Chile Lindo Empanadas and Esperpento Wine Bar

Just FYI, that this place CLOSED in September 2009.
One of the best empanadas in the city.

FYI Chile Lindo has moved out of this space, but Paula is still actively the Girl from Empanada at her 16^th St location! Here’s the current/​correct Unilocal page for Chile Lindo:
If you loved the empanadas at the Esperpento location, be sure to go leave a review & spread the word about her being back to her original location. Chile Lindo is super active in the SF Street Food movement these days, too, so don’t miss out!

I’m in love with the simplicity and warmth of this place and I’m addicted to the pino (beef empanadas) they are baked, full of nutritious ingredients– I feel good after eating one., and I always want a second! I’m also really beginning to appreciate chilaen wine– there are some great cheap wines! Perfect way to start a night on the town or unwind after a long day– good date spot too!

Chile Lindo — 5 Stars!
A cute and cozy café, good wine, and excellent empanadas! Perfect! (Having to go to Esperpento to use the restroom is a little annoying — but not a big enough deal to lower the rating.)
Esperpento Wine Bar — 5 Stars!
Excellent and reasonably priced tapas. Good wine and sangria. Great place for a date, relaxing meal, or catching up with friends and family.

Chilean wine, authentic Chilean empanadas, perfect!

Finally (I think?) an Empanadas place in the Mission. Love the place, love the story…

The perfect spot for:
a) The Indecisive… two options on the menu… cheese and pino (meat) empanadas.
b) The Discerning… food tastes damn good
c) The Underemployed (aka the thrifty)… $ 4 of $ 5 empanadas and $ 20 bottles of wine.
d) Misanthropes… only room for about 12 people per seating.
e) The star-​crossed lovers… festive background music and a sweet hostess/​cook/​owner Paula who balances responsiveness and space.
Paula has been cooking up a storm in the Mission for 15+ years. Chile Lindo was just featured on NPR which is pretty flippin’ cool and well-​deserved. This place will develop (rightfully) a cult following… eat here before the lines get long.

For what it is, this place is great. Rounding up from 4.5 to support a new business. Nothing fancy — two kinds of delicious empanadas, some tasty Chilean wines, and a friendly owner. I look forward to seeing the offerings expand. FYI this place is *tiny* and only open dinners Thursday through Sunday.

This place is smaller than my kitchen, and I ain’t gots a large kitchin’ lemme tell u. Regardless, they put out some tasty empanadas. Was just watching a re-​run of No Reservations in Chile and saw the empanadas specials board. How fitting I would see that as I dug into my queso and beef pies. Small place, big flavor. Kind of reminds me of Canela’s empanadas in Cupertino, although they’re Peruvian. Can’t wait for them to create more variety as queso and beef will only hold me for so long. Plan on going on off hours if you actually want to eat there as there are only a few tables for two. You can take them home and get fresh baked goodness out of your own oven/​toaster oven.

Delicious empanadas that reminded me of Chile. Tiny but charming space, and great for conversation with friends over a bottle of wine. I see an addiction in the making.

meat pies… yum

In Roman Mythology Empanada was a goddess or a surname of Juno. That has nothing to do with this review however :)
This was my first empanada ever, and I thank Willo (of
fame) for taking me to the world première of this incredibly cute and more importantly devinely delicious jewel of a spot across from the Latin American Club in the Mission.
There are two choices (at least for now): Beef or Cheese, and to keep it short and sweet, from the moment I took a bite of the dough, I knew this was going to be something special. Inside my beef empanda was a potpourri of ingredients (onion, olives?) that were quitely simply delish.
Paula the owner was also serving wine (two kinds of red) beer (domestic and I think Chilean?) that unfortunately due my having to be on the air for my Friday night radio show just a hour later I couldn’t enjoy.
I’ll let Paula tell you the story of how this business got started — suffice to say there is enough heart, soul and authentic Chilean atmosphere to make this new addition to the neighborhood a well-​deserved success.
I don’t know much about Roman Mythology — I do know that Paula is the goddess of Empanadas! Yum!