Authentic Cuban Cafe

Great little non-​assuming place. I can get my coffee kick here when I am in this side of town. Pretty authentic, although I did not try much since we had just eaten across the street.

Winter Park has some of the best eats including this great little cuban restaurant. It is family owned with great customer service. This small shop has great plantain chips. Although I am gluten free and can’t eat much, you walk in and immediately are pulled in by the great smells of this authentic cuban café. I came here with my daughter and best friend. They ordered a cuban sandwich and grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Both of them were enormous and they had enough to take home. We ordered a side of fried and plantain chips. Winter Park is usually loaded full of expensive restaurants, but this little shop is very reasonable, yet their portions remain average without sacrificing quality. I highly recommend!

It’s a small hole in the wall restaurant which serves Cuban food. I wasn’t impressed based on the location.

I don’t care if a place doesn’t look sparkling clean. As long as the food is good and I don’t see the roaches, I’m good to go. this is the best cuban sandwich I’ve ever had hands down. We got three sandwiches and 2 bottles of water for 30 bucks so the price is reasonable and the sandwiches are ample is size. The bread is very fresh and the flavor is very well preserved within the ham and pork. Like I said before this is the best cuban sandwich I’ve ever had in Orlando.

Fantastic breakfast sandwich with Cuban coffee and fries.

Just wasn’t impressed. You would think a restaurant in the middle of winter park would have been a little bit cleaner. I have a bad habit of looking around the floors, walls, refrigerators etc if they are in the open. It just seemed dirty in there to me.
They did have some pretty cool artwork on the wall. I think that was the best part of my experience there.
I ordered a Cuban sandwich and a soda. Total cost over $ 11. (ouch) OK so if the sandwich was 7.50, I’m thinking a bottle of soda was way over priced.
The Cuban was OK, wasn’t really anything to brag about. The almost $ 3 bottle of diet coke was awesome. (not so much)
Doubtful I’d hit this place up again.

I tried this place for the first time on my lunch break today. It’s not my favorite Cuban restaurant, but the food is still good. Everything was well seasoned, although they were pretty skimpy with the beef in the empanada I ordered.
My major complaint is the price. On average, it costs about $ 8 for a sandwich with no sides. I decided to try going the cheaper route by getting the black bean soup ($ 2.50), empanada ($ 2), guava and cheese pastry ($ 2.50), and a diet coke (?). My bill ended up coming out to $ 11, so I guess the soda was at least $ 3?! Not cool.
From now on, when I want Cuban food in the Winter Park area, I’ll stick with Black Bean Deli.

Currently, this is the best place to get a cuban espresso and Cuban. The pork on the sandwich is like shredded carnitas, instead of a slice of roasted semi-​flavorful pork all the other places use.

This is a a really cute Cuban café. Being from Miami, I know what Cuban café is suppose to feel like :-)
The food is delicious, and definitely on par with Miami cuban food. The place is really clean, and very modern — kind of reminded me of a Cuban version of Chipotle’s.
Seats are limited, and it seems this place can hold about 50 people Max — so get here off-​hours, or your oder to go. It gets packed during business lunch hours. Empty on Sundays however.
Love it!

Nice hidden secret at Park Ave. This place is an awesome family owned and ran Cuban café. They have the standard cuban sandwich, along with all the fun favorites as well. From croquetes to papas rellenas! They have Two tables outside and a small dining area inside, definitely worth checking out.

I had no idea that thsi place existed. I’m so glad I do now! My hubby and I needed a quick, cheap lumch spot and stumbled upon this place. My media noche and his cuban sandwich were awesome. The sweet plantains were some of the best I’ve ever had. The servie was polite and prompt! We’ll be back for sure!

Went to this place and the food and portion was great. The prices are reasonable.

Luma. 310 Park South. Bosphorous. Park Plaza Gardens. Spice.
Pricey restaurants on Park avenue abound — where the hell is someone on a budget going to get a bite? The Cuban Café, Winter Park’s own little diamond-​in-​the-​rough.
First reason you know it’s good? Like any good Miami cuban café, it doesn’t have an actual name. It’d be better if there was just a window in a wall surrounded by old men in guayaberas drinking cuban coffee, but I’ll settle for the distinct lack of an actual name.
Once you walk in, you know the place is legit when you see the loaves of fresh-​baked bread piled up on racks right near the door, and the trays of emapanadas, croquetas and pastelitos by the cash register. The ham croquetas will make you feel like you’ve been fried and gone to heaven, and be SURE to get a beef empanada — a pastry pocket filled with wonderfully spicy, juicy, ground beef. If you were me, you’d then go for the pan con lechon — a nearly foot-​long sandwich of slow-​roasted pork atop some of the fresh baked bread, topped with grilled onions, and LTM — and it comes with a cup of tasty black beans and rice. Don’t forget to generously slather some of the garlic salsa that sits on each table, and you’ve got (two) meals to die for — which brings me to the best part :
It’s a delicious seven-​dollar sandwich that’s TOO BIG FOR ME TO FINISH. If I order one for lunch, I’ve got dinner too.
There’s not a lot of seating, so I usually get it to go and walk to Central Park and eat there. This is NOT a quick lunch — they get busy during the week, and plan on waiting five or ten minutes to order if they have a line, and 10 – 15 minutes for your food. Hey, what can we say? They’re on latin-​people time. You’ll get your sandwich tomorrow if they feel like it, and you’ll love it anyways.
Also — opens early if you need that extra jolt of caffeine early in the morning.
OK, despite the sometimes slow service, the food here is as authentic and good as it gets — and the price is unbeatable. So they get five stars from me. Oh, and I used to have a huge crush on the girl who worked the register here — Claudia was her name, and she was gorgeous. However, even though Claudia quit a few months after it opened, I still visit the Cuban Café on a regular basis. Three years later, I’m pretty sure I’m one of their longest-​running customers — I was there the day after it opened, and when I’m in town, hit it up at least every other week.

Hole in the wall places usually have much better food than the chain restaurants and Authentic Cuban Café is no exception. Walking in the small, quaint café feels like you’re in Miami with the pungent smell of fresh baked bread and something delicious being prepared. My knowledge of Cuban food isn’t great, but based on what I’ve been told about it this place is very traditional and authentic.
The obvious items to order here are a freshly grilled Cuban sandwich and a café con leche. Their bread is baked daily and so sinfully good. However, for those who cannot eat lard for health or religious reasons, they do use it to cook and bake a majority of their menu items, including the breads. This is definitely not the best choice if you’re on a diet or trying to eat healthy.
Like always, here are my words of caution. First, this place is not very big and does get busy, so eating in could be difficult if you go around lunch time. Second, they’re not open for dinner. Third, the food can be rather greasy and heavy depending on what you order. Lastly, the staff are usually pretty nice, but I have had a few unpleasant experiences.