Our location:

   2937 24th St. @ Alabama St. (La Victoria)
   San Francisco, CA 94110
   415.410.8300

¡Venga! Empanadas was founded by Manuel Godino, a refugee from the restaurant business who came to San Francisco by way of Madrid and Buenos Aires. Born in Cádiz on the southern tip of Spain, Manuel (known to his friends as Manolo) started cooking when he was 17, when he realized he could cook as well as his mother. In his 20-plus-year career as a chef, he has cooked in all kinds of places, from 90-man petroleum tankers to Italian restaurants to fancy French bistros. In Buenos Aires, he had a popular pizza and empanada joint called Jalapeño as well as a catering business.

Manuel’s passion is feeding people. Although he enjoys preparing elaborate four-course meals for friends and family, San Francisco does not need another gourmet restaurant. What the Bay Area lacks, however, is a good empanada place. He was surprised to learn that such a cosmopolitan area had no casas de empanadas, and even more so after a little research revealed that they are plentiful in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

He decided San Franciscans should no longer go wanting. In October 2008, ¡Venga! was born. Please contact us (VengaSF [at] gmail.com) if you have any questions. We welcome your feedback.