Rika’s Empanadas

Despite Unilocal’s notification that this location is closed, Rika’s Facebook page and a note on their door says that they are only closed for renovations, and to check their Facebook page for updates on when they will be re-​opening.
I ordered 6 different empanadas, just to get a good sampling of what they had to offer. My favorites were the bacon and prunes (I know it sounds odd, but it had a good combo of salty and sweet), blue cheese (which I didn’t expect to enjoy, but I did), sweet beef and the spicy beef (which was actually borderline hot. I forgot to ask to have them fried, so I got them baked instead. They were still good, but lets be honest, everything is better when its fried.
The service was warm and accommodating. I can’t wait to go back when they re-​open!

The empanadas have a delicious, flakey crust. Sadly, the fillings were just a little meh across the. On one hand, there were good amounts of meat and you could taste each ingredient listed (eww, too many olives!). On the other hand, if you’re anything like me, you sort of want a saucy, homogenous-​goo-​with-​subtle-​chunks-​of-​meat texture. Instead, the texture inside just tastes like a bunch of chopped up ingredients stuffed together without any sauce/​cheese/​etc to help meld things together. I’m not an empanada scientist, so I don’t know if this is intentional and/​or more authentic, but I’m personally not a fan.
Oh, the empanadas were baked fresh to order. Good if you want a piping hot, guaranteed-​fresh empanada. But you’ll have to be patient. Our order took at least ten minutes, and we were the only people in the restaurant at the time.

Wow i love this place! I’ve just gotten home from buying 8 different kinds of empanadas (spicy beef, chopped beef, sweet beef, onion and cheese, chicken and mushroom, caprese, ricotta and spinach and beef) and so far I’ve tried the sweet beef and onion and cheese and oh my gosh! These are the bomb! I’m definitely going back for some more sweet beef because they are so good. Too bad they didn’t have the fatay filling anymore which according to Unilocal reviews are the best. Nevertheless, I’m not disappointed with what i got. These are so, so, so delicious!!!
Update:
Oh Lord, the best empanadas ever. Devoured a dozen in just 1 sitting. All of their empanadas are so good but you should definitely try the fatay empanada and pair it with their chimichurri sauce. Oh my goodnesss!!!

So here I am, just going about my life having moved to g-​town from a virtual food Mecca and occasionally lamenting about Glendora’s non contender status in the world of food snobbery and then BAM! All of a sudden I slam into Rika’s because my nose was so far buried in my Unilocal app trying to find an interesting place to eat round these parts) and what’s that you say? Yummy empanadas on Grand Ave? What th?! Where exactly? Oh smooshed between the hospital and the liquor store. Good a place as any I suppose.
What’s that?! They also have amazing sammies, crepes and other savory items? Finally got our empanadas on and the options… my God the options, people, its recaculous. I cannot believe Glendora peeps aren’t Proudly shouting about this gem from the nearby mountain tops… furthermore that it took me two months of living here to finally discover it (never thought to Unilocal it, my bad). Rika is a GIFT to our scarce food scene. Go now and thank me by telling others that they are missing out too and ultimately, we can keep this lovely hole in the wall ours.

Great taste and flavors. Three times eating here, always left happy. Great party food.

Went here for the first time tonight. We didn’t know that its a sit down and they take your order. I just went up to the counter and ordered like the other people. Anyway we got the Rika’s pizza and got a free emapanada coz they said the pizza might take awhile so we got the spinach. The pizza actually came before the free empanada but that’s ok. Everything was delicious! Pizza had a lot of toppings and the slices were huge. My husband and i were so full! We also got empanadas to go :-) Will definitely be back!

The skins one these empanadas are razor thin!!! I mean, it must take some mad skills create these things. We sampled most of their empanadas and must say the the filling to thin dough is the best I’ve ever seen.
The variety of fillings was nice and added a ton of variety. The only thing for me was that I’ve had tastier fillings. For myself, the fillings were good, but nothing that blew me away. The skin, well, that blew me away.

Last Saturday was my first time to try their food and it is SOOO yummy tasty & very clean.
Defiantly I will come again.

A friend treated us to some of the empanadas here one night for dinner. Each empanada was so cheap that we ended up ordering over a dozen between the three of us. We originally ordered everything to go, but the box of pastries smelled so good that we opened it up and started eating right then and there. A woman working there saw us and started passing out plates, napkins, utensils, and water for us. Thank you for the great service!
We ordered spicy beef, chicken mushroom, bacon & prunes, caprese, ricotta cheese & spinach, fatay, and the eggs & bacon. EVERYTHING WAS DELICIOUS. The spicy beef has a just-​enough kick to it, and the bacon and prunes WORK. My favorites were the chicken mushroom and the caprese, but I’d eat any of them again.
Don’t worry about not knowing which empanada has which filling. They are all folded a certain way, and there’s a little cheat sheet that shows which fold has which filling. Genius!
I have no idea how the pizza is, but I highly recommend the empanadas. They’re cheap, they’re filling, and they taste wonderful. I’m coming back for more!

What a sweet little gem!
I had the sweet beef, fatay, spinach and cheese, and eggplant empanadas. They are sooo delicious! I love how fresh they taste. The Fatay was probably my favorite (though it was alittle salty).
So happy to find this spot if I’m ever craving freshly made empanadas.

My husband is Argentine and moved to California just 2 years ago. He had been looking for an argentine restaurant since he got here, he tried dozens of places and this one hit right on spot for him. Everything is delicious, specially the pizzas.
Also very good service and the desserts are to die for.

Delicious empanadas!
We had the eggplant, blue cheese, corn, and spinach ricotta. All were amazing. They also serve Argentinian style pizza which I will have to go back and try. You have got try have the giant dulce de leche cookie for dessert! A true Argentinian delicacy.

la atencion siempre excelente, las empenadas increibles, el lugar impecable. i love it!!!

I’ve lived in San Dimas/​Glendora for over 12 years and I’ve never known about this place. Awesome hole in the wall that my friend from L.A. took us to.
The empenadas are authentic and amazing! I love the freshness, quality and most importantly — the taste. Tastes so good I think I’m gonna do my happy dance all the way home and into a wonderful food coma.
I will definitely come back, this time with reinforcements.

Great little local place to get Argentinian food.
I got the beef, caprese, and corn empanadas. All were very good.
The beef empanada was an expected tad salty, but that came from the green olives. Otherwise, it was good.
The caprese had the right amount of cheese and ham. All the ingredients worked well together without one ingredient overpowering the rest.
My favorite though was the corn. It had a nice creamy white sauce with the right amount of corn inside. Also, The Parmesan cheese they used did not make the empanada too rich tasting.
For dessert, I got the alfajores de maicena which was delicious!!!
I can’t wait to go and try their dessert crepes, pizzas and other empanadas.

You know my cheap-​and-​good mantra? Well this hole-​in-​the-​wall in the most deserted mini mall I’ve ever seen, has that mantra in spades.
Ignore the fact that they have pizza, though locals seem to come in for that. This is a legit Argentinian joint with all the respect for tasty, meaty fare that country exudes.
We stumbled upon this place as we waited for niecey-​poo to get out of her dance rehearsals and are glad we did. The empanadas here are just delicious; not too salty and filled with enough good stuff to make your taste buds zing. And btw, when they say spicy, they mean spicy. We tried a plethora of their empanadas and were thoroughly impressed.
Adorable mom-​n-​pop ambience with enough Argentinean baked goods and products to keep you coming back.

Tucked away in Glendora just South of Foothill Blvd. is an empanada and pizza place that pumps out all sorts of pastries and goodies Argentine style. We did a quick Unilocal search and happened upon the spot after watching the CA Amgen Tour go through the area and stopped in to grab a drink and a quick bite.
We ran into some acquaintances while stopping in who love the spot and said the crepes, cookies, and empanadas here are really good. Everything is fairly reasonably priced as well.
We tried a few of the empanadas and they were pretty good, we even placed a second order to get a few to take home. The empanadas are baked not fried and they are all par baked so they just finish them off in the oven and they are ready within 5 minutes or so. Their pastries looked delectable, many of them made with quince or dulce de leche. They house make everything which is nice.
Favorite Empanadas Listed in order from most to least favorite:
Fatay 4.5 stars (Arabian Empanada) Probably my favorite out of what I tried. ground beef, tomatoes, red peppers, onions, lemon juice, parsley served with a lemon wedge
Bacon & Prunes 4 stars Very rich flavors of bacon, prunes, onions and mozzarella cheese
Sweet Beef 3.5 stars ground beef, onions, bell peppers, hard boiled eggs, green olives, raisins
Ricotta Cheese & Spinach 3.5 stars Rich flavors. This is heavy on the ricotta, it also has a few surprise ingredients like onions, ham, hard boiled egg and parmesan
Chicken Mushrooms 2.5 stars chicken, mushrooms, green onions, creamy white sauce, almonds, too salty for my taste
All in all a nice clean establishment with plenty of seating, worth a stop if you are in the area, especially if you are a fan of Argentine food.

I’ve known of this place for a few years now and visit once or twice per year. There is nothing dietary here except for maybe a salad and a glass of water. As for the goodies made here fresh from the oven are «empandadas». They are made with imported flour from Argentina as the ownership displays what is imported from the old mother country for baking. Argentine pizzas are also well known pies to enjoy. If I had to compare Italian, American and Argentine, I would definitely choose Argentina. Probably because they are made between a deep and thin crust with not too much sauce and a well round mozzarello cheese that is not greasy, no napkin required to wipe away excess grease.
To truly understand what type of empanada is ordered, make sure to ask for the illustrated information sheet showing a variety of different folds, pinch marks and shape to distinguish each one. If this is your cheat day on your weekly diet, this is the day to cheat, like I said, nothing on the dietary side.
Pizzas are made in 3 sizes and I honestly think a large is more like a XL, none the less you have the choice of small, medium and large. Expect to find all your favorite topping with imported flour which I think makes a big difference in taste.
They also have savory and sweet crepes on the menu and one serving can easily be shared with a family of 4 because they do run slightly big.
Our complete order consisted of the following;
Appetizer Crêpe — Nutella chocolate, whipped cream and powered sugar
Dinner Salad Criolla — Romaine hearts, tomatoes and lots of onions
Large Pizza — Pepperoni
Empanada — ham and cheese, spicy beef and open basket spinach (my favorite)
Beverages — Ice water with lemon
Tonight we were complete with a party of 4, my tab was just over $ 40.00 and I gave a gracious tip to our waitress who was very attentive, polite and courteous with a smile.
The business is owned and operated by a husband and wife team who employ son and daughter and it almost appears as if the adult siblings are indentured to the culinary serving under two masters.
Other items on the menu are hot/​cold sandwiches, calzone, pizza submarines, standard beverages, teas and coffee. NO ALCOHOL.
Phone orders are available for take out and catering can be offered for your next party or corporate event. Empanadas are that perfect item to bring to a party.
Parking is available on private property and it’s free.
3 flat screens are always set to a latino sport channel showing a futbol match :)

I’ve been craving empanadas, so we decided to take a drive out to try Rika’s. This has been on my list for a while now. Finally got the chance to check this place out. Always great to have a friend that is always willing to try new places and leaves the deciding of the restaurant to me.
We ordered a dozen empanadas and a small chicken pizza. Sweet beef, spicy beef, chopped beef, tuna, bleu cheese, bacon and prune, fatay, chicken, corn, eggs and sausage, chicken and mushroom, last one was ham and cheese.
Favorite empanadas were the bleu cheese, fatay, and eggs and sausage. The crust is pretty much the same for all, main difference would be the filling. They all come in a different shape to distinguish what filling they have. There is a chart that shows you which empanada it is. Our waitress has been there long enough to recognize all the different varieties of empanada and zip through explaining which was each to us.
The chicken pizza had tomato sauce, cheese, chicken, mushroom, bacon, and then covered in alfredo sauce and parsley. Pizza was good but very heavy. Creamy, rich, and flavorful. Add crush peppers to give it more kick.

This place is pretty amazing for a whole in the wall. The husband and I usually get the empanadas to go and they are still super warm by the time we get home. They are put in a pizza box and with a diagram tapped to the top so you know what empanada you’re eating. Each empanada has a different fold on a different corner so you are able to identify them. We’ve tried almost all of them and of course we like some more than others but we still like them all. From their corn empanadas are creamy and hit the corn craving spot, their onion and cheese are so perfect and enjoyable with jalapenos on the side, their spicy beef, their chopped beef with the bell peppers and olives, the fatay which is soooo good! and their caprese with lots of cheese, all super delicious. Just naming them make my mouth water. Don’t be afraid to try them all. Their golden and lightly crispy crust will make all your tummies smile. They have a good amount of options and if you aren’t looking for empanadas, I believe they also do hot sandwiches, calzones, salads and pizzas which I am yet to try. They are all affordable, clean establishment with friendly customer service. Great for snacks, party platters and even for dinner.
Don’t be fooled by their size. I thought I was easily going to be able to consume more than 4 and sure enough, my eyes fooled me. 3 were more than enough for me.
Price: a little over a dollar for each ($ 1.79– $ 1.99 if I remember correctly) It’s cheaper if you buy a dozen.

The two times that I’ve been here were for takeout. Both times, the staff was nice and friendly, so that’s a plus. The first time I was here I got their lunch combo and their empanadas were good! The second time I came here, I ordered a dozen. I felt like it wasn’t as good as the first time I had it, but it might have been because I ordered different flavors. Or because my mom was complaining to me how bad these things were for my health. But hey, as fattening as they are, they’re still pretty delicious.
I haven’t had enough empanadas in my lifetime to judge what are good empanadas, but these aren’t bad. However, these aren’t knock-​your-​socks-​off-​amazing. However, these empanadas are better than the ones I’ve had before at another restaurant.
Just a note, if you’re going to order a dozen empanadas, you might want to call in and make a phone order beforehand. It’ll save you a chunk of time!