Que Rico! Cuban Cafe

This is the best restaurant in Slidell.
It’s nothing fancy and they could probably stand to hire another waiter — so, when they’re busy, you might have a wait a little. But, it’s a family business, and their food is so good that we never mind. Any short wait is worth it, and the owner/​waiter is always really apologetic.
The pork is absolutely amazing every time, as are the plantains. The tamal will change your life.

Great Cuban food. Food was full of flavors. Coconut flan was good too. Small restaurant so expect to leave the restuarant smelling like it.

I stumbled upon this little gem on my way to the post office. It was a pleasant find.
1^st, the Atmosphere. I walked it and it was a simple looking place, familiar music playing (Bachata, Regaeton, etc.), and smelled of Caribbean cuisine. This is a plus for me as it reminded me of many Latin restaurants back home. I immediately felt comfortable. Good smells, friendly people, simple setup, just how I like my Latin restaurants.
2^nd, the food. I ordered a Ropa Vieja sandwich (because I’ve never seen Ropa Vieja in a sandwich) and tostones. The sandwich was very flavorful, but I felt it was missing something. Most likely it was cheese; I never eat sandwiches without cheese. The tostones came with a sauce, but that wasn’t necessary as I only need ketchup for my tostones. They were very good. I finished the meal with a very well done cafecito. Needless to say, I was pleased.
3^rd, the people. The man I was greeted by (assuming he is the owner) was very friendly and patient with me. The gentleman even gave me a military discount.
This is an amazing spot to grab a bite and I understand all the rave reviews. My only disappointment is I didn’t taste their rice and beans or flan, but I shall be back.

The food was delicious! I had the lechón asado and my husband got the ropa vieja. The meat was so tender and flavorful. The portions were good. The staff was friendly. Highly recommend this restaurant.

Consistently delicious for years. That is Que Rico!
Venture here and you will find unbelievable lechon and spectacular ropa vieja. To make the lechon more amazing, try the tamales! The tamales are cuban style, which means the tamale itself is mostly masa with bits of deliciousness mixed in and covered in lechon.
The cuban sandwhiches are amazing. Like best I have ever had amazing. You can even get half a cuban and a cup of fantastic chicken soup if you are looking to warm your soul.
When you dine here, you must try the cuban coffee. It is sweet and delicious. Be warned, it is LAVA hot when served.
Try the guava pastries for a bite of something sweet (if they havent sold sold).

I drive here on the weekends and eat a meal, I also order an extra meal to have the next day. Great Cuban food, nice people, good prices. Highly recommend.

Great food, great service! Try the tres leches cake!
It looks like they’re expanding, which is great news. They also now have a beer and wine license, which had been a long time coming.

Chicken Croquetas, Tostones, Cuban and pork sandwiches, Braised Oxtail, Ropa Vieja, Flan, and Tres Leches — such good, authentic Cuban food! Our server was friendly and welcoming and attentive, the venue was clean and inviting, and the prices are very fair. Highly recommended!

Best café con leche, good food, friendly service, although a bit slow it is definitely worth the trip and wait.

Ok seriously the best pork on top of the Tamal! Then they top it off with grilled onion and a bit of garlic.
The sandwiches are amazing. The sauces for dipping are so good we bought to jars to take home.
We had Flan for dessert and probably for sure the BEST I’ve ever had!
Great hole in the wall find.
We are going to have to come back anytime we come to town!

This is some very good Cuban food! We shared a Cuban, Ropa Viejo sandwich, maduros, tostones, and black beans with rice. All were excellent. The Cuban was exceptional, the ropa viejo was amazing, and the black beans were quite superb!
Extremely happy with the service and speed with which the food was ready even though I walked in to order take out during the dinner hour.
If you have nothing else try the Cuban and black beans. If you have room definitely going for maduros and tostones! Will be back!

My family and I tried this restaurant on a Friday night (that may have been our downfall) The food was fantastic (I’ve never tried Cuban, and loved it, although my husband seems to think that it’s not «true» cuban fare, but an «americanized» version) Non-the-less…Delicious!!!
The only reason I didn’t give the restaurant 5 stars was because of the VERY long wait for our food, and the fact that the waiter seemed to also be the buss-​boy, and even cook… Point is… THEY NEED HELP… waiters, buss-​boys, cooks, you name it!!!
We were very impressed with the gentleman who brought us our menu, and took a few moments to explain the difference between Cuban and Mexican fare, very nice. Unfortunately, the place was packed… at one point my husband counted thirteen table that this man was waiting on single-​handedly! A few tables were being a bit needy, which didn’t help the situation. We Finally placed our order (I’d guess a half and hour wait to order), and then waited another half hour for our food. By the time our food came, our drinks were empty, and even though the gentleman promised to be «right back» with re-​fills, we never got them.
Again…food was excellent!!! After we finished eating, my husband finally got up and went to the counter to pay for our meal, because it didn’t seem like our waiter was going to come back. We’ll try again on a less busy night, and we’re just hoping that this was a fluke (maybe some employees didn’t show up for work?)

I love love love finding hidden, quaint neighborhood restaurants/​cafes family-​owned and operated like Que Rico! Granted I was on the prowl looking for a mid-​afternoon caffeine fix, but I am glad to have decided to stop in while running errands around town.
The atmosphere is inviting and welcoming– almost homey-​like feel to the place. Service was friendly with a smile even though I wasn’t ordering lunch. I ordered the café con leche and the guava cheese pastry. The café con leche was solid, sweet and potent, as was expected. And the guava cheese pastry was such a treat along with the café con leche. The pastry was flaky and buttery, and was complemented well by the guava-​cheese filling. I am such a big fan of tropical fruits like guava because it makes me think that I’m relaxing on a beach.
There was a family dining nearby and the food looked and smelled delicious. I had no idea what they ordered but it smelled alot like roasted pork. I have to make it a point to come dine here the next time I am in the area. Based on previous reviews, Que Rico is a local Unilocal favorite.

A small, nondescript plaza with a tiny restaurant on the corner. Decent parking and friendly employees. The prices are a little higher than what we are used to for similar items at other Cuban places we’ve been to. However, the food is tasty and hot.
Great roast pork, black beans and rice. Decent Cuban sandwich. Kids meals are a large portion.
Legit café con leche.
My husband has been to Cuba twice and said the food here is on par with the authentic stuff. Being from Florida, we know Cuban food pretty well and this is a close second.
Great little, find in Louisiana of all places.

I had the Cuban Sandwich and Maduros.
Cuban Sandwich– Flavor was amazing! The pork was a touch dry when you eat it separately from the sandwich but I didn’t noticed it with everything else going on. Not too much mustard not too little, lots of Cubans miss out on this key point. The bread wasn’t toasted long enough in my opinion. The top of the bread started falling apart in my hand. These are very particular critiques and isn’t meant to insult the establishment but to help them with their flaws. Do not get me wrong this is one of the greatest Cubans I’ve ever had, even better than 95% of what I’ve had in Miami. Please come here and get this sandwich.
Maduros– WOW, spot on. Caramelization was literately unreal. Very well done.
Café Con Leche– made with espresso, the «leche» was sweetened French Vanilla creamer powder. GROSS. I asked for the coffee to be unsweetened. I usually drink my coffee black but cuban coffee is amazing and café con leche is no exception.
Docked a star for the bread of the sandwich falling apart and one star for ruining the café con leche. I will be coming back and checking out the rest of their menu while I’m out here for work and will update my review accordingly.

I didn’t expect much from a Cuban restaurant in literally the middle of nowhere, but my family who live in the area tried it recently and liked it.
I had the Ropa Vieja, and it was tender and nicely seasoned, I think it was alittle pricey for the small portion though. In NYC the price is the same, but you get more food.
My sister had the fried pork chop and she said it had no flavor and was oily (I told her it might have been some condensation, since we called and ordered, then picked it up.
We also ordered a cuban and steak sandwich and both were good.

The black beans and rice were very good, tostones delicious. Chicken soup was home made and good, maduros could be browner, but were tasty. Service a bit slow because the restaurant was full to the brim. Coffee with milk was outstanding.

SUPER greattttttt #cubanespresso. I’m sold!!!
Only 1 of 2 places that I’ve come across that do an authentic #cubanespresso & get it right. I love the tiny cup it’s served in, how cute!!!
I also ordered a hot & spicy picadillo sandwich. Spicy ground beef, jalapeños & sweeeeeet sweeeeeet sweeeet plantains. I was able to eat off this sandwich twice… hello lunch & dinner.
Loved the family style feel & friendliness of the patrons & the staff. I ordered a sandwich to go & the cool delivered it, helllllo how cool. Cool kids drawing adorn several doors in this facility.
I plan to go back whenever I’m Slidell, so many other things for me to try … YummmmY!!!

Que Rico is absolutely, positively amazing!
I am a Cuban Sandwich fanatic. I have been, and am still, on a quest for the best Cuban Sandwich in the metropolitan area. So when a good friend told me about Que Rico, I added it to my list.
It did take me a few tries before finally getting to try the food though. My first visit they were closed because they didn’t have any bread. My second visit was on a Monday, and they’re closed on Mondays. Needless to say, when I finally did get to visit, the anticipation had built so high that I was about to explode. Since that trip I have been numerous other times. It is so good that I would gladly eat there Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner. Here is what I have learned on my visits:
Service
While service can be a bit quirky at times, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. The quirks have involved forgetting a drink or messing up the order, but they always make it right.
Food
The food here is phenomenal, but the Cuban Sandwich is not the star. I have tried the Cuban Sandwich three times. Each time I found it incredibly flavorful, but somewhat dry. That problem was easily remedied by the addition of some of the homemade habanero sauce, but i would like it moist from the get go. Maybe they could put a little of their mojo sauce in the same way they coat the pork on the tamals.
Speaking of tamals, I find it to be an absolute necessity to start my meal with a solo tamal. I am not normally a fan of the tamales I get around town, but their version is stellar. It comes topped with pork, onions and their mojo sauce. That pork is so good that I would gladly punch someone in the face if it meant I could have more of it. Luckily for me, no punching was necessary and on my next visit I ordered the pork platter.
That platter came with a heaping portion of the pork, which is most likely the best pork I have ever eaten. Are you getting what I am saying. The pork is beyond belief good. Stop reading this and go eat some. It is that good.
The other item on the menu that I would like to gush about is their chicken breast sandwich. How they were able to make that chicken so juicy and tasty is beyond me, but it is my favorite sandwich on their menu. I don’t know if I would punch someone in the face for more, but it is pretty dern good.
The last item I would like to gush about is their homemade habanero sauce. Whatever you order, make sure they bring you some. If you like it like I do, you can buy a jar. The jar is somewhat expensive at $ 8.99, but that jar only lasted three days at my house. I out it in everything from nachos, to sandwiches.
Location
The location is a bit sketchy. Depending on the time I have visited there have been some shady people roaming around.
Que Rico has quickly become one of my top five favorite restaurants. Although it may be far from where you are, it is worth the drive.

Where have you been all my life, Que Rico Cuban Café? I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have you. You have ruined me for every other café in Slidell.
This restaurant is AMAZING. It is in a really dinky strip mall and doesn’t look too appealing from the outside, but trust me. It is seriously awesome. I smile the entire time I’m in here and even have been known to dance a little to the great Latin American music playing.
The food is so great and the Cuban espresso is delicious. The Pork Tamal appetizer is so tender and explodes with flavor. You need to have this in your mouth. Really. The pressed Mojo Chicken sandwich is soooooo good. It’s got the most delicious and tender chicken topped with really thinly sliced grilled onions. Order that for sure. I doubt you could go wrong with anything on the menu. Everything is really great! Oh, and the icing on the cake? It’s extremely inexpensive.
I love it, love it, love it. You will too.