, the empanada is such an excellent snack/​light-​lunch food, and the location of Half Moon was so convenient to where I was walking, that two bad empanadas were far better than no empanadas at all.
And, yes, they stamp a little label on your empanada with some sort of branding iron to identify the flavor. This did not reassure me that I was eating real food.
Place rating: 2
Miami Beach, FL
If I had not discovered Go-Go’s before coming here I probably would have given 3 stars instead of 2. Seriously, the empanadas @ Half Moon can’t compete with the quality of their competition!
I have a hard time believing that they make their empanadas «entirely from scratch, each and every day,» as it says on their website. They definitely do not make their pies «to order» as is the case with Go-Go’s; within seconds of placing an order they brought my pies out to me as if they were sitting under a heat lamp.
The pastry dough is hard… not flaky t (he way I would prefer them to be). I had the spicy chicken and also tried the spicy beef. The filling was generous although the flavors didn’t really impress me at all.
So, if you are looking for decent empanadas on Lincoln Road you you can either try Half Moon but don’t expect to be amazed –OR– head over to Go-Go’s for a REAL treat!
Place rating: 3
Miami, FL
Average empanadas in a trendyish atmosphere. They have a pretty good variety, so the quantity kind of makes up for the quality. They are a few doors down from the beginning of Lincoln Road and they deliver, which is a big plus.
I would go there again. But if you do just don’t go with the expectation of getting blown away. It’s just a real convenient stop for most folks.
I do like how they label each empananda with a heated branding iron type method. I thought that was kinda neat!
Place rating: 1
Miami, FL
Dear Half Moon,
Your empanadas are thick. Some people are into this. Me, not so much. Thick crust and dense fillings. I tried your Americana, which had alright flavors, but wasn’t very hot, and the ham and cheese. Upon biting into the ham and cheese, my mouth was filled with a mush of cheese and ham, the two neither distinguishable nor particularly delicious. I guess «the blob» isn’t much of a name though.
I would advise you to please take a walk, just a little ways a way, to a place called Go-​gos on 9th and Alton. Here you will find emapanadas with a flaky delicate yet substantial crust and fresh flavor choices. Plus delicious salads and friendly staff.
So maybe I’m not your target. I deem your empanadas a waste of calories and a waste of a meal and I willn’t be duped again.
Best,
Colleen
Place rating: 3
FL, FL
Half Moon offers 4 menu selections that I think have fair prices. The «Coffee Break» consists of two pasteles + one drink or large coffee ($ 3.50), «the snack» is made up of 2 empanadas + one drink or large coffee + chips for $ 4.50, «the quick lunch» which is 3 empanadas + one drink or large coffee + chips ($ 6.99) and finally «the complete lunch» — 4 empanadas + one drink or large coffee + chips ($ 8.50).
The sweet pasteles comes in dulce de leche, dulce de batata, or dulce de membrillo flavours.
Well I have to say it’s too bad that these menu items all come with chips — I didn’t know chips were staples of argentinian cuisine? Too bad I cannot replace that with some healthier option.
The empanadas were tasty and not too dry. I chose 3 empanadas for $ 4 — a fair price for a filling lunch. I also like the free delivery to anywhere between 1st and 41st.
Place rating: 2
Palo Alto, CA
Can’t compete with GoGo’s, though price is ok. (can get a meal to go with a drink)
empanadas taste like they were pre-​packaged.
pepperoni and cheese was too salty
spicy chicken wasn’t spicy.
beef was blah.
corn had bechamel sauce
i suppose the selection is supposed to appeal to american tastes, but i think they need to tweak things a little.
the branding stamps do make them easier to identify.