The Floridian

Decent cuban, not great though. Have had better. Nice clean place with happy employees!

Moved to Tampa 2 week ago and had yet to try the famous Cuban sandwich. I didn’t have a lot of time for research but found the Floridian just 10 minutes away and they had awards from the Cuban Sandwich Festival so it seemed a safe bet that they would be good. Called for delivery and was told that they had no drivers after 2pm. Ok no worries it’s only 10 minutes away so I ordered 3 of «the Finest Cuban Sandwiches on the Planet.» The woman on the phone said, so 3 Cuban sandwiches then, and I asked, those are the finest Cuban sandwiches on the planet right? (Not trying to be funny but just confirming that I ordered the right ones as they are listed on the menu as, «the finest Cuban sandwiches on the planet» and I wanted to make sure I was ordering the right ones.) She replied impatiently, yeah Cuban sandwiches. I arrived to pick up my order about 20 minutes later. On entering the store I could tell that the young woman behind the counter was the same person I talked to on the phone. With a look that reeked of, I so don’t want to be here right now, she finished sweeping and without looking at me said, you here for a pick up. Yes I relied and she grabbed my order and I passed over my card to pay the $ 25. My friend couldn’t help but ask, so do you like working here? The young woman replied, No, then laughed and said that she would rather be not working like everyone else today (it was Memorial Day). I paid and we left. Interestingly the store had a sign up on the door saying, «Hiring people with smiles,» what a joke. I have to say my friends and I enjoyed our sandwiches but the entire experience was colored by the service received, from the phone call through to the immaturity of the young woman in person. Seriously I was not looking for the best service of my life buying 3 sandwiches but the disrespect this employe had for her employer and customers was shocking. I looked at a few more Unilocal reviews to see that others have made comment about the questionable customer service. This would suggest strongly that the owners of this store just don’t care. On balance I enjoyed the sandwich but I don’t think I’ll be back. Like many other reviewers have said, there are so many other sandwich shops in Tampa to get a Cuban and I will be on the lookout for a business that demonstrates that they care.

We decided to try it out after seeing an ad in the Southwest Airlines magazine. The Kennedy Ave location was difficult to find but with the help of our GPS we finally saw the place. Initial impression on walking in most of the tables had crumbs on them and were dirty, the bathroom was nasty, and the cashier just took the order gave me the receipt to sign and walked off. No smile, help, anything. They were working on a large order and we had to wait. We overheard the person waiting on them, the workers did not tell the customers waiting anything. We got our order to go and left back to Clearwater. I do not know why I was surprised but I was, the order was not what we asked for. The Cuban sandwich was alright but a bit on the salty side because of the salami used instead of ham. I also ordered an Angry Cuban and got a pork or roast beef sandwich, the meat was unidentifiable. We emailed them what happened and got no response. Customer service seems not be a priority. I will not return I can get a better sandwich served by people who care just about anywhere else.

Gave The Floridian 3 tries — no more. The Floridian’s staff is either stoned, watching TV, stupid or a combo of all three, They ignore you and getting a basic Cuban sandwich means a 30 minute commitment. There’s a million Tampa places for a great Cuban — this place isn’t worth it.

My dad is from Tampa, and our family visits here every so often. Whenever we do make the trip down, we undoubtedly will get a few cuban sandwiches from the Floridian!
Even as a most-​of-​the-​time vegetarian now, I have to sneak a bite (or two) from my mom’s sandwich– they are that good. Served warm or cold these sandwiches are not to be missed!

Lunch Mar 25
Carryout order.
Fries were very very good — these are outstanding!
Deviled Crab (large one) had way too much breading and the inside was diced so thin I couldn’t taste any crab, let alone see any — wouldn’t get again.
Cuban was pressed thin and crunchy (which I do like). The roast pork was very tasty, but the ham was just okay. Good balance of meats, condiments, pickles, cheese melted perfectly.
In a town like Tampa — which has so many Cuban Sandwich shops, you gotta really standout to get me to drive 20+ minutes to get your food. Glad I tried this place for my self and glad I did. And if driving by, or in the area, I would grab a sandwich if hungry. But, I am passing way too many quality sandwiches to go there specifically for this Cuban. Again, it is good quality and as good as most, the fries are way way better than most, but not worth me driving to get from where I live.

So not only was the Cuban on point, I accidentally left my Costa sunglasses in there and I did not realize it until the next day. Maybe I was high on the food? Called them the next day and they saved them for me. It’s not only a great place to eat but a an honest staff as well.
Thank you!

There were only three other people in the restaurant when a friend and I entered at 11:30AM on Thursday, March 10, 2016. The young lady at the counter was having cash register problems, and completely ignored us. The young man who came to fix her problem completely ignored us for about five minutes, and then asked us (gruffly) what we wanted, only to ignore us again when his cell phone rang and he answered it. We finally ordered, and sat down.
After twenty five minutes, we asked the older woman behind the counter how much longer it would be for our order. She asked us which order it was, so we showed her the receipt. She explained, loudly, that she couldn’t read the receipt, so please just tell her what we ordered. We did so, and she said, «Soon!» One of the sandwiches came up five or six minutes later. It was lukewarm, and the bread was over-​pressed and quite hard. After another ten minutes we inquired about the other sandwich. She said, «You’re next; just sit down and I’ll bring it to you.»
Seven more minutes, and still no second sandwich. We asked, and she yelled that she has called out to come get it. We didn’t hear that. She said we should listen. We took the lukewarm second sandwich so we could get back to work somewhere near an hour after leaving.
I have no idea where these people were trained in the foodservice business, but they are seriously lacking. The older woman has no business interacting with customers, as she talks down to the very people who are providing her living.
I had high hopes for good news when I went there, but am seriously disappointed, and will probably not go back. The food’s mediocre, and the help is clueless.

Chose this place because I was next door at the UPS Store. Clean store and a small line upon walking in at 11:40am. Looked like a good sign to me. I ordered the 7″ combo with The Finest Cuban and fries. They appeared short staffed and one person was new i’m assuming (someone was telling her what to do almost every step of the way.) My meal took almost 20 minutes, but I wasn’t in a hurry. Once I got my food, the fries were luke warm and undercooked. The Cuban was good, but the bread was almost too toasted. It was so hard it hurt my gums and the roof of my mouth when I bit into it. I’m def willing to try this place again though based upon their menu and the number of people I saw steadily coming in.

Do not order for delivery online. When you call to check on your late order they blow you off and tell you it’s on the way without even asking you any details about your order. Only to call back an hour later to find out they never received your online order, even though you got an order confirmation email.

It had been a few years since I visited this spot on Kennedy, so this was my first trip to the new location right down the street.
However, I am a fan of salads sometimes instead of a sandwich and thought I would try their Cuban in salad form.
The new location is quite nice and an upgrade from the previous tiny spot next to Smoothie King.
It was a late Saturday afternoon and there was only one employee working at all. I give him credit for getting everything done, as he knew what he was doing and did not have any help. He said it had been slow all afternoon, but I was one of about four people who came in at roughly the same time.
My wait was a bit too long, despite his efforts. If I had known it would take that long, I would not have stopped in the first place and would have gone to Lenny’s right down the street.
The finished product was good. Plenty of meat, cheese and other ingredients and very filling for one person. A salad this size needs more than one packet of salad dressing, as this is a common mistake made by many places… except PDQ which always gives you two or three.
Oh, I also added an order of stuffed potato balls. You receive four for $ 2.49, but they are rather small. Not something I would order again, because it just was not worth it.
If I know I can get in and out of here for that same Cuban salad in less time, I would make another visit to The Floridian.

This place serves mediocre food at ridiculous prices. The meat tastes like dog food, and my black bean soup– was dry. Yeah, the soup, was dry. I didn’t even know soup could be dry. The service was so bad, they looked upset that I’d walked in, like it was a hassle to have to do their job. I only tried it because of the original location on treasure island. I figured it would be the same, but I was so wrong. Will never return, will tell everyone that will listen how bad it is. Stick to the original!

Got a Cuban sandwich there last year after seeing the place on a top ten list so I gave it a try. Overall the sandwich was good, not OMG great, but solid. The bread was fresh and the meat quality was average. I’d go back if I’m in the area.
As stated in other reviews, the meat portions were a little on the light side.

I have given this restaurant 3 or 4 chances to impress me with their Cuban sandwich over the years, and they failed at each attempt. Minuscule servings of meat, dry and flavorless pork, lunch meat ham and no LOVE FOR THE HISTORY of the SANDWICH. Look at Joseph M’s recent picture for the proof. While the new spot is much larger, nicer and has better parking, moving one block down the street really can’t help them. I have no idea how they keep winning Cuban sandwich contests. I guess people’s familiarity with the sandwich’s authenticity is just that far gone. We have been fed degraded versions of the Cuban with cheap meat like boiled ham, processed lunch meat pork, lettuce, tomato and mayo for so long that the average Tampanian wouldn’t recognize a real Cuban sandwich if it stood up and slapped ‘em in the damn orbital socket.
They serve a Canadian french fry gravy as their «spicy dipping sauce» for their sandwiches. Authenticity flies out the window right there.
P. S. Not sure I like the fact that business owners can rebuttal individual reviews on here. A bad experience or one’s perception of the food shouldn’t be replied to with a long-​winded counterargument. It is what it is, and to me it’s just fuel added to the «never go back to this business» fire. That is all.
CUBAN SANDWICH REPORT CARD:
Bread: Fresh, La Segunda Bakery
Ham: Boiled ham /​lunch meat
Pork: Roast pork
Salami: Yes
Swiss: Yes
Mustard: Yes
Pickles: Yes
Pressed: Yes
Lettuce/​Tomato/​Mayo: By request
Rating: 2.5 /​5.0

The service at The Floridian is terrible. Basically barked at for my order just now by three unfriendly, checked out employees.
First of all, they got all three of our orders wrong and they were incredibly frustrated with each other.
They literally threw my order in the trash can because there was confusion/​frustration amongst themselves.
I’ll chalk this up to being overworked and terrible management because there is no way in the hell the average person behaves this way unless they are mismanaged/​taken advantage of.

This is our first time to Tampa, and on a tip we stopped here for breakfast. This place is well known for its Cuban sandwiches so I wast sure what to expect. The breakfast menu is limited… but I assure you it’s all you’ll need! The bread they use to press the sandwiches is heaven! All the meats are perfectly seasoned and sliced for pressing. The egg on mine cooked to perfection. We also go a fresh squeezed OJ wilco has was a treat in itself. The hot sauces they have there will set your mouth a blaze but in a good way. I can’t wait to come back for lunch! YUM!

The food is good, but the service isn’t the best and the pricing of side items is a ripoff. If you’re in the area and need a Cuban, grab one. Otherwise, hit up an authentic restaurant.
Nothing special here if you’ve experienced enough variety in the area.

I thought Floridian was long gone on my way to burger king this morning LOW AND BEHOLD Floridian love the new place never knew they open at 8 THAT’S A PLUS

This place has become a weekly routine for myself and my office — now that I’ve spread the word.
Delivery on $ 15 or more, but it’s worth the short drive.
Great location. Food is awesome. I love the «Angry Cuban» and the Plantains.
A previous review on another website and the OWNER RESPONDED. Very classy, and I’ve always had great service.
Food is always hot and fresh, though it can take a few minutes to prepare something with quality.

The greatest Cuban on the planet? Not sure which planet they’re referring to but this place would not even be the greatest Cuban in the vending machine for me. Minuscule amount of low quality sliced pork, one piece of salami, cheap boiled ham and a slice of Swiss cheese that covered about a 30% strip down the center of the bread. So bad that I took a picture of it, complete joke. I have lived here my whole life and eaten Cuban sandwiches all over Tampa. I can tell you with great certainty that this place does not even come close to the greatest Cuban on the planet. How can you look at the product that you’re putting out and not realize how sub par you are when you’ve got so many examples all around you. The Cuban sandwich is to Tampa what poutine is to Canada. If you’re going to sell the city’s most famous sandwich then do some research for God’s sake.