Cafe Cubano

Great little café hidden on balboa, I tried the ropa vieja sandwich, it was delicious. The owner is a lovely lady and very attentive to her customers. Next time I will try the Cubano sandwich. My family loves all their food. Stop by and try one of her delicious cucumber or hibiscus drinks. This place will not disappoint.

It was grrrrreaattt! The Cubano was delicious and in my opinion better than Portos! And it’s only a couple minutes away from my house. The owner was really friendly

Small little place with great food. Owners are delightful and make everything themselves. Will definitely be back when in the area. I highly recommend this place.

You MUST try this café! Absolutely amazing food & service. Our office placed a large lunch order & everyone was pleased with their meal. Some favorites were the Cubano Sandwich, Midnight Sandwich & Jamon Sandwich. As far as sides go, the chips & guac were to die for! As well as the roasted corn on the cob.
The shop is fairly new. The mother & daughter pair running the shop we very accommodating & helpful. All food is made to order.

So I came in and was greeted with one of the most genuine smiles! The menu is small which makes it easy to order lol. Nothing but good vibes at this place. I was disappointed to here they didn’t have pineapple water but she made it up and gave me a free Fiji water bottle. I came alone and sat down in the corner. The lady working was talking to me and made me feel like family! I would forsure come back! Oh yeah and the food! Oh man! Every bite was heaven!

Very nice place, great service. I can recommend this place to everyone to try.

This little gem was a chance find! And I’m so glad I stopped in. The owner Rose was so amazingly friendly and nice. We ordered the Cuban & Ropa Vieja sandwiches… Having a hard time deciding which was BETTER! Came with homemade chips and salsa which were also tasty. We ordered a side of fried plantains… how can you not! ;)
While we waiting she offered us the hibiscus water and cucumber water to try for free on the house! My taste buds did a dance! WOW! Definitely better than Porto’s and Versailles! I’m Puertorican and hard to please when it comes to Caribbean cuisine in LA but this place was hands down delicious! I love mom and pop type establishments. The freshest ingredients and quality food at a great price and it taste like my grandmother cooked it!
She mentioned they had only been open for 17 wks and had shorter hours of operation until they expand. Spread the word folks!!! Tell everyone you know! Cuz this little establishment is fantastic and should be open at all hours!
Sorry no photos. Took one bit and didn’t look back ;)

You will enjoy every single bite as your taste buds will be in a state of ecstasy from the delicious food. Get your wallet, get in your car and go straight there right now!

Wow, I was highly impressed by this little place! I ordered the Cubano and it’s the best I’ve had. I saw that one Unilocal reviewer claimed it is better than Portos, so I decided to try it for myself and I would have to agree with them! Very delicious. My boyfriend got the ropa vieja, it was also really good. The fried plantains were good too. They said that the buisness is still fairly new so the menu is small and hours are limited for now, but they plan on expanding the menu and extending the hours in the future. I hope they add potato balls next! Then portos could really have some competition.
Service was excellent. The woman that worked there was extremely friendly. The place was decorated really cute for Christmas and I could just tell that the place has a lot of soul, something other places lack. I will definitely be returning and would recommend this place to everybody.

My husband loves Cuban Food so we had to go try this place out. Small establishment. As you walk in you realize it’s a family run operation. The owners are fantastic people who are just so nice. We tried the house drinks which were the Hibiscus water and the Cucumber water. Both were so yummy that we got more to go.
Ordered the Cubano, Timba and the Midianoche. Hands down the best Cuban I have had. Perfect bread and sauce. Can’t wait to go back. The other sandwiches were great too but the Cuban was wonderful.

Stopped in for lunch to go. Had ropa vieja and half a medianoche sandwich. Everything I had was really good. Shredded beef, sandwich with just the right proportions, and even the plantains and rice were good. I will return.

No more long lines at Porto’s because I’ve found the best place to eat Cubanos. They’re amazingly delicious. The services was great very friendly and just a great place overall. Me and my brother were driving around looking for a place to eat and found this place didn’t really read any reviews just saw that it had five stars. Man this place is amazing honestly it is. I’ll definitely come back to eat here.

Now I love me some Portos but babyyyyyy when I tell you the Cubano there has NOTHING on the Cubano HERE, believe what I tell you!!! I’ve been ready to try this lil spot for a while but they close early (3:30pm) & I kept forgetting about that. I finally made it there and ordered the Cubano, Timba, plantains and corn on the cob (which they didn’t have because they didn’t like the look of the produce for purchase-​which I respect).
The very pleasant woman behind the counter (head smack for not asking her name) offered me a hibiscus tea on the house while I waited for my food-​cool points! The Cubano was sooo full of flavor it is ridiculous! You can taste every component of the sandwich… A+! The Timba is their guava & sweet cheese sandwich, also very tasty (think of the guava & cheese rolls @ Portos but better!) and the plantains were fried to perfection! They gave me some honey for them but they were so ripe and sweet they needed nothing else.
All in all, very well done Café Cubano… you have a new fan!

I had the ropa vieja sandwich, a pressed tri-​tip sandwich which came with some chips and a little hot sauce. I also had a sweet hibiscus drink. All was good. The service was extremely friendly, and the food came very quickly and tasted fresh. The sandwich was $ 6.25. Definitely recommended! The restaurant owners hope to begin serving dinner in January 2016.

This tiny café has a friendly staff and a great cubano sandwich. I thoroughly enjoyed the sandwich of roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, and pickles. The delightful cucumber water was very refreshing on a warm autumn day.

Saw the reviews, and without reading them decided it was time to see for myself.
We were greeted by a very charismatic young lady, Rosa who served us water. Upon first sip, I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors of fresh cucumber and citrus infused therein.
With a smile I gladly ordered a staple in any Cuban joint: a cubano.
The bread was crisp and toasted to perfection, inside the ham, roasted pork, melted cheese, and crunch of a pickle… a flavorful array of scents and tastes.
The menu features sandwiches, salads, and dessert items as simple as chocolate chip cookies to maduros endulzados!
I would definitely return for seconds and would definitely try the house specialty, the Celia Cruz burger! Azucaaaaa!

I had lunch here for the first time and it was amazing.
My boyfriend and I walked in and were greeted with a smile and looked around for someone to sit. It’s pretty small but we found a seat easily.
The vibe was great, everyone was talking and everyone that worked there was friendly.
We ordered two Cubanos and fried plantains and omg it was amazing. The seasoning was spot on and the plantains were just like mom used to make. The bread was perfectly crunchy and the spread was apparent and amazing. My boyfriend also had the cucumber water and it was also delicious!
Overall: it’s one of the best mom and pops I have been to. Please please give this place a try they’re only open for a few hours so catch them while they are open!

Went in today. Very good food, and NICE people!
Got the Cubano sandwich and the fried plantains :)
* (Click on each pic below, to enlarge)

Salad was delicious, the dressing was flavorful and had a kick to it. I would drink the salad dressing, that is how good it was, I am so happy and impressed. Next course Aqua Chilis, it was made with perfect balance because you had the heat aspect but you could taste the sweetness of the shrimp. I love the texture, it was bite that gave me pleasure. As per the Cuban Sandwich, the pork was juicy and beautiful. I rave about Arroz con Pollo because the rice was so fluffy and tasty, omg. My picture will be of my regret because I could not lick the plate in public. LASTLY, DON’T FORGET DESSERT, the Timba was fabulous: Guava paste with cheese on grilled bread… joy!

First time at this little Cuban Café… Food was delicious. I will defiantly come back
Very friendly and clean
Loved the soft salsa on the background
The pastries are delicious