Papi’s Cuban & Caribbean Grill

I’ve come here twice for lunch with my coworkers. Both times we were quickly seated and our server was quick to take our orders. The food arrived quickly and everyone enjoyed their meals. Nothing too great to rave about but I don’t have any complaints either. I’d return here again for lunch but it’s not a place I’d necessarily want to go to often. Maybe an every blue moon type of spot.

Have always been a big fan of Papis. They have great daily specials that are only $ 7.25 and you get a lot of food! This location is small, but bustling. Service was great. I got to choose between white or yellow rice. Ropa Vieja was cooked to perfection. The black beans could have been seasoned a little more, they were very plain. They have smoothies and café cubanos and sandwiches and so much more! Love it.

Had a sandwich called the medianoche with shredded pork. Cons: it’s called the medianoche because it’s something you should only eat in the middle of the night while quite intoxicated, so it was super greasy. Also the quality of their ham was just meh. Pros: pretty tasty sandwich, which was prepared fast for takeout, the pork marinade was exceptional. Definitely would go back if I was nearby, but would not go out of my way to come here.

Good service! Checked on me every other time they passed just to make sure everything was great! If you’re an island person and used to a big plate of food! You will get enough here!!! Food came in a timely manner, like quicker than you would think for the amount of people that came in before me.
Ambience is classic, all around good place to eat laugh and drink

What a fantastic establishment! The waitress was awesome. I had a medianoche sandwich with fries and both were excellent. My bae got Pollo Vaca Frita (shredded chicken breast w/​maduros, salad, rice and beans. Her’s was ok. I really enjoyed the Sampler platter with a large potato puff, croquettes, and a chicken empanada. They have plenty of dessert options for your sweet tooth, too. The chocolate cheesecake is super rich and is definitely worth a taste. This place was packed, and for good reason, Papi’s delicious dishes deliver delight!

The hubs and I decided to try something new yesterday since we’re creatures of habit. Parking is definitely difficult to find on the weekends but we got lucky!
We were able to get sat immediately, and the servers were extremely nice, but it took a long time for them to get back to us after we ordered something. We didn’t get checked up on often and a meal that could’ve been a quick half hour lunch ended up being an hour because no one was around to give us our check. :p
We ordered Masitas de Puerco and Pollo Vaca Frita. They were both incredible, though the Pollo Vaca Frita was very salty. It’s easy to even it out if you eat it with the rice and salad, plus the plantains really make a good contrast. (I freaking love plantains.)
The portion sizes are huge, so I was able to take the Pollo Vaca Frita at home. I heated some corn tortillas and had an extra leftovers as a meal. :) I’ll definitely go again if I can find parking. :)

This is a nice little Cuban spot, the food here is AMAZING. On the other hand the staff here is nice and friendly, but they really didn’t attend us the way they should have. Someone forgot out appetizer which was okay cause our meals were HUGE and filling. The food here is amazing, the staff could improve though.

Having lived in FL during my teen years and early adult life, one thing I could always count on was good, authentic Hispanic cuisine being easily available. I am always on the hunt for legit Cuban food and when a friend mentioned how much he loved Papi’s, I had to try it.
We went for lunch this past week and I took advantage of the awesome lunch special. Ropa Vieja with rice, beans and plantains for less than $ 8! After placing my order I went with my gut and also got the yuca con mojo. I’m hit or miss when it comes to yuca but damn there’s is so good. I’m a garlic lover and that mojo is full of delicious fresh garlic flavor. The entrée was a decent sized and quite tasty as well. Nothing fancy or extravagant but solid flavors that kept me wanting to eat.
I did not order a cocktail but my friend did. He got the La Rumba and I had a little taste. Quite a strong cocktail– which we like. And not too badly priced.
There actual restaurant is casual and welcoming. The staff is very friendly and service was decent (we received all of our food but no utensils and had to wait to get the attention of an employee so we could get some to chow down).
I will definitely come back again as I want to eat my way through the menu to satisfy my cravings for Cuban food.

«You ever had the fried plantains here?» — Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 2, Episode 9
Two words… Roast pork. It’s my favorite thing to get here. It’s moist, flavorful and delicious. And it comes as a platter with every Latin delicacy you could ever want. This is the perfect place to come for lunch and I don’t come here nearly often enough.
The pork is slow roasted in a garlic mojo concoction that I would bathe in if I thought it wouldn’t be totally weird. I usually get some extra on the side to pour over my yellow rice because I just cannot get enough of it. I always get the black beans and maduros as well. The portions are gigantic but somehow I power through it.
Papi’s has daily specials — the garlic roast pork is the Thursday special. Other favorites are the Cubano and the medianoche. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu and it’s a go to for me for lunch in the area.

I love this place ! The food and drinks are wonderful the service is also always outstanding, I wish they were larger but I still manage not to wait for seating :)

Besides potato balls & cheese rolls from Porto’s I haven’t really tried Cuban food until Papi’s. Now, I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed it more if I wasn’t so hung over from being at TomorrowWorld the day before but it was still good, solid food.
The décor was homey & quite simple with some wall art/​decals. The waitress that helped us was very sweet & nice; however, our service was really slow when it came to ordering the food because she was too busy mingling. It was bothersome because we were in a rush & we told her too.
She did make a good suggestion when it came to ordering the food though. She suggested the Pollo Vaca Frita & omg it was delicious. It had shredded chicken with salad, black beans, rice & plantains. The chicken was moist & flavorful with all the Spanish seasonings.
If I’m ever back in ATL, I’ll be sure to come back here & maybe not be so hungover. But hey, who am I kidding.

I came on a Friday night and it was packed. There was about 2 couples waiting «in line» in front of me. I asked them, «do we need to put our name down or something?» and they were like, «no, I think we just wait.» They both found a place to sit so it was our turn in line. It’s a small place so there really isn’t a place to wait. You open the front entrance take two steps and that’s where you wait. A bunch of waitresses and waiters passed us by and didn’t say anything about how they will help us… Just a lot of cold shoulders. I really thought that was rude. At least acknowledge we are waiting or that we looked hella confused on what to do. «Do we seat our self?» «Or do we just wait until someone gets us?»
So I flagged someone down and they found us a seat. I ordered
Pollo Vaca frita– mixed with bell peppers and onions. There was toooo much bell peppers. It came with a side salad with no dressing. It also came with black beans which was not appetizing at all. Can’t go wrong with the plantains though.
Vaca Frita-​the beef had a strange smell to it. The Pollo Vaca came with a salad atleast but the Vaca frita looked sad. I thought maybe the flavors are so bomb you won’t need anything else but nope. I would choose the chicken over the beef because it had more color and it had better tasting flavors.
I was looking at other people tables and was wondering maybe I ordered wrong items here. Everyone seemed to have gotten a Cuban sandwich.
I’ve been to Miami and tried the best Cuban food and I’m sorry to say but this did not satisfy my Cuban cravings at all. They are doing something right though, this place has good prices and liquor.

Wow! I literally just had the most delicious Cuban meal since my last visit to my Mimas house in South Florida. Walked in and was seated quickly. Ordered food and it was on the table within only a few minutes. The food was hot. The maduro was perfect. And our waitress, Liset, reminded me of my hilarious tía!
I had the Pollo vaca frita… LOVE!, and my boyfriend had the Ropa Vieja… LOVE! And for dessert we finished our meals with some amazingly awesome Cuban coffee. Our total came up to 32.81. I honestly feel like you can’t beat the home cooked meal feel for that price. Will definitely be back… most likely tomorrow LOL!

I was in the mood for Cuban, which doesn’t happen to often. So after hours of reading menus and reviews I decided to come here. I have heard a some good and bad about this place. I had a taste for some tostones con pollo.
Parking here is frustrating. Fyi. Especially during primetimes.
As I enter the establishment, it pretty busy. I have a seat at the bar. And proceed to order my food after my drink comes. Low and behold. The menu they have online isn’t for all the restaurants. Man. Back to the drawing board. What do I do know? After a healthy amount of time goes by. I decided with the Cuban. I must saw it’s good. Fresh bread toasted perfectly and meat was moist and plentiful. It was 2 meals for me. I have been back since my first visit and can’t wait until I get the craving to go again.

Pretty standard Cuban food in a formica diner atmosphere. Portions are large, prices reasonable.
There’s a parking lot in back that’s too small for the lunch crowd, meter parking on the street.
Question: Have you ever wondered why the idea of Cuban food is more appealing than the food itself? Cuban food evokes iages of the tropics, rum, cigars, revolution. But in reality it’s tropicalized comfort food — beans and rice, chicken, ropa vieja. No spices, no new taste experiences.

So, I went with the vegetarian plate to get some plantains, but its rice, black beans, plantains and stir fry vegetables in a dish (water chesnuts, broccoli, red peppers). Not awesome compared the to rest of my party of 6’s excited food noises for their meat dishes
Next time I’m going to try the Vegetarian Sandwich which sounds much more like authentic/​vegetarian adjusted fare.

Came here for the first time a couple weeks ago on a Saturday. It was the day of the «snowstorm» so some places were closed, but Papi’s was open. Accidentally entered on Ponce, because we thought that was the main entrance. Tuns out that’s the take out entrance, and the main dine in entrance is on Myrtle, which takes you into the downstairs area. We were told there was a wait to be seated down there — and we could hear from upstairs that it sounded full and bustling — but that if we wanted we could eat at the counter upstairs with no wait. That was just fine with me, as it was one of those nights where I was really interested in getting food in my belly — not noise and ambiance.
I got the jerk pork, which came with beans and rice, ripe plantain (maduros), and a small salad, and I also got a pineapple juice. The pineapple juice was a thick, blended drink, which was not what I was expecting, and was good. The jerk pork was also pretty good — I’m Jamaican and it wasn’t anything like jerk pork I’m used to, but it was my first time having it at a Cuban restaurant so maybe that’s how they prepare it in Cuban cuisine (?). The only thing is it was barely above room temperature =/​. The rice and plantain were warm, but the pork… not so much. My bf got the vegetarian sandwich, which comes with a side, and was pretty big. I mean, my meal was not small or anything, but I was really hungry and plowed through it and was still a little hungry at the end. And my bf, for once, actually did not finish his meal, so I helped him out. It was good. It was interesting =)
Kind of feeling a 3.5 for this one, but since that’s not a thing in Unilocal (and I’ll imagine the food was all hot), I’ll round up to a 4.

I love Papi’s! You might overlook this unassuming little spot on Ponce if you get hung up on Mary Mac’s or Ponce City Market. But it’s really worth a visit if you like Cuban food (and who doesn’t?).
There’s a sit-​down restaurant (entrance on Myrtle) and a take-​out area (entrance on Ponce). I love nothing more than to grab a Cuban sandwich to go. Warning, though: these bad boys are massive — two servings for most people.

I’ve been meaning to make the one mile venture from my house for so damn long and try out Papi’s. This weekend, it finally happened. The feel of the fall breeze in the air added to the excitement of my pretend escape to Cuba. Here are the impressions:
HOLE IN THE WALL. Hopefully you already knew that. If you’ve been to joints in the Carribean, this has exactly the same feel to it and I loved it.
MASITAS DE PUERCO. Absolute must on the menu in my opinion. Pork marinated in Cuban spices and mojo sauce is seriously amazing. Very flavorful. Comes with delicious fried plantains and a salad with fresh thinly sliced onions. Plantains were some of the best I’ve ever had, very light on the grease and just delicious.
JERK CHICKEN, WRAPPED UP! The wrap was loaded with Jerk chicken and was quite good. I’d probably put this specific item at around 3 stars as it wasn’t anything mindblowing.
ASK FOR THE GREEN STUFF. The sauce of course, what were you thinking buddy? Their spicy green sauce is a phenomenal addition.
YUCCA FRIES. I read that you should get them on Unilocal,and I’ll attest, you def should. Again, very light on the oil and served with a wonderful horseradish based sauce.

I won’t lie, I looked at Papi’s menu extensively before I came in. Since… they had a lot of items on it. And I’ve only been to like 1 Cuban restaurant my entire life.
Parking — Eh, they have a lot behind them. Not a big one though. Apparently, Mary Mac folks can’t park there. There is also some street parking. Luckily I came when Papi’s just opened, so the lot was empty.
Space & Service & Environment — I didn’t look everywhere, but Papi’s has decent seating. Has an upstairs, downstairs, as well as a bar area. Service was really good for me since we sat near the bar and servers were constantly walking by us. It’s pretty loud in there in general, so I wouldn’t bring someone who enjoys quietness during meals.
Food —
Ropa Vieja — NOMM. Worth the 9.99. Shredded beef, bread, salad, plantains, and rice. Everything went really well together. The shredded beef was given in a great portion and wasn’t dry at all! It was awesome. The rice wasn’t my favorite, but once I added hot sauce, it was fine. The bread was doused in butter and I ate every bit of it. I hate plantains in general so I gave it to my bf… who loves them. By the time I got to the salad, I was really full, but their lettuce was semi dark/​light. Looked better than other restaurants’ salad.
Empanada Sampler — 4 are given, each empanada is big. Enough for 2 people to split it in the middle:
1. Beef: The inside of this one smelled so good. It tasted just like the shredded beef, but meatier. Add hot sauce and you’re set.
2. Chicken: Hot and smelled better than the beef! It reminded me of a chicken salad but the hot version. I really love chicken salads, so I was happy.
3. Ham/​Cheese: Not bad. I’m personally not a fan of cheese, so it was a little hard to eat. But my bf ate both mine and his pieces. I guess that means if you’re a ham/​cheese lover, this would suite you.
4. Guava and Cream Cheese: Beware the Guava is super hot when eating into it. It was dripping everywhere. I wasn’t a huge fan of this since cream cheese isn’t my ideal app. But it’s ok — I wanted to try it out anyway. Maybe the Guava would hide the lame taste. Nope.
Next time for the empanada sampler, I’ll just get the beef and chicken.

If the line at Mary Mac’s Tea Room is too long, check out Papi’s for some cheap and tasty Cuban and Caribbean fare. The menu at Papi’s includes delicious appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, and salads. In addition, there are specials of the day served at both lunchtime and dinnertime. These include ropa vieja (shredded beef), chicken Fricassee, and roasted pork.
Prices are fair and the portions are large. For lunch, I ordered the jerk chicken Cuban wrap and an empanada appetizer on the side. The meal, before tip, was less than $ 10. It was a late lunch so I ate the whole wrap (and tend to have a large appetite), but for some people there’s definitely enough food for both lunch and a snack in the late afternoon. The jerk chicken wrap didn’t have a particularly strong «jerk» flavor, but the wrap was well dressed and the chicken was balanced with a good amount of vegetables. In addition, the pieces of chicken were very large. My favorite part of lunch was the empanada — it had an excellent filling and a very flaky crust. I sampled my friend’s maduros, which are Papi’s lightly fried plantains. These were also very delicious.
Parking in the adjacent lot is cramped. But at least in the afternoon when I went, it’s free. From trying the maduros and the empanada, I’d also recommend Papi’s as a place to grab drinks and a few small bites.

I had a tasty early dinner at Papi’s Cuban and Caribbean Grill, which was terrific since I was a bit leery after seeing a friend’s recent 1 star review. Nevertheless, I was with a group of four colleagues (one of whom is a big fan of Papi’s), and the overall good reviews prompted us to give it a try. I was not disappointed!
The restaurant itself is simple and nondescript, which was fine with me. It was not crowded at all, so we were able to sit right down. I ordered the Vaca Frita, which is shredded flank steak with onions and garlic. This dish comes with either yellow rice, congris (black beans mixed with rice) or white rice, with black beans on the side – which is what I opted for this time. There’s also fried plantains on the side.
I definitely enjoyed my food, but was missing something «green» with my meal. Possibly a side salad would have been nice. Also, my black beans were solid, but I’ve had more flavorful beans elsewhere. Service was good and prompt, which was a huge plus. Overall, I would definitely come back and probably order Ropa Vieja or Pollo Frita, which both had side salads and my colleagues seemed to have really liked those dishes. We’ll see if the next experience gets us in solid 4 Star territory :-). Happy Eating!

Se voce estiver em Atlanta morrendo de saudade do nosso feijão com arroz e do nosso pastel (empanada), este restaurante cubano pode ser uma boa opção. É bem barato, mas também muito, muito simples. Vale da dica!