La Carreta Argentina

We frequent this gem-​of-​a-​café in No Oak Cliff, 8 minutes from downtown Dallas. Empanadas are amazing. The Meat-​lovers plate with an assortment freshly cooked on the grill makes the place a big hit with our crew. They handled a party of 25 that we took there for my birthday. Owners are quiet but helpful. They really want your experience to be great. Yummy empanadas~!

The cute house that was formerly a coffee shop felt abandoned inside in dead silence at 6:15pm on a Tuesday; my group sat outside on the airy porch. Inside there was an Argentinian family, somehow affiliated with the owners, an aunt maybe and the kids, loitering at a table, the former distraught, the latter aimless, both bored.
A bachelor, prolly from the neighborhood was alone, chowing down on empanadas, watching a game. «Good empanadas» his voice echoed.
Outside we escaped the refugee vibe as we dined on empanadas and drank our own beers. (BYOB for now) The food is good here and the service a bit helter skelter, but I assume the husband and wife we’re playing all the roles, and everything we ordered arrived despite confusion. They write the number on the empanada that corresponds to it’s filling, that eased some panic over a random plate of a dozen empanadas. I was just wondering if they used a sharpie. My Cesar salad was very good, the eggplant dish seemed overpriced.
Good food and prices but, seemingly, no established customer base.
Expect a discombobulated South American service.

We decided to stop in and pick up some of the wonderful empanadas around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday April 2^nd. But when we saw Carolina at the grill we decided to stay and eat. Carolina recommended a Tilapia fillet served with the chimichuri (sp) sauce and mashed potatoes. I guess our eyes were hungrier than our stomach for we ordered empanadas, the Caprese salad (something light, right?), the french fries a la Provencal to start. Then we went for the basil, tomato and Provolone pizza — the Buenos Aires. And then of course the Tilapia. Our server not passing judgment Paolo did an outstanding job throughout our eight course meal. Every dish was as we remembered — fantastic. And the Tilapia a winner. Look for it soon on the menu or go ahead and ask Carolina the chef/​owner for a special plate. Throughout the evening both Samuel co-​owner and Carolina came to check on us as they did with the other diners. La Carreta is a fantastic eatery right here in OC’s gateway. Look for them at Earth Day Oak Cliff on April 17^th or on Beckley before you get to Zang. The food two days later, still wonderful.

Such a quaint, new restaurant in Oak Cliff! The empanadas were to die for… so very yummy! The service was friendly and helpful and the atmosphere was comfortable.

la carreta argentina, my friends picked me up to go for dinner here. restaurant argentino? im in. we got there at around 8pm. we were the only patrons at the restaurant, might be cause, it seems to me that la carreta is unfortunately in the middle of nowhere? i just moved to dallas, so i dont really know, but i got that impression. this restaurant sits kinda lonely in the middle of nothingness. anyways, most of the people i went with ordered only empanadas and that was all they ate, which. i also thought was kinda weird cause, who has empanadas (only) for dinner?
i got the lomito. that little fucker cost me $ 15. a little too much but i really wanted it. while it was good, the meat was well seasoned, the bread and all ingredients were fresh, including homemade mayo… but i just thought it was a bit too pricey. i only ate half of it as i wanted to save room for dessert. got ensalada rusa as a side. it was just ok. the potatoes were not fully cooked (boiled) so i was disappointed about that. i ended up getting un panqueque con dulce de leche (crêpe with caramel) and that was really good. dulce de leche makes everything good so…
so i ended up paying about $ 27/​$ 30 for dinner. so, in short, a little pricey, far away from civilization and undercooked potatoes. cant say i love this place but so far, its the only argentinian restaurant i know of in dallas. might be back again and ill try the empanadas, see what the hype is all about.

Empanadas. Go for the empanadas! (By now most people are familiar with the concept of empanadas, except for the Unilocal spell check– which is underlining words like crazy in this review, and will continue to do so until I’m done).
La Carreta is in a good location, but not the most obvious. Right next to the recently-​deceased Beckly Brew House. It has it’s own parking lot, making it easy to come and go. Look for the patio with the red umbrellas and the Grand Opening sign that they’ve had up forever now.
I’ve been twice for lunch on a weekday. I understand that this is not going to be the busiest time of day for them. The first time we came in, we were alone in the restaurant, no one else. We thought that was a bad sign, but the food was good. We went back last week, and there were several other lunch groups. Nice to have it not be a ghost town!
They start you off with a free basket of bread with a mayo-​garlic dip. It’s nothing to get excited about, but it is nice to have something to nibble on. Although, some of my coworkers are really all about that mayo dip, so to each his own…
Back to the empanadas. You can get a burger here, a few pastas, some sandwiches– but skip them, get the empanadas. The best one: jamon y queso. Mmm. They also have a cheese, basil, and tomato. I really wanted to like that one– but not enough basil. I’ve also had the spicy chicken– and it was spicy, but I don’t think I would get that one again. I’m utterly smitten with the jamon & queso. How many should you get? The first time I only got 2– and it seemed a little light. The next time I got 3– and that seemed to be too much. In the future, I’ll probably stick with 2.

Dang. This place is pretty awesome; I hope business picks up soon (it was empty when I ate there). I went with a friend for a lunch, and I was expecting some simple hearty empanadas and a plain satisfying pizza, hopefully each with eggs inside. One bump:
My friend: «I don’t like eggs packed in my food.»
Me: «Are you serious?! You are insane! Everything south of the border has hard-​boiled eggs in it!»
Well, at least some of their items did not have eggs. We ordered cheese/​onion and cheese/​ham empanadas and a Berenjena pizza.
Looking forward to my ordinary Argentinian food, which is great even when it sucks, we were given some small finger sized bread with aioli, which was perfectly tangy and rich.
Next came the jammin’ empanadas. They were tender and flaky… two things that are hard to put together in a dough. The dough pockets pulled off these desirable characteristics because they were light. I usually have empanada dough that is rich and dense, thus not terribly flaky, but more crispy. The thin dough snapped like a pastry, but it was moist enough to melt in with the cheese. A near perfect empanada, though different than normal. This was also the second time I have been served an orange chimmichuri, which is a tad different than the traditional green one.
The pizza was unique and tasty as well. The thick, crisp dough was a lot like pie consistency, and it held up well to the excessive proportions of cheese and sauce. It had eggplant, cheese, and chimmichuri sauce. The fresh chimmichuri was a nice balance to the tangy eggplant and rich cheese.
La Carreta is another solid non-​Mexican, non-​Tex-​Mex, non-​Texan eatery in Dallas, and it has a great homey atmosphere. It is right at home in the hip suburb that is Oak Cliff.

I came to this restaurant during the world cup and it was great. However I came back from McKinney on a Thursday around 7pm and it was dead. No one in the restaurant. We ordered empanadas and a pizza and the waitress forgot to put it our pizza we waited the whole time. Very disappointed. All we got were the empanadas although good the dozen is not worth $ 20 and you have to pay for refills in the sodas. Not sure if we will go back. Did I mention I had brought family from California out of all the restaurants there are in Texas.

These guys ran Don Panza which is a place I loved.
I recommend going to this place and giving them a shot.
The food is great and service extremely friendly.

I hold Argentine cuisine in high esteem. Ever since living there as a teenager, I have sought after an authentic Argentine meal. I recommend this restaurant for Quilmes, empanadas, appetizers, and sides.
Definitely order the empanadas and specify that you would like them to be baked, not fried. They will bring them out with chimichurri sauce that will blow you mind. We also requested the matambre as an appetizer. It was very good but I was a bit disappointed that it did not come rolled up in a spiral of food and bread, which is how it is meant to be prepared. They served the elements of matambre in sandwich style. I’ll forgive them that — it was tasty.
At this point in the meal my husband and parents in-​law were applauding my restaurant choice, which was a relief because everyone in our family has high dining expectations. Also, having dragged them all the way to Oak Cliff for something other than Hattie’s was a big deal.
I wasn’t riding this high for too long before we received our entrees and things took a downturn. We ordered the churrasco and requested that the steak be prepared medium-​rare. What they brought us can only be described as very well-​done. I don’t know what happened there. It was okay steak — very flavorful, but not what we ordered.
Your choices for sides are few. I ordered the ensalada rusa, which was excellent. What I really wanted was that delicious Argentine salad with hearts of palm, corn, and salsa golf. Hopefully they will add that to the menu soon.
Things went south quickly when our waiter disappeared for 20 minutes after we finished eating. We all began to feel the despair of momentum interrupted. Later, we found out that the waiter was being interviewed outside on the porch by some type of news media or local restaurant guide. Perhaps next time the service will be faster. The waiter was pleasant and helpful, when he was actually there.
When I go back I hope to have a better service and steak experience so that I can update this review. Help me out Carreta!

Finally got around to trying La Carreta. Seeing that I live within yards of this place, you’d think I would be one of the first loca-​vores to scope this place out.
However, I heard several lack-​luster comments about the food and service from my fellow cliff dwellers, so I decided to wait a few months before offering my patronage to this establishment in my ever-​so hip and happening ‘hood.
While I don’t regret waiting unitl today to try this place, I wished I had waited ’til dark to grab some dinner. Because when i walked out of my air-​conditioned house and into a sweltering 105 degree sun, I didn’t expect to step into a restaurant with a broken AC!
One of the young staff members I chatted up with (who interestingly enough, never eaten the food and didn’t know how to ring me up) told me that their AC was out, but hopefully it would be fixed soon. Well judging by everyone’s sweaty faces, it wasn’t soon enough. But I think everyone was trying to be polite and really wanted to enjoy their meal.
OK, so after waiting at least 15 minutes for my meal, and guzzling my ice cold water, I finally got my to-​go order and sprinted out of there.
But then when I got home, I realized they only gave me 5 of the 6 empanadas I ordered! Dang it! They short-​changed me.
Sighs…nonetheless, these mini hot pockets were not bad… the spicy chicken, the spicy beef, the spinach with cheese, and the tomato with basil and cheese ‚(the ham and cheese was MIA).
All in all, I have to rate this experience as «OK», until next time, when it’s much cooler, and i’m really hungry, AND there’s absolutely nothing in my fridge that looks like edible food-​like substances.
Next time I’ll call ahead first.

After almost a year of waiting, I finally got to try this place and got to say, it was okay but not great.
I guess that’s what happens when you hear so much about a place and you create such high expectations.
However, this doesn’t mean that the food was bad. The empanadas (spicy beef and spinach) where by far the highlight of our lunch. They were perfectly cooked, crunchy and, best of all, baked not fried. My only complain is that they’re too small to share.
We also ordered the provoleta with eggplant and a milanesa napoletana. Both were good but would’t go back there to have them.
I will give it another try to have a taste of their wood-​grilled steaks. If they’re half as good as in Argentina, they’re going to make very happy!

After my second visit, I’m afraid I must drop my rating to two stars. (Read my original review below for a recap of my first impression.)
I went back to La Carreta Argentina last weekend with a group of four people. For starters, we ordered pionono salado, a slice of tarta de jamón y queso (ham and cheese pie), and six assorted empanadas.
Just like the first time, the pionono was awesome. The ham and cheese tarta, however, was mediocre. While completely edible, it was bland and had little to no ham flavor, and it was packed with spices, perhaps in an attempt to make up for the lack of true flavor.
The empanadas are supposed to be available both fried and baked, but we didn’t realize this until it was too late – the waitress never asked how we wanted them, and they just made them fried. (In Argentina, empanadas are usually baked, not fried, by default.) While I do realize they come out much faster fried, we would have happily waited to have them baked. Bad service aside, the empanadas themselves were bland, TINY, and made with very small amounts of cheap ham and ground – rather than diced – meat and chicken. At $ 2 apiece, the empanadas were a complete waste of money.
When entrée time came around, we ordered a milanesa a caballo (a schnitzel with two over-​easy eggs on top), an «Argentina burger,» and a steak sandwich.
My generously sized milanesa was extremely overfried, drenched in fishy-​tasting oil, and a very dark brown on the outside. The eggs on top – which thankfully are hard to screw up – were the only reason I finished my meal.
The lomito sandwich was served on some kind of homemade pita bread. WTF? While appealing to Americans trying foreign food, Argentine lomito sandwiches are meant to be religiously served on French bread.
The «Argentina burger,» a misleading attempt to accommodate the conservative eater who will go to an ethnic restaurant, stare at the menu for 20 minutes and end up ordering a cheeseburger, was served on the same pita bread as the lomito sandwich. Not only is this bread not common at all in Argentina, but burgers there are typically served on either hamburger buns or French bread. And, in the 24 years that I lived in Argentina, I never saw a burger with ham or fried eggs on top.
Apparently, all entrées come with a side of your choice. However, the waitress once again didn’t ask what we wanted, and just brought fries for everyone. I would have loved some ensalada rusa (Olivier salad) with my milanesa, but I had to settle for a bowl of soggy fries, and didn’t realize I had a choice until I revisited the menu later.
At one point, one of us ordered a Quilmes beer. After a few minutes, the owner stopped by our table and unapologetically announced that they were out. Then, she proceeded to explain all the hassle they would have to go through to get us a Quilmes, which involved having someone go out to buy it. No thanks, I can buy it myself at Kegs & Barrels for much cheaper.
Sadly, I was very disappointed with the food and service on my second visit to La Carreta Argentina. While my American co-​eaters really enjoyed their food, I felt bad that they got a misleading idea of what Argentine food is really like.
If I ever go back to this place, I’ll remember to stick with the cold appetizers and awesome pizza.

Good food, good place.
Stopped by for lunch and while the place was not exactly full, the food and service were great.
Started with a hot Tea (Bold flavor), very tasty. The flvored iced tea was very fruity and tasty as well. Started with an appetizer, Matambre Casero (Two slices of veal stuffed roll in a homemade bread, It accompanied with amazing Chimichurri sauce). For my entrée, I resisted the meat platters, sandwiches and pasta dishes and went for the
Berenjena pizza (Mozzarella and egg plant aged in more of that delicious chimichurri sauce).
I’m going back to eat through the rest of the menu.

Great Idea poor execution! Menu is good, service slow very slow! hour at least to get something done! food quality is poor!

Was very anxious to go to the new Don Panza. Much better neighborhood and set up. No liquor license yet which was not good. Service was bordering on horrible, it took 45 minutes to get 6 empanadas. They are good, but this place wont make it with sub par service. Will give it a month or two and go back.

I loved Don Panzas food, and hated their service. Take out was a must because I couldn’t stand how long things took– but if I could pick up the deliousness– everything was AOK.
Now that they’ve moved, the service still sucks and the food isn’t as good. Yes the building is beautiful, but really, I just want kick ass food.
Their empanada selection has been reduced, but we were happy to see that our blue cheese and ham were still there. At Don Panza’s, they always came out baked. This time, they came out fried and we weren’t given a choice. Apparently the table next to us knew to ask for baked, which takes an extra 8 to 10 minutes. I prefer baked– the fried weren’t bad, but they weren’t the right texture. Now I know to ask.
After our empandas we ordered a medium pizza. Gone from the menu was our special pizza with spicy sauce and spicy sliced chicken. We ended up getting a basic pizza from the menu which was good, but not breath taking.
Our entire dining experience took well over two hours. We only ordered 3 empanadas and a pizza. Our glasses were perpetually empty. Since they do not yet have their liquor license– at least I wasn’t going beerless.
I hope it gets better– but perhaps we should all just go to takeout.

Listen up people, here it is the big kahuna… DON PANZA IS BACK, sort of. For those of you who remember my obssesion with that place (read my old reviews) they closed for a while and honestly, I wasn’t sure if they were gonna re-​open. However one day, the BF got an email saying a new Argentiean place was now open. Could it be? Is it true? Have you come back into my life? Let the empanada orgy feast begin!
Now under the new name La Carreta, you had me at La. In the area they call NOBA… North of Bishop Arts, they are now in the mix of getting things done… and making it right. Located right next to the Beckley Brewhouse… it makes an amazeballs location.
When we walked in, immediately I was floored… the place is spectacular! New smell, clean floors amazing tables and décor. They now serve beer and wine, at the old place it was BYOB. So that’s a new plus! Right? My liver thanks you. *bows* I was sad when I walked in and didn’t see the old owner; I thought maybe this was just a new place. Le sigh. But low and behold, there she was. I saw her come out the double doors almost in slow motion and I went crazy… practically assaulted the poor thing. We chatted for a little while about the move and how angry I was she made me wait so long.
The cute as a button waitress brought over a little bowl of Argentinean bread dumplings (if you will) with this amazing chimichurri sauce. FINALLY we got down to business and decided on food!!! We ordered our favorite pizza (hearts of palm, egg and cheese; don’t knock it till you try it) and got a dozen empanadas, a whole assortment of Spicy Beef, Spicy Chicken, Tomato Cheese and Basil and the Chicken, olive, cheese and onion one. Good lord. Call my mama, bring me a box of tissues… I’m…gonna…cry. It’s literally the same menu only more refined. The kitchen is about twice the size and they have more staff now!!! They are still a little on the slower side, but come on, they are getting used to the much bigger space and more customers. So this is their free pass. I’m so proud, I could cry… again.
Don Panza… I mean La Carreta… you complete me and my need for amazing downhome empanadas. WELCOME BACK MY LOVE!!! It’s so good to have you!
Kisses, me gusta.