Cuba Cafe

DELICIOUS AND OUTSTANDING SERVICE. I had never had Cuban food and tried the tappa appetizer with a mix of foods and the meat sampler meal with plantains and smoky rice and black beans. I now know I LOVE Cuban food. So worth a stop by. Prices are very reasonable also.

Grace ordered the Lechon Asado plate, I got the Tasters Plate which was like a sampler of three different meats… both plates were excellent and served with salad greens and black beans and rice and grilled bread! Nice restaurant setting offering live music on the weekends

Best Cuban Food in Las Vegas. .. Being from Miami, growing up eating at all of the local Cuban restaurants on S.W. 8^th Street as well as other well known Cuban Restaurants in and around South Florida, «hands down» the Cuba Café offers the very best Cuban food in all of Las Vegas. I am amazed at how consistently good the food is. .. It always comes out hot and fresh and the staff is always pleased to serve. If you are looking for an authentic Cuban Sandwich, Ropa Vijea, Carne Asada or any of the other traditional dishes, you must try the Cuba Café. .. truly the very best !!!

Three of us went there just to see what it was like. The place is very nice inside even though the parking lot doesn’t look like much. We got there about 6pm, and by the time we left (maybe 7pm?) it was starting to fill up.
There was a special that we later were told was most nights the same. It was a small filet, rice and beans, and the steak was in a pepper sherry sauce. My two friends both got this.
I got the Lechon Asado (pork) with yellow rice. It was to come with beans and rice but they let me substitute the yellow rice. Also served to the table was a kind of warm, puffy bread. Crisp on the outside, and soft and wonderful inside. My pork was tremendous. Couldn’t ask for more. I’d recommend NOT getting a side salad (extra cost). We didn’t and I’m glad as I was full afterwards.
I did try my friends steaks. Wow! Melt in your mouth nice! I highly recommend both meals. I’m not sure how cuban the steak is, but it was superb.
The steal meal was $ 15.49 I believe. My pork dish was $ 15.95. I’ll tell you what. I’ll definitely be back and recommend that people try this place. Service was a bit slow, especially since it was not crowded, but worth it. Again, it was nice inside. I’d NOT recommend shorts or t-​shirt. But jeans and a button up shirt is perfect.

Ive already tried this place one time. never went back. Its not true authentic. its definately some type of fusion? But not desirable really. tapas first of all is not a Cuban thing. its Spanish. And bruchettas arent either. the same as Caprese. thats Italian? Nevertheless. if you want Cuban with the «real deal» cuban flavors. try maybe El Rincon Crillollo. and not the best either. their portions are very small. Cuban food is not served in small portions… just trying to save money??? This place is not gonna make it here unless you get with the program! Make some «Arroz con Pollo a la Chorrera» or something people! Some real cuban empanadas not the Argentinean ones… though good. but not even made with the right cuban masa! «If» and I do mean «if»…the cook, or the owner is Cuban? Serve up some real Cuban classic dishes. dont be ashamed. real Cuban food. theres nothing like it…

Be ready to take your time here.
Came with some friends to eat dinner. They shoved us all the way in the back corner and then forgot about us. I totally felt like Baby in Dirty Dancing and I was waiting for Partick Swayze to save me. Because I was hungry and I am pretty sure it was a legitimate half hour before they came to take our food order. Luckily we were having a good time talking about catching up so we didn’t make a fuss, but it was still a little bit odd.
I have food fomo where I want to try several dishes but I am afraid that I might order one that I don’t like. So I definitely went for the tasting plate because I wanted to try a little bit of everything. We also ordered a plate of tostones and yuca.
Tostones were not as crispy as I usually like them to be but I liked their dipping sauce. I won’t offer up my opinion on Cuba Café’s yuca because I really do not like that starchy dish, no matter how many times I have tried it when my Cuban fiancé orders it, or at my future in-​laws house for family dinner, or when I lived in South Florida for a little while. With my tasting plate, I thought the the chicken was the best of the three different proteins. The black beans and rice were delicious. I am always a big fan of maduros and they did not disappoint.
My experience overall was good because I was there with friends but the service was way too slow and there were no dishes that completely knocked my socks off.

Come for the food, not for the service. Keep that mantra in mind and you’ll have a good time.
If you haven’t tried Cuban food before, this is a great place to start. For the uninitiated, the tasting plate is your best choice, both in value and variety. You will get a little bit of everything. Their black beans and rice is very good, although I’m not the hugest fan of cumin in Cuban food. Their lechon asada was melt in your mouth good. If you are looking for the «old reliable» of Cuban food, go with Ropa Vieja. The shredded beef is delicious.
I would skip the yucca as it was cooked too long and became mushy. It had a little bit of garlic, but I love my yucca with a ton of garlic. The tostones (plaintain chips) were decent, however, I prefer them crispier.
Just be prepared as the prices are a little bit on the higher side for the food. Entrée plates are around $ 13 – 15.
The service left plenty to be desired unfortunately. Our server arrived quickly to the table but then proceeded to disappear for at least 20 minutes after we asked for a few more minutes to decide our order. It was hard to actually get our server at the table. The water at the table was never refilled and plates hung out on the table for too long.
It was also a bummer that there was no live entertainment even though I believe Saturday nights were supposed to have live entertainment. The music they piped in got me dancing in my seat so that was a win.
The food is good, service is slow. So hang out, take your time.

You know it’s a good Cuban restaurant when the Cuban sandwich is definitely on point. I came into Vegas on a Sunday for a long week of work, and decided to give this place a shot. The waitresses were very friendly and even put on the soccer game for me to watch on tv. The food was very delicious… the Cuban sandwich along with the tostones were awesome along with the garlic sauce it came with. I will definitely come back in the future.

Hard to find anything wrong with this place. Lechon Asado and large avocado salad for lunch, 20 bucks. Everything good. The lechon so tender and juicy. The 20 bucks was for two people. We first checked out Fat Boy and saw it was mostly take-​out so went to Cuba Café as a backup. What a pleasant surprise. Will definitely return, again and again.

Items Selected:
Cuban Bread
Cuba Café Sampler — Beef Empanada, Ham and Beef Croquetas, Mariquitas and Beef Stuffed Papa Rellena
Sandwich Cubano — Roasted Pork, Ham, Swiss Cheese, Mustard and Pickles hot pressed on Cuban Bread
Tasting Plate — Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef with Onions and Peppers,) Lechon Asado (Roasted Pork with Garlic, Olive Oil, Lime, Mojo,) and Pollo Tequila (Marinated Chicken in Fresh Herbs with Tequila Sauce and Chipotle) plus Maudros (Sweet Plantains) and Moros & Cristianos
Camarones Enchilados — Jumbo Shrimp in Housemade Tomato Sauce with Yellow Rice
Postre de la Casa — Flan /​Tres Leches /​Pineapple Special Sauce
Fresas de la Casa — Strawberry Flambé over Ice Cream
Experiencing «real» Cuban cuisine for the first time just under a year ago during a trip to South Florida, it was finally on Saturday night that I sat with a friend who’d never tasted a Cubano, let alone Ropa Vieja, inside Cuba Café on East Tropicana and tasting our way through fifteen items by way of appetizers, entrees, desserts, and samplers the results were a mixed bag of decent to excellent with a pricepoint congruent to the quality of the fare.
Larger in size than one might guess, the low ceilings, dim lighting, and live music with a rose at each table providing a romantic sort of feel, it was a bit too close to the crooners that we were first seated and despite being at only ¹⁄₃ capacity it was not until one of several dirty tables was bussed that a move was accommodated, a large order soon to follow with minimal delay from the kitchen as conversation ensued and beverage refills were repeatedly offered.
Starting off with buttered bread that wasn’t especially appealing or particularly «Cuban» in any way, it was not long before a duo of «appetizers» arrived to render the basket irrelevant, a sampler of four items including plantain chips highlighted by creamy croquetas while the empanada trended a bit greasy, a pressed Cuban Sandwich not quite as crispy as those found in Miami though the meat to cheese ratio and light application of mustard and pickle was on point.
Insisting that a Cuban friend said the Camarones Enchilados was good, though the resulting plate was little more than some previously frozen U16 shrimp cooked a bit too firm beneath a ladle of sauce not really distinctive from that at any checkered-​tablecloth spot, a far better value was found in the tasting plate of Beef, Chicken, and Pork with smashed plantains and tender beans with rice — the Ropa robustly flavored by onions and peppers without being overwhelmed while the Lechon was a bit too fatty to be enjoyed in its entirety, the chicken trending a touch sweet but certainly not bad by any means.
Doing the heavy lifting on most of the food, it was still essential that dessert be ordered in order to evaluate the experience as a whole, and thankfully finding a willing partner to tackle the restaurant’s two «de la casa» signatures, the combination of flan and tres leches an excellent rendition of each with light notes of pineapple while a ‘flambé’ of strawberries was tasty enough, but also a bit disappointing as I’d half-​expected a fiery tableside show.
***Competently executing some Cuban Classics while also offering several options for those not entirely interested in going all-​in on such heavy Ethnic fare, Cuba Café fills a niche for those with a craving while also offering an introduction to any who are curious without breaking the bank… or boarding a plane.

Much has changed in the 6 plus years since we last graced this restaurant’s premises including a move to larger quarters a few doors down from its old location. Shortly after taking a seat, a basket with warm slices of Cuban bread were delivered to our table. My wife ordered mango salmon which was accompanied by yellow rice and a mini salad. I went with the tasting plate that included ropa vieja, lechon asada, and polla tequila that included morros & Christianos and maduros. Portions are large so neither of us could even think about dessert this evening. Prior to exiting I told the owner to compliment the chef because the food was much improved over our last visit.

We interacted with Cuba Café, as they were moving to their larger, current location. I visited their soon to be new location and purchased a few pieces of restaurant equipment. A young Mexican couple, *name redacted*, were working for the owner of Cuba Café and the Landlord, and Owners of Sergio’s Italian Restaurant, Across the street, Mr. Napoli and his Daughter. The restaurant was absolutely filthy. There were roaches and grease everywhere. The couple were on their hands and knees cleaning and scraping, with grease and rotten food covering their bodies and faces.
They told me that they are homeless and that they have lived and will live in the restaurant, until they finish cleaning it up and repainting it. They explained to me that Cuba Café had not paid them for any of the work. After complaining to the Landlord they were told, by the Landlord, in my presence, that he would pay them with the old broken greasy equipment that they were able to clean up, regardless of what Cuba Café does. Basically, they can keep the equipment fix it and sell it. I decided that I would help them move and clean up the equipment, outside of the restaurant. I was well aware that they could not sell the equipment, in this condition, and that it would take a few months to be sold.
We rented a large u — haul truck. We were in the processes of moving the equipment onto the truck when the owner of Cuba Café, *name redacted*, brought over the Landlord and told the couple that he made a new deal with the Landlord for some of the equipment, *the desirable pieces that worked*, and that they were evicted immediately, for continuing to complain about getting paid, that if they don’t leave the property the police will be called.
They were not paid, and were once again homeless. I let them borrow the u haul until they could find a place to store the few pieces of damaged nasty equipment that they were allowed to keep. After 2 days, they could not find a place to store the equipment and were living in the u haul. I ended up storing the equipment for them for a year. They were given a key to the storage unit. They never came back and I don’t know what happened to the married couple. I have not spoken with them since.
You can’t hire people, without pay! That is slavery. I don’t care if they were drug addicts, criminals, or etc. I’m sitting here tearing up thinking about what they did to these good people. If you have money, pay the poor what they deserve. These people did a very good job cleaning up his restaurant. If you’ve been there, just remember who cleaned it up. They did an amazing job. They should have been paid, not thrown out.

Visiting Vegas and wanted to try something different so we went to Cuba Café.
We had the sandwich Cubano, Media-​Noche sandwich, an order of tostones, an order of moro rice, and the fried pork tapa which I requested with rice.
My dining companions had the sandwiches and while the sandwiches were good, they were not stellar. Have had better sandwiches. The moros rice was good, but an average good. Tostones were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Very nice. The garlic sauce that came with the tostones was not good. It was just the commercial store purchased chopped garlic which doesn’t taste the same as fresh garlic. Not a smart way to cut costs. The tapas came with two small pieces of pork and the rice and beans. The two pieces of pork were enough for me but it was not as tasty as I expected it to be. This dish at $ 8.99 is a bit pricey. I found the pricing in general to be a little high for the area and the ingredients of the dish. Let’s face it rice, beans and pork are relatively inexpensive.
I don’t think Cuba Café would be my choice again considering that Las Vegas has several other Cuban spots.

The service is great and the food is awesome. Given that I know my cuban food, it is true to its roots. Amazing bread!!! I ordered the tasting plate and the croquetes and they didn’t disappoint. I am definitely coming back for more.

I’m so thankful for Unilocal!Ever since I watched the movie «Chef» I’ve been craving an authentic Cuban sandwich. I knew about some Latin places in Las Vegas but I didn’t know they have Cuban restaurants. I called and made reservations for two (you never know in Las Vegas.) When we arrived I was super excited, the place wasn’t very busy. The host took us to our table. I liked the place is really cute, cozy and even romantic. We were told that on Fridays they have a live band. We ordered two mojitos (of course) and empanadas to start. We ordered beef, chicken and chorizo (yes! They have chorizo empanadas! The best empanadas ever) while we were waiting we got some bread sticks which were really fresh and soft.
When the empanadas arrived we ate all of them! They all tasted really good but our favorite was the CHORIZO EMPANADA. We ordered for main course Cuban sandwich and «tostones» as a side dish.
The sandwich was really good! It’s authentic Cuban sandwich. It’s really big and yummy. The tostones order was pretty generous (we couldn’t finish it.) I was pretty full but when I saw «Tres leches» cake in the dessert menu I could resist. It was amazing! The overall experience was excellent at this little place. The service was amazing. We got three girls taking good care of us. The ambiance was excellent too I love the live music and their decoration. I would definetely come back next time I visit Las Vegas.

Food, ok.
Services, ok.
Atmosphere, sucks. The décor is stuck in the 1970s, and needs a major overhaul. Felt like I was sitting at a truck stop.

Omg good food!!! I’ve been wanting to stop in here for 3 years.
So today we stopped in for lunch. The décor needs ton of work! It looks like it fell out of the early 90’s. It would be so cute if it was updated.
The staff was ok. Not overly friendly. Not chatty. I don’t think I saw the girl with the long braid (our server) or he back waiter (tall guy with beard) smile once. But they definitely seemed to like the other people who came in. Chatting away. Ok I get it. We obviously stick out like a sore thumb. We asked questions about the food. Because my boyfriend has food allergies and we don’t speak or read Spanish. Honestly if we had been made to feel more at home then I would have given this place 5 stars because the food was delicious!
We ordered pineapple mojito, coconut mojito (had no coconut flavor), we had the sampler for an app. So good a little of everything. Not big. Not enough to split with more than 2 people. Then I had the taste for an entrée and he had some shredded beef plate. The black bean rice is good. I wish I could tell you what everything was named but I forgot.
Management should work on along people of all walks of life feel welcomed and at home. That would have made a huge difference.

Tapas appetizer of Tostone Ropa. — see photo.
She had the Palomilla Steak which is a Latin style cut top sirloin and pan fried.
and I had the Tasting Plate, both entrees were very good. the tasting plate was a combination of Ropa Vieja, Lechon Asado and Pollo Tequila. Served w/​Moros & Cristianos & Maduros (sweet plantains). — see photo.
The flan was good, but not used to the topping of whipped cream.
Live music was entertaining.

Finally a Cuban restaurant that does it right! I grew up eating Cuban food so I pretty much know what to expect.
We came in for lunch, the place was busy which was a good sign. I ordered an appetizer — croquettas made of ham and beef. They were delicious and full of flavor. One of the better ones I’ve had in a restaurant. For my meal I got the Lechon Asado, which is roasted pork shoulder. The meal comes with black beans cook in the rice and a small salad. I also ordered a side of plantains. The serving of pork was generous. The pork was marinated with a garlic mojo and flavorful. The meat was very tender and moist. The rice and beans were excellent.
My friend ordered the bistec empanizado which is a breaded thin steak it too came with rice and beans and a small salad. I tried the steak, it had great flavor but was a tad dry. Still very good.
They will bring you bread for free. The bread was very good.
All and all the service was good, meals came right up. Friendly staff and a good variety on the menu. Prices were very reasonable.
I will be eating there on my next visit to the area. Can’t wait to try some of the other items. The Cuban sandwich and media noche looked delicious as they passed by my table. Highly recommend this restaurant.

With all the five star reviews I honestly don’t understand what all the hype is about? I wasn’t impressed to say the least. We came in and were seated immediately, given menus and drinks to start. The servers weren’t very friendly and didn’t seem to enjoy their job at all. No worries I can deal with that, but I cant deal with bland rubbery chicken which is what came with my tasting plate. It came with rice and beans fried plantain ropa vieja, lechon asado, and tequila pollo. The chicken was rubbery, the pork (lechon asado) was lacking in flavor and the ropa vieja just had a weird taste to it. The salad was ok but I didn’t like it very much either and that’s weird because I love salad. The offered us bread halfway through eating our entrees. It needed a sauce for dipping it was boring on its own. My boyfriend loved the lechon asado he ordered but for me it was one of the worst meals I had in a long time. Overall the service was subpar and the food mediocre I don’t know why they’re so highly rated but I guess everyone’s opinion is different.