Julia's Empanadas, Washington DC

I was underwhelmed with the quality of these empanadas given the hype. The meat from the Chilean style beef empanada (with egg, olive, raisin, and onion) was rubbery and tepid in flavor. The Jamaican style (with ground beef, onion, potatoes, green peppers, and curry spices) was also lackluster, a far cry from a real flavorful Jamaican patty. And even the veggie Spinach one with ricotta, mozzarella, onion and spices was disappointing, just tasted like a grocery store hot pocket.

Service was nice and friendly, but kind of a pain that why are cash only.

My hope is there are better empanadas in the area, as these were well short of the mark.

Had the vegan empanada. I appreciate the vegan option, but $6 per empanada is a bit pricey. They also were bland. Not worth it with so many other vegan options nearby.

Nasty. I tried 4 and they were all nasty. The strawberry and cream cheese pastry has 1 chump of cold cream cheese in it terrible it was ice cold had hard crust. The Chipotle steak was not good too many stringy over cooked onions. The Jamaican style was the worst I'm so disappointed

Freshly baked, sumptuous empanadas. Absolutely delicious and worth a stop if you’re in the area!

For $6, the filling was subpar. The restaurant is just responding to the local ADMO economy, so I don't really hold the price against them. It's fine if you are hungry for a snack.

Wack. Empanadas are good BUT…. I come here all the time and they always let me use my card (they just have to enter the numbers). But today the person working wouldnt let me use my card. This place needs to be investigated.

The chorizo empanadas were not very good. Mainly beans and rice, not what I was expecting.

The only place in the area you can be in and out in 60 seconds. The empanadas are incredible. Gives New York vibes, small place, but quick, delicious, and always reliable!

Don't go here unless you like bugs in your food. The place looks suspicious when you walk in and it seems the dirty lobby carries back to a dirty kitchen.

Taste: 4/5. In my professional empanada experience, the style and makeup of empanadas vary widely. I only purchased 1 empanada (a salteña) as a snack and, while it was very large and the dough was very good, I thought the inside to be a little lackluster. That being said, there were other flavors that sounded delicious, so I may have just had an unlucky pick.
Service: 5/5. The woman who was running the place was very kind and friendly. She gave me some good recommendations of which flavor I should pick based on her favorites. Definitely a home-style feel.
Vibe: 4/5. The restaurant is located right in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood next to a bunch of other cool places. That being said, I wish Julia’s had a bit more life to it.
Cost: 5/5. $3 empanadas the size of your hand. Enough said.
Julia’s has a banner above its door that reads “We don’t change often. We got it right the first time. ” which I think holds true. A nice spot, especially if one is looking for a quick, cheap bite.

For the culturally-ignorant, empanadas are fancy hot pockets-or crunchy dumplings.
For those more diverse in taste, Julia's dough and baked-style is reminiscent of Jamaican patties, while the filling choices definitely represent the Central and South American influences. Don't let the-questionable presentation-deter you; behind the faded paint and dim lights is a truly delicious treat. What seems at first to be the grime of neglect is in reality a stubborn grip on tradition and the belief that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it. " And in the same way that Christmas or marriage are traditions, what they look like and what they really are can vary drastically. Luckily, in this case the appearance is in your favor: Abuela's food is best, after all. I promise you won't regret trying these empanadas. They're freaking delicious, not overseasoned, and surprisingly not greasy at all.

Julia’s in Connecticut Ave.is much better than this location. Here they make the empanadas different, the quality is not the same.

The empanadas are excellent. They have dessert empanadas as well. Bring cash just in case.

This type of empanadas is not similar at Argentina, colombian, or Venezuelan empanadas; they are more big like 2 in 1, haha, and they have a lot of types and flavors, a good experience though.

The empanadas were just ok. I don't think any of these 5 star review people have ever had a homemade empanada and they're $6 each! The neighborhood is a little sketchy. Not worth the drive or the money.

Not your standard Columbian/Argentinian empanada. More like an empanada with an Italian twist. I will stop by here on all my DC trips. Delicious! Sweet and savory options available.a great experience.

It's fine. Everything tasted very similar to each other and neither was anything stupendous.