Claudia’s Pastes & Empanadas

Great empanadas for a great price. Just to give you some general info on this joint, Claudia’s is located right outside of downtown San Mateo. Their store is situated in the same shopping center as 7 – 11, not the nicest area. They are a family business so you will most likely see the whole family there (including the toddler). Also, they do not have the best ambiance but this isn’t a sit down dining type of place so it’s okay.
The empanadas and pastes are absolutely spectacular. You have to try their breakfast paste! I would also recommend the vegetarian one with mushroom, onion, and cheese. For the dessert, they are all delicious. The best thing is, every empanadas/​paste is $ 4 or under. So worth it.
I normally call ahead and they will make my empanadas fresh to order. If you are not able to call ahead, they normally have a vast selection on hand.
Do not be deterred by the appearance, Claudia’s is a wonderful empanada shop that is way underrated. I like to think of it as the hidden gem of the outskirts of dtsm.
Would I come again? Hell yea, I already have 11+ check ins.

Love this place!
Pablano Chicken Empanada is delish!

Tried Claudia’s because of a friend’s recommendation a few weeks ago and wasn’t disappointed. We tried three types (I think they said they make 26 types) and all were tasty!
I’ve been back a few times. They are having some sort of family problems so it’s been hit or miss if they are open but worth it when they are. Call before you go.
Besides their fabulous empanadas the owners are really nice people.

Basically a bakery of greatness. So good. No bells or whistles, just really good empanadas! The chicken and sour cream was my favorite, next to the beef and potato. Definitely would recommend it!

Found them from a recommendation from my mom in Pacifica where the empanadas are sold at a local coffee house. I can’t believe I hadn’t tried them before. Walked in at 7:15am on Friday and ordered 2 dozen mixed. They were very helpful and everything tastes amazing. A wonderful change from all the sweets of the holidays. Can’t wait to try the bacon and egg!

First three delivery orders from Claudia’s were perfect.
Fourth order: 2 hours to deliver.
Fifth order: 1.5 hours to deliver.
Sixth order: No food delivered.
Seventh order: No food delivered.
We ordered through Eat24, Unilocal’s delivery service provided by
. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME NO FOOD HAS BEEN DELIVERED.
This time we had a pregnant person at our house. I had to offer her snacks, salad and then run out and grab food.
Also, they never pick up their phone. Ever. EVER. We let it ring for ten minutes on principle. Won’t be ordering from them again.

Delicious! I had an overall great experience with the customer service and the quality of my order. I ordered delivery and was starving so I ordered about 5 different empanadas — didn’t realize that they’re pretty big. I could get full off one or two. They arrived crispy and hot! They are obviously freshly baked to order. My favorites are the creamy breakfast potatoes, the bacon and egg, and the chicken tikka. I wasn’t a fan of the beef. I will definitely be back and highly recommend this place!

La comida es muy rica no tengo problema con eso algo diferente… pero creo que llegamos en el momento equivocado… parecía guarderia o salón de clases y la verdad comer ahí fue un poco incomodo y no me quedaron ganas de regresar…

I stop by Claudia’s every time I’m in San Mateo, wish there was one where I live because most restaurant’s only do desert empanadas. Luckily my job will send me this way occasionally.

Extremely delicious tasting empanadas. Great flavor combination with the creamy chicken! It beat out the green mole chicken for me. Both satisfying. One is plenty sized for lunch portion and incredible price. I took away one star due to the atmosphere inside this eatery. When I entered I was greeted by a toddler in the middle of the floor watching cartoons on the overhead television. All adults were in the back kitchen as I waited to be served at the counter. There were no other customers in the place at the time. Utensils, napkins and condiment bar were threadbare. Probably Your best bet is to order your food to go!

I’ve only had one experience here so far, but it was definitely a good one.
First and foremost, these empanadas/​pastes are really tasty and made very fresh. I made an order for pickup for 12 items and it takes about 10 – 15 minutes to walk from the restaurant back to my office. Even after 10 – 15 minutes of walking in mild, cloudy weather (i.e. not hot), with the food being held in thin paper bags, when my coworkers and I unwrapped the goods, they were still pretty smoking hot inside. Pretty awesome.
These empanadas are also packed with generous amounts of meat/​filling. At $ 3.50−3.75 each for most items, they are a great value. After eating one my hunger was basically satisfied. After finishing the second one, I was really, really full.
The staff were very thoughtful in preparing the order. They labeled everything (with NEAT HANDWRITING YES), and the only items that were the ones that had foil wrapping instead of paper (and yes they were the same type of item).
My coworkers thought their food was excellent, so we will probably order from here again in the future. I would definitely recommend!

Should have known better than to order from here again. Placed a large order for delivery. In the order was a ceasar salad and a house salad. Neither one showed up but there were two fruit salads. I called and apparently they were out of ingredients to make salads. In the future, they should have called to inform me that they were sold out of salads. I don’t want a fruit salad. Additionally, I ordered the ham and pineapple empenada that is supposed to come with tomato sauce on the side, however, that was missing also. The food is decent but the service is horrible. I gave them a second chance and they still disappointed. Will not be going here again.

Always check your order — this is the worst problem.
You’re hangry — place your order — and its not all there… ugh! really?
Food is okay and there are some vegetarian options, not sure how all this fried food is healthy, but hey, if you’re craving an empanada then try one from here.

this place has the best empanadas around. go there to grab a bunch for the family for dinner or just get one for yourself. they are a little bit pricey but I think they are worth it.
definitely not a place that you eat in, it’s a take out place.

I’m debating whether it’s a good or bad thing that Claudia’s is close to my home. Great that I can get a cheap great tasting meal quickly, but also bad that it makes me want to have an apple empanada every day of the week which is devastating for my diet.
I’ve been here three separate times and here are the results of my experience:
1. Came in for the breakfast empanada — bacon egg potato and cheese. Delicious, the crust was crispy, filling warm — great way to start my day. I was headed out early for a bike ride in Marin and this was one of the few places to get some breakfast that’s not fast food.
2. Came in to try some of the savory empanadas. I had the beef and potato one — delicious! Again the crust and size of the empanada consistent with my first visit. My husband ate the creamy chicken one and compared it to a chicken pot pie. We also had the apple one which was delicious — I love apple pie but this is personal size!
3. From my visit #2 (which was only a few days prior), came into buy two apple ones. Sadly they didn’t have any at the time. However, the owner offered me a free pineapple one instead.
Overall fresh ingredients, and I enjoy that they are baking throughout the day so you always get fresh ones and they’re not just in the cases all day long. Can’t wait to return and tell my other friends who live in the area.

3.5 stars but rounding up since I’ve really enjoyed the other flavors I’ve tried. This was my second time ordering from Claudia’s, and I got to try some additional flavors this time around:
–Green Mole Chicken (Mexican Green Mole Sauce, Shredded Chicken, $ 3.50,
): The flavors and crust were really good, but the shredded chicken was dry. I probably wouldn’t order this flavor again.
–Apple Pasty ($ 2.50,
): Good, but not as delicious as the pineapple. Again, the crust of this was still really good.
I still loved the flakiness of the crust, but these two flavors weren’t my favorite– I don’t think I would get either again. Back to ordering more of the breakfast and pineapple pasties!

Where has this place been all my life? My office ordered for lunch and we went all out– 15 empanadas. I chose the breakfast empanada: Bacon, egg, potato and cheese. It was so tasty. Just the right amount of filling and the flaky crust is ridiculous. Also bought the Original: ground beef and potato: Mmm Mmm good! I tried finishing the second and couldn’t. The prices are good and delivery was awesome and on time too!

My GF and I love these empanadas. The flavors are great. We like the beef and potatoe one and the pineapple one is super tasty as well. We even come in for the breakfast empanadas too. As far as flavor and affordability, awesome. They are super nice too.
Now, if it weren’t for the flavor, I would normally give these guys a 2 – 3 star. But I gave them a four because I am only rating the food. I’m a huge fan of family owned establishments and I truly would love this place to succeed. But it doesn’t look like they are organized or even taking advantage of the store space they are in. If they tried to organize themselves, think creatively on how to take advantage of running an effective business, they can do Sooooo much better. I’d love to see pride in this business.
Regardless, the empanadas are awesome.

nahhh… I don’t know why this place is so highly rated. It is only okay… Not so delicious. Sure, it has tons of fillings but the fillings weren’t that great. I am a big empanadas fan and I had better ones before. This place is nothing to be excited about.
In case you wanna know what i ordered,
Chicken Green Mole
Beans and Chorizo

$ 6.28 for 2:
— Beef & Potato Pasty (
)
— Pineapple Empanada (
)
I was super excited to come here after seeing that hey have ”traditional Cornish Pasty” half expecting to get something similar to the kind I grew up with but was very disappointed. The Pastes and Empanadas are made fresh daily in limited quantities so if you come later in the day pickings will be slim. I came at around 2pm and there were only 4 options available.
The 2 I choose I shared with my Husband at home later that evening and were both in agreement that the Pineapple was good once heated, not too sweet with a nice flaky Pastry but the Beef & Potato just didn’t sit right with us. It had some very odd aftertaste, Possibly the Parsley?
Service was friendly and they heat your order for you, seating inside is basic but adequate and drinks are also available.

New flavor favorites:
1. Green Mole — Love the spice in this one!
2. Rice Pudding Empanada — My favorite sweet one so far! It’s actually not overly sweet and is perfect with some coffee for dessert!
Ordered another box to-​go for a potluck! It’s been my regular potluck food supplier — always a hit at parties!