Have you been to our café!?
Our Sarasota café is the home of The Empanada Girl — A full service café and specialty food shop serving Argentine empanadas, Peperonata fresh pasta, frozen lasagnas, hand crafted espresso drinks, and daily prepared foods with an Argentina/Italian flare. It’s a place to eat, shop, and bring something special home.
Our deli and retail offerings change daily and seasonally — visit us in-store to see what’s fresh today.
What is an Empanada?
Empanadas are a pocketful of deliciousness!
They are much like a turnover or pastry; they’re essentially a filling folded inside of a dough, which is then served either baked or fried. Empanadas are a staple latin-american hand-held food-pocket, originating in Spain that has since made its way to all of South and Central America. Each culture has adapted them into their own unique version.
They are much like a turnover or pastry; they’re essentially a filling folded inside of a dough, which is then served either baked or fried. Empanadas are a staple latin-american hand-held food-pocket, originating in Spain that has since made its way to all of South and Central America. Each culture has adapted them into their own unique version.
What’s special about Argentine empanadas?
Although all empanadas are delicious, they are not all created equal! Each culture makes their own unique style of dough and fillings. In Argentina, it is common for empanadas to come in a vast variety of flavors. We use a savory flaky wheat crust and stuff them with juicy, flavorful fillings of seasoned meat, cheese, and vegetables. They are a huge staple of our culture, as pizza is to American culture.
Made with the freshest ingredients
We believe that fresh ingredients are the foundation of all good flavor as well as the platform for true nourishing food. We are committed to using whole foods as we stay away from processed food and preservatives. All of our dough is made weekly, from scratch. All of our empanadas are baked, not fried. We prove that empanadas can be a wholesome food!
Our mission
It is our mission and purpose to spread love, joy, and nourishment through delicious and nutritious food that warms the soul. Each empanada is blessed with an intention of love and gratitude in our journey to both honor our food and everyone that has the pleasure of eating it. Food is what fuels us throughout our days, which is why it is so important to nourish ourselves with food that was respected, made with whole ingredients and with good intention.
What We Offer at the Café
- Empanadas
Fresh & frozen, served hot or to take home
- Espresso & Coffee
Full-service espresso bar and specialty drinks
- Fresh Pasta & Italian Specialties
The complete Peperonata Pasta line and Italian pantry items
- Daily Prepared Foods
Rotating deli-style dishes made fresh throughout the week
- Catering & Special Orders
For events, offices, and gatherings of all sizes
Stef’s Story
Cooking is in my blood. Growing up, my mom cooked meals from scratch every single night. Very early on, I would hop on to assist doing whatever I could do: peel potatoes, bread milanesas, “washing” dishes (but actually made an even bigger mess therefore doubling the work for that task…), etc. By the time I finished high school, my interest in cooking was still at the forefront, which led me to start Culinary School. In the same week, I began as a full time culinary school student as well working in a professional kitchen full time. The seed that later on became my passion for serving quality food was planted at that time. More