Dulce’s Bakery and Empanada

We wanted to try their empanadas and we were not disappointed. We ordered beef, chicken, and cheese. They made them fresh, the smell was amazing. The empanadas were pretty large and very tasty. True to the bakery form the crust /​shell was especially delicious, fresh, flaky, with a little bit of sweetness. My favorite was the chicken.
I look forward to going back and trying some of their other items as well as enjoying some more empanadas, perhaps the pineapple.

First off, arrived at lunch time and tried to order the Saltenas and Empanadas and was told that they had to Saltenas. Ok… so then tried to order Empanadas and one cookie, and wanted to use my Coupon. The owner and cashier both tried to overcharge me and although I only asked for one cookie, she insisted I buy 3 cookies at $ 1.50 each. Bottom line, they told me they were not making any money with my coupon! I’ve honestly never experienced this kind of rude service. I walked out and reported them!

We requested a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake for our daughter’s birthday and that’s what we got. It looked terrific and it was absolutely delicious (tres leches).
They made us nervous by not having it ready at the time we requested (it was finished an hour late), but once we saw and tasted it, all was forgiven.
I will definitely be back and can highly recommend. (I just might build in a few hours buffer.)

First of all, I’m pretty sure that if I called any Hispanic/​Latino person MEXICAN, ish would not fly well. So don’t point out my bf and I when you’re delivering our food as the CHINOS. But all Asians are the same right, and it’s not like we can hear that term so it’s cool right? Wrong? I’m pretty sure if I said hey Mexican when you’re Bolivian, El salvadorian, etc. you would not appreciate it.
This wasn’t only one of the things that gave this establishment a one star. The poor service and extremely slow pace of receiving our food, will not make me or my bf coming back here so quickly. We had no utensils to eat anything, nor did we receive any as time passed on.
Also, we were over charged for our meal when we got the 2 empanadas and fries special, plus some pastries she tried to do a separate order for the empanadas and fries and figured «hey they wouldn’t catch it» but HEY, my bf is a tight wad with money so I knew he would catch that.
As for the food, it was alright. Probably about a 2.5−3 stars but I’ve had better empanadas else where with far better service than this place.

We bought a «Specialicious» deal: $ 8 for $ 16 worth in empanadas or sweets. We spent a total of $ 20something at the bakery, after using the coupon deal. This is how we found out about the place!
The empanadas de queso (cheese empanadas) were spectacular! They made them fresh for us and we enjoyed them on the spot. They are made of a light, fluffy texture dough and the mozzarella inside was perfectly placed and cooked. Loved them!
The chocolate cupcakes with vanilla icing looked and smelled amazing. The cake part was kind of dry and there was a lot of sweet icing on top.
The choco flan is very sweet, but probably would have been perfect with coffee or espresso!
The key lime pie was good. I’m not a key-​lime type of person, but it’s better here than most places that attempt to make key lime pie!
The flan and tres leches were ON-​POINT!!! I haven’t found a bakery that can make these two things as there were supposed to be made, until now. For these & the empanadas, I will come back! DELICIOSO!!!
We also bought three slices of pan de queso (cheese bread), but have not yet tried them. They look delicious though!
They also offer salteñas (we are vegetarian, so we didn’t get any), hot chocolate, Inca Cola, cookies, cakes, other cupcake flavors, and are located next to a Peruvian chicken place called «Wild Chicken». Grab dinner there, and get dessert here at Dulce’s! :)

Delicious food and sweets! My favorites are the cheese, chicken, and guava empanadas! I also love the alfajores! They are so delicious! I look forward to trying more things here! The staff is very friendly.

This place is a solid three stars!
I was craving empanadas so that’s what brought me here. I ended up ordering 1 chicken empanada, 1 beef empanada, 1 chicken saltena, and 1 slice of tres leches cake (they have a $ 10 minimum for all card purchases).
The chicken empanada would be the best choice I made. The filling was made with rice, chicken and corn. It was packed with so much flavor! My only complaint was that it was too salty. It was a bit hard to finish (but I did anyways) because it was salty yet so good! The beef empanada lacked flavor and was just so pale in comparison to the chicken empanada. As for the chicken saltena, I think it was undercooked because the crust inside was a bit doughy still. I didn’t know they had the green hot sauce here! I was never offered any :(The tres leches cake was nothing special.
All in all I think I’ll try the chicken empanada again in hopes it’ll be less salty but I would not make it back if it was out of my way.

Makes me drool just thinking about the saltenas and empanadas that Dulce’s makes. Enough said.
Ok, I’ll elaborate. These are pretty up there, especially in comparison to the ones I’ve had in Miami. Both beef and chicken varieties of saltenas are equally tasty. Remember to eat from the top and with a spoon so you don’t lose all the juicy filling! The chicken, beef, and chorizo empanadas are amazing as well, especially with the green chili sauce. There’s also a good variety of sweet bakery items in the glass case. So much goodness from this one little place but good thing the ladies at the counter are always very sweet and helpful with deciding. Definitely recommend swinging for a quick bite or for a snack on the go!

YES. YES. YES.
Empanadas, some of the best I have had. the plain ol’ cheese ones are so amazing, it’s hard to believe that something so simple can be so mouthwateringly awesome. The beef and chorizo are also worth noting, both loaded with DELICIOUS fillings! the beef is like moms pot roast in a fluffy, crispy on the edge pastry. the chorizo is a nice mix of sausage and potato, simple again, but SO GOOD!
The Saltenas have also been on point. It is a welcome addition, especially saving the trip down to tutto benne on the weekends, knowing there is a place with just as awesome saltenas, right down the road, I might be in trouble.
While I haven’t tried it yet, I have seen the Silpancho and the Milanese, BOTH looked and smelled fantastic, as they wafted by as I was waiting on a to-​go order. I will update the review once I have tried them.
Roxy couldn’t be a sweeter host and is very informative, helpful, and just a pleasure to see.
I WILL be back, much sooner than later!

I was getting my tires changed at the AAA in the same shopping center and saw the sign for Empanadas and Salteñas so I decided to stop by. The inside was a very friendly atmosphere. I was greeted by a very kind lady named Roxy. She answered all of my questions I had and explained the difference between empanadas and salteñas to me. I ended up ordering the Cheese empanada and beef salteña, each of which cost me 3 $. Roxy also spoke fluent spanish to other customers in the store, catering to all of their needs. The great service she provided is something that’s rare to come by these days. Because I ordered two items I got also got free inca kola.
The cheese empanada had amazing crunchy crust and had the airyness of a croissant. The cheese inside was gooey and melted and contrasted perfectly to the salty yet slightly sweet crust. This was the best empanada I have had since I was in Colombia a year ago, and honestly was the best empanada I have ever had.
The salteña came out and I was still questioning how a stew could be inside a pastry. Roxy showed me the proper way to eat the empanada, which would have ended up spilling on me if it hadn’t been for her help. The stew inside had small chunks of potatoes and beef, and the pastry was soft and chewy. All of the flavors tasted amazing together, and I was very full by the time I had finished my meal.
All together I would rate this restaraunt 10 out of 10.
Dulce’s Bakery and Empanada’s is one of those hole in the wall places that does everything right and will have you coming back over and over again. This has become my new spot to grab a snack, and I won’t be sacrificing my wallet like I would be at Chipotle or Five Guys.
Anyone passing by definitely needs to check this place out!

We stopped here after lunch at Sheba. Completely different but wanted to get some saltenas to go for later. They were pretty good except for the cheese ones — those were awesome.
We haven’t tried their sweets but I already have a favorite bakery so will stick with the saltenas.
Definitely recommend it for lunch or snack.

The saltenas and empanadas taste good (hence the two star rating) BUT the service was unacceptable. We ordered five dozen saltenas with extra green sauce four days prior to our party and to be ready by noon. The lady who helped us promised to arrange it on a nice tray and give us extra sauce. We paid for half the order the day we ordered it and I asked if I needed to bring my receipt when I pick it up. She said ‘no’; I’m writing down the balance I owed.
Then we come back the day of the party at around 12:30pm to pick up our large order. It was not ready even though we asked for it by noon. When we questioned this, the lady got defensive and said ‘where you here at noon? If it was ready at noon, you would say it’s cold.’ I was so taken back by this response. Then we asked for the green sauce and she only gave us one container after we ordered so many pieces. When we asked for more, she said there was no more… Huh? We complained and somehow miraculously more sauce appeared!
Lastly, we paid the balance of the food but they tried to over charge us. The lady wrote down what I owed on the order form but she tried to add on another $ 5 more which made no sense to us! She and her colleague finally realized what happened and charged us appropriately but we had to explain to them what we paid for already.
All in all, even though the food was good, we would probably not go back because the poor service.

A good friend of mine and fellow Unilocaler Brandi K. introduced me to this hidden gem. She told me how fresh and delicious the empanadas were so I told myself I HAD to try it! Now I love me some fried foods and empanadas are definitely a favorite. I decided to stop by here after trying out a new bakery down the street and figured this was a good time to try another new place! It’s located right before the shopping center on Pickett Road on a small strip of 3 other restaurants.
Walking in the bakery, I get a big ol’ «Hola Buenos Dias». She started talking to me in espanol right away but after I said,“Can I get…” She realized I didn’t speak spanish. She was a petite and cute lady who asked me if I had been there before and if I needed suggestions. I decided on 1 pollo empanada, 1 beef empanada and 1 pollo saltena. She told me it was going to take 3 – 4 minutes because they were still making the food in the back. I was also mesmerized by the desserts in the front. I think they were saying, eat meee just one!!! So yeah I decided to get the alfajores, which are cookies that have dulce de leche, milk and sugar. Empanadas and saltenas are $ 3 each which is reasonable and the desserts run from $ 1.50-$ 2. On the way home, the aroma of the food made my stomach jump up and down. I wanted to eat one so badly but I knew it was better to wait and sit at my dining room table and take in all the deliciousness slowly.
Now on to the best part — the saltena comes in a thick and savory pastry that’s filled with chicken, potatoes and peas. The juicies oozing out of the pastry is a sweet and tangy sauce that runs down your fingers with each bite. It can’t get any better than this. The empanadas had a golden, flaky and warm crust that I probably could have ate just by itself. The chicken one had rice and corn inside which was very unexpected but in a good way. I was surprised and delighted at the same time. The beef empanada had seasoned ground beef and potatoes inside. Both empanadas were delicious and the filling inside was more than enough.
I will definitely be back in the next couple weeks to get more food because now I’m obsessed! I also have the biggest food baby possible. I enjoyed every bite of everything I had and loved how fresh the food was. Definitely a great place to go when I don’t want to drive to Arlington or Falls Church.

I ordered 6 empanadas to go — 3 beef, 2 chicken and 1 beef saltena. I also ordered pastries — 1 pumpkin roll and the tres leches cake based on the reviews.
First of all when I got home I only had 5 empanadas and I was charged $ 18. 6 empanadas are $ 16, not sure how that happened. The crust of the empanadas was slightly burned and the fillings were good on the beef but not so much on the chicken. And I couldn’t tell how the beef saltena was since I didn’t get one.
As far as the pastries go — I found some crunchy tidbits of what I believe is eggshells in the pumpkin roll and the tres leches was ultra dry and flavorless. What a super disappointing experience!

Cuñapes!!! One of my husband’s colleagues brought him an array of desserts from Dulce’s (like the cheese empanada, the dulce mound, etc.), and I was able to swipe some for sampling — the cuñapes were my favorite! These little mounds of crispy cheese balls were chewy (I believe it has tapioca flour) and were sooooooo good — I could have eaten these all day (make sure you get them fresh as they can get dried out pretty quickly). Also, ask for their dulce de leche/​‘rare’ dessert — I loved the sauce within and it wasn’t overly sweet — the combination of the powdered sugar on top, the flakiness of the ‘sandwich’ (phyllo?), and the thinly-​spread dulce de leche/​caramel sauce was very nice. My husband said that the lady in there, Ms. Roxy, was really sweet. Definitely a bakery worth checking out, and I’m interested in trying out their other items!
+cunapes

Thanks to Bobby K’s check in here a few days ago, I started having major cravings for empanadas. My ever-​hungry tummy decided this place needed to be tried, ASAP. So off I went!
Since my tummy also does not care what time it is, I rolled into Dulce’s Bakery for empanadas at about 10:15am. As soon as I stepped into the bakery, I was welcomed with a «Good Morning!» and a big smile. After returning the gesture I spent a minute taking a look around and glancing at the menu on the wall. As to not look like too much of a weirdo, I quickly told the nice lady behind the counter that I was a first-​time customer. She then took the time to tell me about their most popular non-​dessert offerings (beef, cheese and chorizo empanadas or saltenas). This was a great way to start my first impression of this place!
Although there were some great lunch specials, I chose two 3-​cheese and 1 chorizo empanadas. The cheese empanada was what I was really craving, but I’m a fan of chorizo as well, so why not? It took a few minutes to cook my order, but the wait was not long. Just enough time for me to take a better look around. The place is clean and pretty organized. The kitchen looked to be the same, at least what I could see through the open door.
After getting my order packaged to go, the torture began. How I got through those long 5 miles back to my house with a truck filled with the delicious smells of those empanadas… I’ll never know. It took sheer will that I didn’t know I even possessed to get home without opening that package & devouring at least one! Yes, it smelled THAT GOOD!
Finally at home, the act of eating could begin! I cut into each (pictures included here) to see what I was working with. I was excited to see that the meat empanada was totally filled with chorizo, potatoes, spices and other ingredients. The 3-​cheese empanada on the other hand… definitely lacking. As pictured, there was only a thin line of cheese in HALF of my beloved empanada :(Definitely a disappointment in that aspect.
Sad feelings aside, my tummy was still demanding satisfaction! You know, that whole «Feeeeeed meeeeeee Seymore!», routine. No? That’s just me??? Anyway…
Food went in mouth. Mouth and tummy were happy. The dough was warm, flaky, and oh-​so-​yummy! The chorizo filling was warm, filling and just enough spice. It reminded me of something that would be good comfort food on a cold day. The cheese filling, although lacking in the amount of cheese used, was still warm, melty, deliciousness. It just left me wanting MORE!
The next time I’m in this part of Fairfax with a craving for empanadas, Dulce’s will be on my radar for another try. But I’ll also throw in a saltena and some sweets to round out my experience — and make tummy happy!

Don’t get their chicken empanada, it’s just filled with rice. They should call it empanada de arroz. I give them credits for the crust but that’s it, not impressed at all. The ratings in Unilocal are way too high.
The beef empanada is more like empanada de papa.
Tres leches? No thank you. It’s just super sweet, that’s all. It doesn’t have the milky taste that good tres leches should have.
I am not giving this place one star because at least the guy working there was very friendly.
If you are planning to stop by here because of the high reviews in Unilocal,think twice.

WHAT HAPPEN TO THIS PLACE!!! Empandas are delicious, but everything else seems to be out after 2pm. WHY!
Great deal for sweets if you get there on time. 5 for 4.99
I wanted to try the key lime pie, but it was already out. I suppose I could wake up earlier and stand outside and wait for them to open !

It’s a good thing thing I don’t work nearby, or I would be scarfing down empanadas by the dozen. We had been meaning to try Dulce’s since it opened next to one of favorite peruvian chicken places, and we finally made it by this weekend. The interior is fairly plain and with a decent number of tables, but the best part is the pastry case, which was chock full of goodies. While they had a few full-​size cakes, the bulk of the options were individual portions of a wide variety; key lime pie (tasty), vanilla tres leches cake (outstanding and not overwhelming sweet), napoleons, and a number of dessert-​like empanadas (i.e. guava).
In addition to the desserts, and as the name of the shop implies, they also serve hot empanadas; we tried the the southwestern chicken (shredded chicken, black beans, corn), and the chorizo. While the southwest chicken was decent, the chorizo was excellent. Most importantly, for both the shell was still flaky from the frier, unlike many places where the empanada sits in a warming cabinet so long that the shell gets leathery. The chicken saltena was also quite good, but if you haven’t had one be prepared for it to be much juicier than an empanada!
On top of the food, the service was friendly enough; all around this is a nice place to get some great empanadas and dessert to go with them!

Authentic empanadas? Check. Delicious alfajores? Double check. Inca cola? Fizzy check.
Love this place so much, and the owner and her son are the greatest. You’d be a fool not to come here for some authentic Latin fare!