Flaco’s Cuban Bakery

I’m cuban and from Miami where you really get some of the best Cuban food. Their pastries aren’t bad but are missing the signature sugar glaze outside. The Cuban bread isn’t even authentic. Not bad for Gainesville where there are barely any Latin restaurants but far from authentic Cuban food and pastries.
Staff that attended to me seemed bothered.

Best food for hangovers… lol get the sweet cheese desserts called queso something. Also they have good empanadas for the kind of joint that it is. The tacos are cheap as well. Good vibe, but easily crowded late at night when all the clubs have just shut down.

WARNING: This place gave my friends and I terrible food poisoning. We all ordered something with chicken in it, and I’m definitely regretting it now.
My other friend who was with us ordered a pork sandwich and he seems to be fine.

Lord Pretty FLACOS Jodye! This Cuban hole in the wall restaurant is my go to spot if I want wholesome and spicy food at the same time. Usually my food is only really spicy because I love siracha sauce! Any who I always get the combo bowl with either a variety of chicken, pork or beef. I don’t do lentils so black beans for me paired with white rice and plantains. I really haven’t ventured away from my first clutch plate. But they do seem to have other interesting eats. I’m gone try something new someday soon. I used to eat at another Cuban place in town, but that has all changed since FLACOS. Just check it out if you are in downtown Gainesville it will be worth your while!

Flaco’s is a solid 4 STAR restaurant. The owner is an artist who was trying to find a way to pay the bills… so he opened a sandwich shop. It was pretty funny. Bae was putting in order and the owner said to, «Would you please keep your voice down?» Holy cow! I don’t think bae liked it, though she is kinda loud… Anyways, Media noche is awesome! Cuban Gator is a pass. Plantains are garbage, chips are delicious. Jamaican patties are a pass. The place is hip, but the food doesn’t live up to the potential. This place is a 2am drunken, tripping on your own two feet, need some heavy, meaty, eight year old palate type food. Luckily, it’s steps away from all the bars. Good thinkin’ Flaco!!!

after getting meal with no chips realized a tiny little sign saying new pricing… employees were too busy talking about getting some desperate new guy to take all their shifts I guess to ask if I wanted chips. Place has become very dirty.

What keeps me coming back?
Late night cuban food! Who doesn’t like empanadas and arepas. The later you get there, there may be a nice wait because they do get pretty popular with the late night crowd. I can’t really tell if I like the food better than Mi Apa why would you have to choose? I’ve also had the cuban sandwich there and can’t complain

Flacos’s used to be my favorite place to get food after hours … but they have really gone down and I’m quite sure I’ll never come back.
We came in starving and ordered 4 tacos. We sat down and watched an entire party of 10 people come in after us, order, get their food, eat, and leave and we still didn’t have our food.
When we asked about our food, they had forgotten/​misplaced it. By this time, we had been there 30 minutes and were past starvation. They made our food, and I asked the server if anything could be done about the wait. She snapped and said «you got your tacos, what else do you want??!». No one ever apologized for forgetting our order.
I just got home, and one taco is missing. I even paid extra for the guacamole taco and it’s not even in the bag, after all that attitude. I quit. I am never coming back here again.

Flaco’s is not what I would call a bakery and it’s also only partially Cuban. I would describe the food as a hybrid baby of American burgershop and pan-​Central American food. It’s fast, meaty, and greasy and there’s Srriracha sauce on the tables instead of mojo. That in mind, my arepa was good, the service was friendly, and my café con leche made me happy. The divey, smoky eating area feels worn in like a comfy pair of shoes.

Quesito was so good, we ordered another. SO MUCH BETTER THAN MI APA. Collada was strong, but good. All pastries were tasty. We also took home a couple
of sandwiches that were good, although a little soggy.
Service could be faster, but employees were pleasant and helpful.

One of my favorites. Would rate 4.5 if that was an option.
Ropa rice bowel with lentils is the way to go. They make a very good Cuban Sandwich as well. Service is great and always with a smile.
Can get a little busy from time to time, but well worth any wait.

Ate at Flaco’s, went to a hardware store, bought a power drill and a jigsaw, went back to Flaco’s, cut a basketball-​shaped hole in the wall, and signed a lease for the space next door.
«Eight dollar Cubano!»
*sandwich appears through hole*
And so plays out my ideal afterlife.
Alas, I’m alive and living in Boston and locked in to a mortgage, so I’ll just have my late night trysts with Flaco’s, if Flaco’s will have me. The pork, ham, pickles and Swiss magic marry beautifully on real (if a tad dry) Cuban bread. The guava and cheese pastry, also a shade dry, is at least understandably so, what with my flyby being ’round midnight on a Tuesday. And at a buck and change, easy to forgive a lil’ staleness.
Righteous black beans for a 50¢ premium. The maduros ($ 2) are straight-​up sweet goo… and I like it.
Echo the heads up offered by Mike W: Flaco’s hits the pre-​closing spot, but if you come with the last call masses, you’ll likely see a downturn in quality. The press takes time, yo.

What happens when you’re hungry and it’s a late night in Gainesville? You end up at Flaco’s, because that’s one of the few things open. A small group of us stopped in on a Saturday night, around 10 or 11 for a bite to eat. I ended up ordering a chicken bowl and I sort of regret it. The service is nonexistent here, which isn’t a huge issue. Make order, sit, wait for your name, pick it up at the counter, return to seating.
This place was packed with drunk college kids. This isn’t such a huge deal but it gives you an idea of what they cater to and the standards deemed acceptable. My order is called and I collect the aluminum foil container and I’m underwhelmed just looking at it. Pile of rice, add some beans, a small pile of all but pureed chicken, and two plantains. There was pretty much no seasoning. The boything looked at his bowl and said «this isn’t a meal.» There was much disappointment. I’ve had better late-​night meals courtesy of Wawa. I guess on the plus side, at least I didn’t en up sick?

Disappointed with the chicken and beans, the bowl was very dry and rice completely dried which i had to get replaced. The chicken was not juicy to balance the rice. I was hoping a 4.5 stars taste but was not able to swallow the food and was constantly reminded of Chipotle as a better alternate. Maybe it was bad day for my order.

the lentils and white rice, ropa vieja, arepas and cortadito and café con leche are real good. (and pretty much everything I’ve tried)
I don’t know where Mi Apa gets awarded the «best Cuban place in Gainesville», but Flaco’s is clearly the better option.

Apparently they’ve been in Gainesville for 9 years… I think I found a gem here. I have yet to try any food from here, but the Café Con Leche that I had was amazing. I still want to come back and try the food, it looked pretty good too.

Given that I last reviewed Flaco’s in 2009 despite the fact I come here pretty frequently, I think it’s high time for an update. Yes, Flaco’s is best late at night, but if there’s a secret to having your best Flaco’s experience it would be to come around midnight – not after the clubs let out. They now have tacos on weekend nights in the back part of the restaurant and the whole atmosphere is festive and fun. It’s no secret they do the lion’s share of their business when most of their customers are drunk, but who cares? If anything, honestly, their food has vastly improved in quality over the past few years. Like, seriously so. Their empanadas and pastries are on point now and their Cuban sandwiches are good, if not great. Again, it’s a matter of showing up earlier in the evening. If you get there at 2:00am and the line is out the door, don’t expect the best in quality or service. Flaco’s is one of those places where they can do fine if not hurried but have a loud, drunk, and hungry crowd of kids and they seem to stress out. If you’ve ordered a sandwich at 11:00pm vs 2:00am, you know the difference at once. So if you come late, expect it to be bedlam.
By the way, know where the word «bedlam» comes from? The Bethlehem Hospital in London in like the 19^th century. It was a mental hospital and poorly-​run. The inmates, as they say, were running the asylum. And that’s about what Flaco’s is like at 2:00am. Crazy people and a lot of ‘em.
The pastries (especially guava!), the iced coffee, the café con leche are always winners. And the staff, despite all they must endure, are overall swell people.

It’s not going to be the best and most perfect Cuban food you’ll eat, but my wife and I had an amazing media noche sandwich, huevos arepas and guava and cheese pastry.
The sandwich was freshly toasted with the perfect amount of meat and mayo and fillings.
The arepas were sweet and addictive, but perhaps too dry.
The guava and cheese pastry was perfect.
The Cuban coffee was subpar, but at least it’s only $ 1.
For the price, it’s a 5-​star late night option. Compared to all restaurants at all times of day, it’s a 4-​star place.

Flaco’s reminds me of the Halal cart in New York’s midtown – its busiest hours are lunch, dinner, and then sometime between 1:30 and 2 am when people line up for their drunk food fix.
I had the pork taco ($ 2) from the part in the back, and it was amazing. Very flavorful and juicy. I was still thinking about it the next day!
They do stop serving beer in the am, however, so it’s definitely a place to wind down the night.

Came here at 1am and was pretty happy with my Cuban coffee and Cuban sandwich. The coffee was pretty standard and the sandwich was good quality bread and toppings, but was a little heavy on the mayo. Overall I would repeat again, but suggest you ask them to go lite on the mayo and that you upgrade the chips to another side.