Latin it up

The best ceviche I’ve ever had! We’ve tried the appetizers and sandwiches and this place is a hidden gem on 4^th.

Great experience — friendly staff and delicious food! Lots of options, and plenty for vegetarians here. I tried the chicha morada, a purple rice drink with nice cinnamon & nutmeg undertones. I highly recommend it — very refreshing and unique. I had the pollo rio which was very good. It reminded me of a chicken salad sandwich. My boyfriend had the Cubano, which he also enjoyed.
There’s a lot to like here — I like the location, I actually enjoy the small size, the friendly staff, the sandwich bread, the chip choices they offer on the side of each sandwich, the acai bowls, and the plethora of options that will definitely keep me coming back. They’re doing a great job, and giving Tucson a taste of South America that is just not offered anywhere else!

This was my second and last time at Latin it up. I cam back because the food was good the first time around but this time the customer service was the worst I have ever experienced at any restaurant. My wife, son, and myself ordered our sandwiches, about 20 minutes later the waitress brought my sons and mine out and then went back, I assumed to bring out my wife’s food (she had ordered a vegetarian sandwich with the main ingredient of avocado). Instead she comes back and tells us that they are out of Avocado, would have been nice to have known this when we ordered instead of when 2 of us were being served. My wife told the server that she didn’t want anything since they didn’t have what she ordered. I then went to the counter and explained my concerns about not informing us immediately upon ordering and got a lengthy explanation about the night shift not informing them, blah, blah, blah. Excuse not acceptable. I should have walked right then but the cook told me my wife’s sandwich would actually be done and served in a minute, little did I realize they simply made the sandwich without the main ingredient (as if this was somehow acceptable.) My wife told them to keep it and my son and I went ahead and ate. When they brought us our bill they charged us full price for everything, to include the sandwich that was completely unacceptable and was not eaten. I complained to the person in charge and was told that we had to pay regardless of whether she ate it, they even asked if we wanted to bring it with us (strange question considering we had already explained it was unacceptable). I considered blowing up and refusing to pay but I decided to be the bigger person, paid my bill and departed, never to return again. Of note, 2 other groups of people came in while we were eating and left without ordering after waiting for at least 5 minutes and not even being approached by anyone on the staff.

The AZ daily star recommended… the Cubano. It was a solid sandwich, the bread is amazing. A LOT of Mayo on that sandwich, but the pork was so tender and juicy that it just took over the sandwich. In between bites, if notice some ham or Pepperoni… something that wasn’t expected, but totally flavorful and delicious.
The sweet potato chips were good, fresher or hotter would have been better. Cool people greeting you at the door and thrilled you’re there. Thanks for feeding us!

The reason for two stars; time management! One couple ahead of us… After over twenty minutes, still no food. The «quinoa sandwich» is what we are waiting for apparently. A suggestion, if the sandwich takes this long to make/​cook/​prepare, take it off menu.
The curtain wall should also be replaced cause you can hear everything! Especially how things aren’t turning out on the kitchen. But hey, «it’s fresh…» I lost my enthusiasm because of the long wait, making it awkward to eat cause … As I type this in… Still waiting. Finally! 26 minutes later, we received food. Looks great except my Machu Picchu nachos are warm at best. Cheese not melted and beef hard. Disappointing.
Funny how cook/​owner hits other table asking how their meal is, skips us. Not once, twice. Could be disgusted look of wait on our faces?
Won’t be back.

Stopped by for lunch on Good Friday, probably not the best choice since it was a meat free day for me. I chose the avocado and hard boiled egg sandwich with the yucca chips. I was pleasantly surprised by the sandwich, it was very tasty and the bread was delicious. I was less than impressed in the appetizer of yucca fries, not cooked all the way through. I would give the sandwich five stars, the yucca fries one star and the atmosphere two and a half stars (the music was way to loud for a Friday afternoon lunch).

Had a Cubano sandwich, it was delicious. The bread was great. Good menu selection, customer service was excellent. Very clean. My son had a ham and cheese sandwich from kids menu, it was yummy as well

Hmm.
Food is good, sandwich variety is good, bread is good, other meal items are good, but that’s it, good, acceptable nourishment.
Upon stepping inside you definitely feel transported into a favela alley café, the building is painted with the bright colors, but everything seems dirty in the corners, the moulding seems old and dusty, fluorescent lighting that doesn’t fully illuminate the rooms, curtains on the windows block sunlight and make it kinda college apartment feeling. Fans running when it’s hot, space heaters in this past winter, random brown outs (tripped breakers, but you’d almost think that they did it for the ambiance).
I have been here a handful of times and they always say they’re having the grand opening that weekend, but they’ve been open for a bit now, how many grand openings can you throw before its just a marketing ploy? Once you’re open and serving wouldn’t that just be it? (OK, I’ve heard of soft openings, but this place isn’t a new chic fusion bistro in WeHo, it’s a South American themed sandwich shop where Marcel’s used to be).
I don’t mean to demean their efforts. These are good people bringing a food concept we dont really see much of in our town, let alone near DT or UA.
Give ‘em a shot, I haven’t gotten food poisoning so they’re not cutting corners.
3.5÷5

We had a bit if a wait for our food, but it was more than worth it! Very friendly service too. Win win in my book!

Looked hard for street fair food that looked good today and just about gave up when out of the corner of my eye I spot this new (to me) cute little entry to Latin it Up lunch spot and the ‘calling’ card was a photo of a Cubano sandwich on their menu. We went in and ordered one to split with chips and a pickle for under ten bucks.
The very friendly host brought us unsolicited waters since we had not ordered drinks (no beer, darn) and shortly after that the best Cuban sandwich I’ve had was devoured by my wife and I. It was perfect, from the tasty roast pork and thin slices ham, some great spread replacing the traditional mustard, but similar, pickle in a soft flat roll. Outstanding.
I’ll be back to try some of the other sandwiches, but probably not before I have another Cubano. 4−½ stars!
Updated, evidently I didnt post this review and found it after our second trip here and being equally impressed! This little place is da bomb.

Latin it up is a welcome little healthy oasis in a sea of kids’ food. Finally, a quick eaterie on Fourth where I don’t have to choose between a burger as big as my head, four-​way fries and six-​way mac and cheese. The sandwich selections include chicharrone, several grilled chicken selections and the classic Cubano with pork, ham, pickles and mustard. It was piled high, gooey and salty-​sweet just as it should be, and my only minor quibble is that it wasn’t done on a grill press. My partner’s Salpicao chicken salad with corn, potato sticks, provolone apples and raisins (a menu claim that wasn’t borne out) and served with a side of thick grilled torta bread was a deal for $ 8. All dishes are served with plantain, sweet potato, BBQ or yucca chips. Fruity cold Goya sodas are available, and the service is friendly and thorough. Now if they’d only serve little sugar cane bucci coffee I’d feel like I was back in South Florida.

Really great sandwiches, a friendly staff, and a clean place. This could not have been better. The El Cubano was terrific as was the Pollo Cilantro. Great experience, thanks guys.

So glad to see this place finally open up! This genre of food is so lacking in Tucson. Great flavors in the food and selection of sandwiches. There is also other food available for people that don’t want to eat sandwiches. They have a lot of vegetarian options available too.
I tried out the Cubano, Rio, and the Coxinha. Well portioned with great bold flavors and no skimping on the meat. Sandwiches came with your choice of potato, plantain, or yucca chips. Pricing is appropriate and you won’t be disappointed with what you order. I’m excited to go back and try out some of the plates! The place is a little small but there is some outdoor seating that’s good for bigger groups and the indoor seating is great for small groups with some booth seating.

Sat in the back patio and had a delicious chicharron sandwich w/​homemade plantain chips from this cute family owned restaurant! Will definitely come back here again.

Fantastic food and very friendly wait staff/​ownership. You can tell the owners take their food seriously and spend the time to make it right. The Cuban was meaty and every bite was delicious. Glad we found this place so soon!

Definitely worth a shot — the food is fantastic and the owners are great to talk to while you wait on the food

Fantastic place. Staff took great care of us, and the food was delicious. Felt like home cooking.

I’m really glad this place popped up on 4^th. I tried the avocado and egg sandwich (was really happy they have some unique veggie options) and it was delicious! The service was really great too, and I always love supporting a family-​run business. I thought it was a nice touch that the guy asked me what I would do to change the sandwich. There’s nothing I would change about their food, but it’s nice to see that they care about the customer experience. I definitely plan on coming back and trying their smoothies and acai bowls!