Cha Cha Cha Cuba

I had dinner last night with my husband at Cha Cha Chas. My stomach still hurts from last night. I was not impressed with the food at all. It seems to me that the food was not fresh. More like microwaved. I will not be returning not even for free. I would have had a better meal at the taqueria down the street. Sorry Cha Cha Chas. I did not like your food and I spent $ 60 on dinner. Wasted

This was my first experience at this location, food was ok. I’m very disappointed with the service. We ordered two cuban sandwiches for our two picky eaters (one of them a child with special needs), tostones, yuca frita, paella and ropa vieja. After 45 minutes waiting, my dish is served first. Five minutes later my husband’s. The waitress disappears and comes back after 5 more minutes to tell us after if we could order something else off menu because sandwiches would take a long time to make. Tostones never made it to table. Seriously? I can understand shortage of staff and lots of customers but poor customer service i have a hard time with.

Can’t go wrong with delicious yet strong sangria! A pitcher of sangria is good for 3 – 4 people. Don’t forget to eat the fruit at the end, it soaks up all the alcohol! The food is great too! Full of flavor and the tapas go well with the sangria. My favorite things to order are the tostones, calamari, pollo quesadilla, and best of all CAJUN SHRIMP! The Cajun shrimp sauce is so spicy and buttery it’s perfect to dip your bread. Can’t wait until I go back.

Came here on a Saturday night strolling through downtown SM with the baby.
Actually was pretty satisfied! Very kid friendly as there were other tables with baby strollers pulled up. Ambiance was cool, with a bit of latin streetside touch. We had a few tapas. chicken paillard, the mussels, the mashed potato balls, and the rice and beans.
All perfect to share. Wife loved the white sangria, as I enjoyed the red. Coconut flan was also a good touch to end the meal. With so many spots to eat at in SM, we could check this on our list next time we have a craving for cuban.

There are actually only a couple reasons why it’s not 5-​star: the pricing is straight up dumb for the food. Where do you get off charging obscene pricing for black beans + platano? Dumb. It should be 3x the cost to the owner — especially on a staple.
Anyhow, lol. I really like this place. I love the décor. I love to sit and enjoy it. I like to drink wine here and get a hot plate of food. I like the servers — they’re different and not the typical 21-​year old blonde girls who seem to know nothing about anything everywhere else I go. The servers are knowledgeable, not as young… just better.
All in all, I will be back; I like the steak and side plates they have here and I enjoy the music and ambiance. I feel the Latin America vibe in the design for sure. :)

Great food and sangria! Plantains are always cooked perfectly, and I love the saucy shrimp dish. Every time I’m here it’s packed so the service is sometimes slow but bearable. The place itself is super cute. Also, always go for one of the garages in the area, or you’ll spend a lifetime looking for street parking.

Came in kind of late for dinner arrived at 8:15 on a Wednesday night. We were not greeted right away & there was only one other party there. But we were sat about a minute later. We ordered & our food was brought out fairly quick!
But after that, there was no longer service! The 2 girls we were there sat down & had their dinner as well! I understand it was late & they probably didn’t eat and been working all day! But unfortunately there is a time & place. & for both waitresses to eat & were the only ones there, personally shows disrespect! I hate raising my hand for service so I just left my empty cup at the edge of the table. So eventually when one of the decides to look over they’ll see I had no water left.
Finally, when we wanted to leave. We literally couldn’t, because we didn’t have a check or boxes to go! At this point my boyfriend had to turn around and stare at them until they felt it! They came back and asked «do you want more water» my boyfriend thought it was rude. He rudely said back «no, boxes & the check» she came immediately with the to go containers & check. And returned to her seat to continue eating! We were originally going to pay with card but had sat there for about 3 minute (as a customer, time seems longer than it may really appear) & she never came back! Thankfully we had just enough cash to cover the bill & maybe $ 2 in tip! As we got up & left, with their mouths full of food they said bye! WOW!!! We could of dined & ditched & they wouldn’t have even noticed!
I understand we are all humans, but when you are being PAID to work, you work & personally we would like to think of ourselves as generous tippers because we understand the cost of living! But the service was unacceptable only reason I’m giving 2 stars is because the food is incredible !!!

This is one of my favorite places. In all honesty, this location isn’t as awesome as the original in San Francisco. However, they still have the sangria and the tapas that I crave almost daily. My favorites are the shrimp in spicy sauce and the plantanos with beans and creama. This is a good place for a casual date or to meet with a smallish group. As you can see by photos, the décor it is fun! Because the sangria is such a draw, I have taken Caltrain so I don’t have to worry about driving. The station is in walking distance. I have not had a party here, but have plans to in the next few months. I will update my experience with that after it happens.

I’m from the Bay however not to long ago I moved to San Diego. I still have to make a trip to the Bay for work and I ALWAYS have to make a stop at Cha Cha Cha. This place is a must try! I’ve been to the San Francisco location which is equally as tantalizing! I ordered the sautéed mushroom appetizer, and the Lechon Asado which is a roasted pork seasoned with adobe criollo served with rice and beans, I also had them toss in a side of fried plantanos Maduros-​tropical sweet bananas. Cha Cha Cha is a place is a must try and should be put on your «bucket» list!
Note: This is downtown San Mateo so during the week there is free street parking however I’ve been on a weekend night and the parking can be scarce.

Good food and sangria! Cute atmosphere/​ambiance. The red wine sangria is pretty good and strong, but pricey for a pitcher ($ 28). it basically bought our table each a drink because we had a larger party – but it tasted good!
Food – we ordered a bunch of tapas which was nice because we could share and taste all different small plates. The mushrooms were really good, plantains I didn’t enjoy so much – but I also don’t like sweet bananas in general. They also have potato balls (which if you’ve had portos, you should deff try!) My bf and I split the steak dinner plate and that was really good! Even the leftovers the next day still was flavorful and tender. Service was pretty good but I did get a faulty chair :(I sat in a chair that only had 3 stable legs for the entire night– and almost fell out of it twice when the fourth leg collapsed. Somehow, I was pretty balanced on it and didn’t realize the chair was broken until the end of my meal. BEWARE! haha
The food was up to par but I think it’s a little pricey… will probably try to come back for HH next time!

Just recently went back to Cha Cha Cha’s in San Mateo and I was really disappointed. I don’t know if the quality/​service has went down, but nothing was good when I went.
We were the only patrons in the restaurant around 6pm on a weekend (happy hour antics). We ordered the sangria and it came out lukewarm — no ice. We had to ask for ice and mix it ourselves. The food seemed microwaved and previously frozen. We order the Paella — the seafood seemed old and fishy… yuck.
I gave them 3 stars because maybe they were having an OFF day… they used to be good! I’ll be giving them another shot before I write them off completely.

Closest to Cha Cha Cha in SF without having to drive to SF. The tapas– well menu in general is identical and the prices are the same/​fair. Located in downtown San Mateo you’d think they’d be busier but all the times I’ve been here there’s been a little (less than 15 minutes) to no wait at all. The service is genuine and the establishment is clean.
Recommendations:
–Sangria
–Ensalad de Spinach (ask for light dressing) or else everything is drenched
–Cajun Shrimp
–Calamar Frito
–Papas Fritas
–Garlic Herb Mushrooms
–Mussels
…always on point and never a disappointment. Cheers!

The neon sign on ‘Cha Cha Cha Cuba’ has burnt out mostly, and now reads ‘ha Cuba’ at night, and it makes sense now.
I used to be a huge fan of Cha Cha Cha Cuba, but the quality of their food and service has gone downhill (while prices have been raised, you guys might want to make sure your website prices match your menus).
A dinner here resulted in:
— 0 water refills
— Dry & over-​cooked lechon asado
— Massive servings of congri (70% of the plate) to make up for the small portion of meat
— Stale bread
— A bill that was much higher than it should’ve been
Their ceviche was the only thing I really liked (although the boy liked the jerk chicken, but it helped that the sauce helped hide the dryness). Cha Cha Cha used to be one of my favorite restaurants in DTSM, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back after this.

The food was phenomenal! For that moment my family and I enjoyed the delicious food we got hooked. The lechon
pulled apart and the flavors were a tropical party in my mouth! Yes it was that good. The only downside was the price. I felt it was a bit steep, but with limited Cuban restaurants in the area they can charge what they want I guess.

I would give them 5 stars for the food but Im giving them 3 because after my husband and I were seated, 10 minutes passed and we were still waiting for them to take our order. Then a group of 4 came in, sat down, 5 minutes later they are taking their order and we were still waiting. Even though they were polite the service is not the best. The ambience of the place is very very pretty and colorful but they had a mess with the music they were playing.
We both order the Bistec encebollao’ with arroz congri and yuca frita. IT WAS AWESOME!!! It was very tasty and it was a good amount of food (we both took home leftovers). I had the mango juice wich was a little «watery» for my taste so I didn’t like it at all but the food was great!!! It was a little expensive considering the bistec was $ 17 but for the flavor and the amount of food they served it was definetly worth it!

First off, reason why I gave them a 4* was.
The food was kinda pricey for what you get. not so much food, we shared everything between 3people with 4items. It was enough although I recommend more quantity of the portion of food. Other than that the food was excellent. The Cajun shrimp sauce was soooo yummy. The rices were tasty fr the lechon asado and paella de mariscos, wished the lechon was more tender but it was still good. The plantines compliment the meal and thought they we’re really good.
Btw. the Sangria was a big hit. Reg price for a whole pitcher is $ 28 so I’d go to happy hr between 5 – 6 pm. its half price. (Wish happy hr went on for longer) it wasn’t busy for a Tuesday night.
The décor was nice. Cute place. Cant wait to try their other stuff.

Very satisfying meal.
Fast and friendly service.
Sangria is solid. It is full bodied, flavorful, and fruity. Get the half pitcher because it is the best bang for the buck, more glasses to drink.
The tapa portions are substantial and is a meal in itself. You can certainly share with a party of 3 or 4.
Great vibe and great place.
Check this out.

I placed an office dinner order from Cha Cha Cha Cuba through FLUC. Cuban was a welcome departure from our typical orders. Variety is the spice of life as they say, and I really really like spice. I also really really like to say, «Cha Cha Cha Cuba».
I ordered a grilled salmon dish that came with plantains, beans, and rice. I subbed out the rice for some additional beans. The dish was excellent. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the plantains were tasty. The beans were flavored well though felt a little soggy (perhaps due to transport).
I think the true testament to the meal and Cha Cha Cha Cuba overall was my colleagues’ unanimous view that we should definitely order from Cha Cha Cha Cuba more often.

Cha Cha Cha’s in the City is always on point. But parking in San Mateo is fairly easier (& cheaper) than San Francisco.
FIRST VISIT to SAN MATEO:
We walked in at 3pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly, it was practically empty inside Cha3, our party of 7 was seated promptly.
Considering there were only two other tables occupied, service wasn’t as attentive as it should’ve been. No pre-​bus, so our used/​empty plates remained on the table until we received our check. Our water pitcher was only refilled once — the same # of times our server checked in on us during our 90 minute post-​hike feast.
We couldn’t help but wonder if the lack of service was due to the customary 18% gratuity already incurred by our large party.
Luckily, each tasty dish that came out in succession left our tummies full enough to forgive our server of his shortcomings.
TAPAS:
* Alitas de Pollo — $ 9.00:
Two words: Guava. Wings.
Itty bitty chicken wings glazed in a super dark, sticky guava-​chipotle chili sauce. Finger licking Cuban goodness. The portion served in a mini cast iron skillet was just enough to whet our appetites.
* Ceviche — $ 9.75:
Swai fish fillets, scallops, shrimp & calamari with diced mangoes & cucumbers, in a spicy lime & serrano chile marinade, served atop a bed of mixed greens. Accompanied by bottomless tortilla chips, to my toddler’s delight. The acidity and heat married so well that we used the remaining marinade as a sauce for forthcoming dishes.
* Calamar Frito — $ 9.50:
Fried calamari rings & tentacles, dusted lightly in a seasoned batter, served with a rich lemon-​garlic aioli. The calamari was fried to perfection, not rubbery nor chewy with an almost buttery softness to the rings, while the tentacles had just the right amount of crunch to its golden exterior.
ENTREES:
* Pollo Al Jerk (Jerk Chicken) — $ 11.00:
Marinated bone-​in chicken quarter (one leg and one thigh), with habanero peppers, raisins, ginger, and tomatoes. Served on a heaping plate of fluffy white rice. If you enjoy a bold kick, this dish is for you. Technically it’s under the tapas menu but the plate is hearty enough to cross over to the «entrée» side of the menu.
* Lechon Asado — $ 16.00:
Pork leg rubbed down with adobe criollo (Cuban dry rub of oregano, garlic, black pepper), marinated in wine, and slow roasted until fork tender. Served with congri (Cuban rice and black beans) and caramelized sweet plantains. This succulent dish was my mom’s favorite — the only thing that could’ve made it better was if the lechon was served Filipino-​style (crispy skin attached to the leg).
* Paella de Mariscos — $ 21.00:
Sautéed yellow rice with saffron, peas, olives, tomatoes, andouille sausage and a generous serving of seafood (mussels, salmon, bay scallops, calamari, and shrimp). Flavorful and filling, easily a meal on its own. The children love this dish as much as the adults do so we get each time.
BILL:
The damage by our party of 6.5 for 2 entrees, 4 tapas, and no beverages rang up to $ 97.03, inclusive of their 18% gratuity. ~$ 16.17 per person (not including our toddler).
Despite the disappointing neglect, we’ll come back to see if the service improves. Overall, we’d recommend to friends and return, perhaps during Happy Hour and definitely for pick up.

Mainly come here for happy hour for sangria.
Red wine sangria was better than the white wine.
Calamari is nothing special but the ceviche is rich with lots of flavor.
Prices are a little high.
Service is always great!