Rocio’s Saltenas & Pastries

Salteñas is a little café on East Hastings that offers a mix of Bolivian and Argentinian snack food and coffee. Some evenings you can enjoy independant Latin American artists and poetry or art shows.
When you go in you will be attended by one the beautiful young ladies who are the daughters of the owner Rocio, (hence the name) a very nice lady who makes the salteñas and her friendly husband.
Salteñas are like cornish pastries really and originated from an Argentinian woman who I believed lived in Bolivia in the early 20^th late 19^th century
Many positives about the food and service with just one down side. It can get rather pricey. Especially the salteñas. Additionally entertainment is sporadic and sometimes its hit and miss. but definately worth a drop in for a snack and on evenings when they offer entertainment it gets lively and romantic

The empanadas (saltinas?) here are like mana from heaven. We tried every type (chicken, beef, veggie, spinach and cheese) and all were amazing. The cookies and coffee are also great.
What a great find. High on my recommendation list.

Delicious pastries, teas and coffees. The family that runs the café are lovely. They also offer catering.

This place is a hidden gem. Loved the pastries.
The pastries are $ 3.50 a but pricier then starbucks but soooooooooooooooooo worth it.
I am so happy going there. Totally must check it out. I saw Shila’s review and thought I must go there.
Thanks.

Found this as someone posted a review on the Feb 5^th front page of Unilocal.
There is magic in these little pastries. I am not sure what, however, it’s something out of a fairy tale.
I went in only wanting one pastry, however, 1 turned into 2…2 turned into 4… and soon as I knew it, I cleaned out all the shelves and took the rest home.
I hate leaving after work to go to a shop with nothing left by the end of the day. I wanted to be that jerk for once in my life who just buys everything 2 hours before closing. I will be honest in saying that it felt good. Being that jerk for the day made the pastries taste better… I am not going to lie.
The lady working there runs the place. I was addicted to her passion for the pastries and the store. The pastries sold themselves, however, it’s nice to be in a store with someone who is caring about their customers, talks passionately about their product and has good people skills.
The lady at the til was good about taping my box down so that I could take it on the bus, however, I somehow on the bus managed to take on the taped sides off and snuck my hand strategically in the box to eat an extra one before home.
The pastries are expensive at $ 3.50 each but so worth it.
The pastry crust was a texture that I haven’t tried before.
There is plenty of seating inside for relaxing and eating.
This is my new pastry addiction.
The lady working there was sweet enough to give me a «how to» eat the pastry ’cause she warned me that they were juicy.

Rocio’s Saltenas has been in the neighbourhood for a couple months now, and I finally managed to get around to try it. I’m glad that I did, because the food is delicious. I have been a few times and the Saltenas are truly wonderful. I’d never had one before, and the staff warned me that they are very juicy. It’s true, but not in a bad way at all. They are easy to eat and quite filling.
Unfortunately it seems like the place has been slow since it opened. There are lots of bakeries around of various quality. What makes Saltenas good is their unique products. There might be only a half dozen baked goods available, but they are all great and definitely not common. You can’t get a crappy madeleine or mediocre Nanaimo bars, they only do what they are good at.
Overall it is a cool little place you might normally miss, but once you try it you’ll see what I mean. Saltenas are really delicious. I hope that this little café gets more traffic, I would hate to see it close without a chance.

Fantastic home baked delicious salteñas. I loved them and will be a regular when I head out to the Drive area!!!