A Lil Taste of Cuba

We drove 5 ½ hrs from Chicago. We were starving and came upon «A Little Taste of Cuba», rated 5 stars on Unilocal.When we got there we found that it was no longer «A Little Taste of Cuba», but Ray’s Café. What we found was they close at 4 pm on Saturday. You have got to be kidding closed @ 4 pm in Saturday?
It’s too bad because we were looking forward to trying their food.

I would give it 10 stars if I could. Great Cuban food. Yes, it is now called Ray’s Café. I am stuffed. Had the Pork meal with rice and black beans with platano maduros. So good. My wife and son had the Cuban sandwich. REAL CUBAN BREAD!!! OMG, so good. YUCA FRIES! Very very good. Very authentic Cuban food. It’s like a little taste of Hialeah. Highly recommend this place. Oh almost forgot… we drove almost 2 hours to come here and IT WAS SO WORTH IT. Friendly people too. Will definitely be back.

Great gyro. loved the seasoning on the fries. My wife had the Cuban and the beef empanada, and liked both. Great service and very friendly. We’ll be back!

My husband and I ate here based on the reviews and it did not disappoint us. Although we were confused since the name has changed, it’s now Ray’s Café. The menu appears to be the same. I highly recommend the empanadas, they were amazing as well as the Cuban; it was huge.
The service was also wonderful. We were greeted with a warm smile and she was attentive. Our drinks were always full.
Don’t let the exterior of the building fool you, it’s totally worth it.

We are from Eastern North Carolina and are known for great pulled pork BBQ. I gotta say that the Cuban pulled pork we had was better! Everything was freshly cooked and well done. The beans and rice and plantains were excellent. I can’t believe this is in a small town in southern Illinois. I wish it were close to us.

I love this place. A friend and I found it a few months back, and now we make regular trips to Marion just to have lunch. If you are unsure about Cuban food (which I had never had before) then stop in and have a talk with the owners, because I’m sure there is something on the menu you will enjoy.
Personally, I recommend The Midnight sandwich. Its the same as a traditional Cuban sandwich, but a little smaller, and on a delicious sweet roll. IT’S INCREDIBLE, truly. As for sides, I love love love the potato ball and ham croquetas, They are sinful :). Just recently tried the Yuca fries and those were great as well.
To top it all off, we have the guava empanada. Holy moly. It’s like happiness in pastry form. You need to definitely make sure you leave room for one of these. They are best when eaten fresh from the kitchen, but also save fairly well. I have taken them home a few times, and reheating can be finicky. Definitely do not microwave them, but heating them up in an oven is a good option.
I stand behind my 5 star review, and I know you will enjoy this little treasure of So. Illinois.
Seriously, just go try one of the empanadas, you will be hooked.

I can’t tell you if this is «authentic Cuban» like Mama used to cook because my Mama cooked Betty Crocker style. But I can tell you this place offers some tasty dishes that are a nice change of pace from most everything else you can get in SI.
I enjoy the Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, Ropa Vieja, beans and rice, and of course the sweet plantains. The Cuban sandwich alone is worth making a drive to visit Lill.
Some friends really enjoyed the chicken soup and chickenwings. I found the lime too hard for me to get passed being in chicken soup. Gringo right? The wings were tasty enough alright, but dry seasoned, and maybe the batch I got were a little too far done.
The empanadas are pretty good, but I think you’ll find the dough unlike most empanadas you’ve tried before. It reminded me of canned biscuit dough like the Chinese buffets make sugar doughnuts from. Not sure, judge for yourself. I still get them now and again.
Like them on FB to see specials.

Great pulled pork entrée with black beans and rice and yummy plantains. Tried both the pork/​yuca/​black bean empanada and guava/​cream cheese empanadas-​both very good. My daughter enjoyed her kids meal of grilled chicken and Mello Yello fountain drink! Very friendly and helpful owners.

Ok. I rarely give out 5s but for the location, the flavor of the food, and the overall charm of this place I’m giving it 5 stars. Husband and I were exploring as I was interviewing in the area. I’m so glad we know to stop in to random places. As you can see from the pics, it’s a small little place but we were greeted so warmly when walking through the door. The owner is Cuban and relocated here from Florida some years ago. He said his sister and him knew what was missing in this small town and they opened the restaurant. We had the special for the day, the frita cubana, and also the mojo chicken and a chicken and cheese empanada (sp?). The mojo chicken was chicken thighs served with plantains and saffron rice. It was simply amazing with awesome flavor. The frita cubana was hands down some of the best flavor I have had. 3 patties arranged on cuban bread with potato sticks and some other stuff. It was great. Hubby commented that even the crinkle cut french fries were awesome due to the seasoning. There was a younger and older couple there while we were and they were enjoying gyros and the midnight sandwich, I think. They both commented separately about the awesome portion size. There are fountain drinks available to compliment your snack or dinner. Go here!