Bryan Cafeteria Restaurant

Those four stars are, of course, taking into account the price of their food.
When I Walked in I didnt ask for the menu nor the price of anything, I just ordered my food. The «menu» is displayed right in front of you.
I had half a chicken breast, 2 portions (bowls) of black beans, boniato frito, calabaza con mojo, grilled eggplant and to finish on a sweet note: a cortadito with evaporated milk served with little sugar cookie drops.
The black beans were good, so was the chicken breast (not dry). La calabaza con mojo was my least favorite, mostly because of the mojo; i think they used the pre minced garlic and that has a very distinct flavor. On the other hand, the boniatos fritos were to die for; I don’t remember the last time I ate boniatos fritos ‘that’ crispy.
The lady, although new (I noticed she kept asking questions to another staff member), was very nice and welcoming.
Well, when she brought the check I thought it’d be at least $ 20 and it was about 14.50. So cheap! So I left the $ 20 bill.
Oh and one more prop: if you are in a rush and have only a limited time for your lunch, then this might be the right place for you. Around 6 – 7 mins after walking in I was already with two pieces of boniato frito in my mouth
It’s close to work and it has good food
so I know i’ll be back.

The ONLY reason this gem is getting 4 ½ stars instead of 5 is because of limited parking spaces, but if willing to walk a half block or so you will be just fine, If a little bit younger I’d probably walk a half a day to have this food. I’m not exaggerating.
I was born and raised in Miami until I was 12 when we moved to the Southernmost part of Broward County. Our new neighborhood was almost all white Florida crackers with the exception of a few Cuban families whom I spent a lot of time and eating with throughout my teenage years. As an adult I lived for many years in Kendall, If you lived in Kendall back then I was that hot-sh*t blonde dude that made you do the double take (my neighbors insisted it was only because I was the only blonde dude in Kendall, and not sh*t-hot).
I grew up eating the real thing, real Cuban food cooked in Cuban homes and I have to say so far Bryan Cafeteria is the closest I’ve had in a restaurant, I was genuinely blown away.
This was a UYE put on by Sergio F, a Cuban, primarily to invite his non-​Cuban Unilocal pals down to Hialeah for the real deal, I was excited mostly because my wife is from San Diego and has never had real home-​cooked Cuban food. This place didn’t disappoint
You can choose from already prepared buffet items or have something cooked to order. I chose the Churrasco Steak with a side of Arroz Moro, not only were both mouth watering but THE PORTIONS ARE MASSIVE, DELICIOUS AND CHEAP AS HELL!
Look at my profile picture’s and think about this, we got there at 2 and I hadn’t eaten yet so I was super hungry LOVE Cuban food yet ended up having to box and take half my meal home, Bryan Cafeteria kicked my ass. Never say never.
Again, the prices are crazy especially for food this great, I myself do not remember seeing anything over $ 14. I tried my Wife’s Vaca Frita and it was easily the best I ever had.
Last but not least I insisted on getting the Flan so both my Wife and I could try it, she’s never had even decent Flan up our way. This is the 2^nd best Flan I’ve ever had and probably the best I’ve had eating out. This is only because one of our closest family friends from Cuba used to make it for us and it was so rich and sweet that if a diabetic tried it, after the 2^nd spoonful they would be dead before their face hit the plate.
Hat’s off to Sergio F who was able to impress a white California WASPy woman, white Bahamian chick, Puerto Rican fella, Jewish couple, another Cuban dude and this Florida cracker, everyone totally loved this place.
Poci Habana can go kick rocks, this is my go-​to Dade County Cuban Fooderia from now on.
Dale!

Thanks to Sergio F. for organizing us for this lovely Saturday afternoon UYE! Seriously, if you want real Cuban food you’re going to need to head to someone’s abuela’s house, but if that’s not an option, Hialeah has you covered!
I pulled up on the dot at 2pm and was pleased to see a parking spot right out front! Not the best parking situation for leaving (you’ll need to reverse out into the road) but being from The Bahamas has prepared me for such parking predicaments.
After maneuvering some tables to fit the 8 of us, water was brought out (as well as pitchers to refill ourselves!) and some delicious Cuban bread.
We all got up to peruse the cafeteria style line and determined if we would be ordering from there or off the menu.
I went with a baby palomilla steak with a side of salad and boiled yucca and wept inside that I couldn’t try the rice and beans (watching carbs sucks) which really is how you should be judging all Cuban food.
The food — delicious! And I was one of the few who actually devoured it all! Lol hey no judgement, without the rice to fill me up this was easier! And settled back to watch everyone else attempt to eat even half of their food while enjoying beers, wine and talk of The Dolphins.
We finished off the lunch with some Cuban flan, definitely one of the best I’ve ever had, and at less than $ 3 this is a must! The rest of the group enjoyed Cuban coffees.
Honestly, the best part — the price!!! I think everyone’s order was about $ 9 and considering the amount of leftovers they took, well this is a steal!
Thanks Sergio for putting together another great UYE!

Thanks to our great group of Unilocalers for making the trip here enhancing a highly enjoyable experience, and thanks to Cid for discovering this place tucked away in Hialeah. We really appreciate Sergio setting this get together up and being our personal translator for an awesome afternoon of Cuban food and culture.
The place is as Cuban as it gets, and I had a hard time deciding what to order. I just knew I didn’t want to order something I tried before, so at the last moment, I changed my mind from Picadillo to Vaca Frita. It wasn’t long before they brought out Sergio’s order of Chicken Milanese, and I was feeling some buyers remorse! That dish looked like something I would have loved. The melted cheese covering the thin layer of ham and chicken looked terrific. The sides looked awesome also, especially the plantains. I would have ordered these if I were thinking. I knew I wanted to get the black beans and rice, but when asked for my second side item, I just blurted out fries.
They brought out the Vaca Frita and it was beautiful. In fact, I completely forgot to snap a picture of it. I just tore into that perfectly cooked meat topped with onions. I confess, I moved the onions out of the way first. That meat was so tender. I have no idea how they get thin meat to do that so perfectly, but I was able to cut it with my fork. At the same time, it wasn’t over done as it was moist and full of flavor. I tried some of Hubby’s Churrasco and that was ridiculously good. I asked if he would cut me off a piece and I don’t think he wanted to. He was very reluctant to hand over the beef (miracles never cease). That’s all I needed to know about how much he liked it. Usually I am fighting him to NOT hand over the beef!
As for the fries I ordered by mistake, OMG. I am actually really glad I did. I have never tasted fries like that. They were crispy and delicious. I don’t have a clue as to how they are prepared here, but I know they are better than any of the fries I am used to. It was quite a challenge not to wolf all of them down as I was saving room for the star of the show, the flan!
I have had flan all of my life, and I love it. I do admit though that I was getting tired of Hubby telling me that I have never had flan like this. Well, he was right. I hadn’t. This flan was amazing, and probably the best I have ever had. I was full, but I kept eating it and Hubby was kind enough to let me as we were sharing ours.
This place would be a five star place for me except for one thing. The parking situation is a bit of a drawback. Most of our group had a hard time finding a spot. I had to drive around the block to wait for a spot to open up. The upside is the excellent value here. This place really gives you quality authentic Cuban food and huge portions. I could easily get three meals out of what I ordered. I highly recommend coming here with your appetite and a Cuban, or at least someone that speaks Spanish.

I am truly a fan of authentic Cuban food. If you love Cuban food and you live in South Florida you really are missing out by not searching out the AUTHENTIC places to go to experience the proud family owned Cuban restaurants. Better yet it is always great to know the people that have the ethnic background that know the BEST places to go. Today our great friend Sergio took it upon himself to invite his Unilocal friends to join him for his UYE at Bryan Cafeteria Restaurant to really experience the best Cuban food he knows in Hialeah, his home town. This was not any fancy place, located in on a busy street where you are lucky to get a parking space in front of the restaurant off this main road. I never doubted for a moment, though, that this was going to be something really special. Not only because of the ethnic substance of this community, but because Sergio has been talking about this place for awhile and wanting to do a UYE here. We were lucky to find a space in front down a couple businesses in this strip center and we were lucky to park and walk right in. I also knew this would be special because of the close group of Unilocal people that believed in this experience and wanted to share the same experience.
As we walked in, we saw the cafeteria style buffet with hot pounded chicken, pork and beef dishes, rice, and beans. Many dishes made together with vegetables, Yucca and potatoes and some covered with grilled onions.
We put 2 tables together for all 8 of us and we ended up all ordering off the menu, which was the same dishes served on the buffet. We started out with beer, and wine, which is what they serve. The Cuban bread that they put out for us was outstanding and addicting, so personally I had to take a small bite and leave it for the rest of the table to enjoy. After looking at the buffet, I could not believe the big display of Roasted Pork, which looked like a fresh portion of pork right from a pig roast. I had to order that. It came with a salad, and Yucca and was amazing, authentic, and so far away from all those chain Cuban places a lot of people frequent sometime. I am not going to mention any names. My wife had the Cuban pounded chicken dish, with onions and Yucca and a side of salad. Others ordered the pounded beef dishes and large portions of rice and beans. There was a large, and I mean large dish of Chicken Milanese which had so much extra tomato and covered with cheese, like I have never seen before.
As all eight of us enjoyed these authentic Cuban dishes, we were really enjoying each other. Great conversation among 8 of us who only see each other at events that seldom have all 8 of us together. It was really a special couple of hours together.
Well the highlight was the FLAN, yes you have to try the FLAN. We ordered a couple orders to share and some had their own. Sergio said this was the best FLAN you would ever have and our wonderful waitress who I have not mentioned yet as WONDERFUL was so insistent that we must order this, it was inevitable that we all were going to give in to this temptation.
Most of us ordered incredible Cuba coffee. I love Cuba coffee and have had the opportunity to drink REAL Cuban coffee in Miami, with Latin friends and customers, but somehow I forgot that the Cuban coffee is served with sugar in it, so I impulsively put MORE sugar in and people just waited for me to see how that tasted. Well, the wonderful server we had saw this happen and looked at me like I was crazy and took my coffee away and replaced it, reminding me I don’t need to put more sugar in it. I knew this, but just spaced out and this was definitely cause for discussion.
This was really a fun afternoon, great conversation, authentic Cuban cuisine and one of those special moments with friends I will not forget. So Sergio, daleeeeeeee and thanks for a great day.

I love this place! Great food! Breakfast is always made fresh. I love the ham and cheese empanada, BUT even though they make it fresh, they use cold ham on the inside so your first bite MIGHT be hot on the outside, cold on the inside. But that’s the only problem I’ve had and it’s still delicious and crispy. The picadillo is one of the best I’ve had and so is the vaca frita. The arroz con pollo taste Cuban/​Puerto Rican to me. I love it. You have to try this place.

Sorry Mima, I found a Cuban place that cooks (almost) as good as you. Oh, and the waitress sings albeit off key!
After being challenged on my Hialeah pride, I decided to try this hole in the wall out for a quick dinner. Table cloth service and VIP it is not. Eating here is like eating in a Cuban family home. As it were, when I walked in today they had the spread of cake and bocaditos for the Owner’s birthday. Besides the aforementioned waitress singing, you’re likely to hear Pandora streaming radio competing with the TV. But holes in the walls are not about no fancy dining!
You WILL find huge portions of deliciously, slightly greasy moros y maduros. A pleasant surprise, they offer both red bean and black bean moros (the black bean one is my personal favorite.) So far I’ve only had two chicken dishes. The Filletillo de Pollo is grilled pieces of chicken breast cut up with green peppers and onions — basic but tasty. My favorite dish was the Chicken Milanese: a giant piece of chicken breast, lathered with a slightly sweet tasting tomato paste, covered with a piece of ham and with swiss cheese baked over the top. This serving covers the entire plate, and you will have enough to take for lunch the next day. Save room for dessert though, because the flan rocks. Jiggly and served with the caramel syrup, it is a perfect closing.
A nearly perfect hole «Mima and Pipo» spot!

(As of this review, they still show as only being open on Mondays on Unilocal.I already submitted the request to have that changed. They are open seven days)
So, as if I don’t eat enough nor have gained any weight, my search for restaurants in Hialeah continues. We really have many to choose from here that are waiting for the next Unilocaler to give them a try.
I’ve passed this restaurant many a times. Not long ago, however, they added a really cool vintage looking road sign. Hence, what caught my attention the last time I was in the area. This entire area is one of the oldest parts of Hialeah. Pretty much, everything started expanding rapidly from here. It is evident from looking at the shopping center, the inside of the restaurant and surrounding area just how much older the area is in comparison to the western side of Hialeah. So, for staying true to what little history we have with your sign, I issue you ten stars. Very nice and thank you.
This restaurant is cafeteria style. Similar to the «Food by the Pound» restaurants but, not really. They have the food of that day displayed and you choose. Simple, cute and to the point. Your typical choices. One meat and two sides.
Let’s get to the food, shall we? Today I had:
* Pork Steak topped with onions — Perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked and perfectly everything. I love pork and I know good pork when I taste it.
* Moros — Listen to me, it has been a while since I’ve had Moros this good at a restaurant. No black dye and just perfect.
* Maduros (sweet fried plantains) — Perfect! Not burnt and just perfect.
For dessert I had:
* Flan — One of the best I have tasted out there.
* Dulce de Leche — It was good but, I make it better.
* Shot of Cuban Coffee — Nice presentation in a pretty cup and two small sugar cookies but, it wasn’t that good. Just like American Coffee, Cuban Coffee isn’t the same everywhere. There is a trick to getting it right.
Things to note and blah, blah, blahs:
* Parking — This can be a challenge here. It is located on a busy street where people will honk at you and possibly even scream Cuban Profanities at you if you take too long to park. The biggest challenge is backing out of your spot. Do be patient and careful.
* Food Served — Everything, except for the obvious, is homemade in their kitchen. This includes Tamales. This is as authentic as I’ve seen in a while. Food served varies day to day. Upon request, they «may» have pasta dishes that day.
* Delivery — For a Ten Dollar minimum they will deliver. Contact them directly for their range.
* Language — Obviously, Spanish. However, while I was there, she was being reminded how to say «thirteen» in English because she forgot. She’s trying at least. English ain’t an easy language to learn folks.
* History — I tried to find out who «Bryan» is but, the owners have owned the restaurant for only a few years. By the sign on the shopping center, you can tell this has been here for a while. Once I find out, I will update this review with the information.
* You didn’t get the fifth star because your menu isn’t bilingual. That is important to me.
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* Esta es la comida más auténtica cubana que he comido en un restaurante en hace mucho tiempo. Gracias por mantener la historia del área con su nuevo letrero. No les di la quinta estrella porque su menú no es bilingüe. Eso es importante para mi.