Martino’s Cuban Restaurant

I had friends visiting from out-​of-​town and wanted to try something new. Saw that this place was highly rated on Unilocal,so we figured we’d try it out. The reason why I am giving this one star is not because of the food, because the food really was amazing… but the service we received was beyond terrible.
We were a party of 4. We got there at 7pm for dinner on a Saturday and were seated right away. They took our order about 30 minutes after we arrived. We didn’t get our water/​beverages until another 30 minutes later — we had to stop a server to ask for it. 8:30pm rolls around… and we got nothing — no food, no servers coming by to check on us… nothing. We inquired about our appetizers only to learn that they mixed up the order with another table (really?!?) and that they’d put in our order right away. Finally, we got our appetizers 20 minutes later. The restaurant closes at 9:30pm and 9pm, we still did not have dinner on our table. I’m a pregnant woman who was really quite famished by that point.
We asked for the owner/​manager and no one came out. Finally, we had to go track him down ourselves… and we were told that they had to make everything fresh and that’s why we had to wait over 2 hours for our food. Meanwhile, people around us who came much later, have already gotten their food — the same dishes that we ordered. We didn’t get out of there until 10pm. 3 whole hours for dinner! It’s a good thing we like our friends and was able to have good conversations while waiting for food!
It’s a shame because we really did enjoy the food. Wish the experience was better.

Outstanding Cuban food. Get there early though as the place gets packed even on a week night.

7:14 we sit down. 7:57 still waiting… anyone there? We order. 8:33 Still waiting… wait no, still waiting. Thank god I brought my own and served my own. 8:44. Two minute warning on food delivery. It came in 5 minutes but it was very good. 9:11 done with dinner. Tres leches was great. Recommend they get someone to run the front to avoid people walking out. 9:29 waiting for the check.9:49 we left. Bottom line. Food is very good. Service not so much.

Food was fine, I’ve had better but if your hungry it will do. Tres leches dessert was amazing! Service was so slow, and others got served before us even though we put in our order first. There’s a old guy that’s the owner Martino that can make you feel weirded out if your not expecting him to be odd. (read the other Unilocalers comments). Luckily he didn’t interact with our table. Since we were just passing by we probably won’t be back. Was a little pricy too.

3.75 stars.
We ate lunch here last Tuesday. Restaurant is located on corner of busy Main Street in Somerville, but we easily found metered parking.
Service was kind of non-​existent, unless you were eating the buffet. (Half of us were not). We pretty much asked for menus ourselves and eventually a waitress came to take our orders. I ordered the Viudo. I always appreciate establishments that offer vegetarian options, as I don’t enjoy my non-​meat dishes prepared with meat broth, etc. That ain’t vegetarian. Anyway, food came out promptly and I was pleasantly surprised with such a simple, but flavorful dish! Black beans, rice, and plátanos, mi favorito. I didn’t care too much for the salad; it had too much vinegar for my liking. Our company enjoyed their food as well and my husband and I caught up with our friends and their 2 little ladies. We finished our meal by ordering Tres Leches cake. OHMYGOSH! I’ve had tres leches cake before but was never impressed by this cake. It was AMAZING!!! Like one of the best things I ever ate. Soft, milky, sweet, but not too sweet. I loved it so much that I ordered one to go. I will probably request an entire cake for my birthday or special occasion. (Hint hint)
I would definitely return here or at least place my order before if I’m in a rush. The service was horrible that day.

Was alright. I guess my expectations were a little too high, because I left feeling underwhelmed. The food wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t amazing. Best part were the plantains and the steak from the «Steak Cuban Style Palomilla Con Mojo Crudo» meal. Both were cooked well. Other than that, nothing too special.

The food is delicious, the restaurant is cute, and the prices are reasonable for the area.
With that said, I wasn’t blown away by their cuban sandwich. It didn’t have any pickles, or mustard, and could have used some more meat.
The ambiance is great. I would recommend just about any dish with rice, pork, and beans. I would stay away from their cuban sandwich.

The food is quite good. The lunch special/​buffet is both very affordable and delicious. My favorite is the plantains and steak. The quality of food and ambiance is superb. It is always crowded, but for lunch it is perfect. The owner is a very funny and hospitable individual. This is a truly passionate establishment where they care about the whole experience from start to finish for the patrons. The ambiance is pretty simple but it doesnt need much else. The parking can be a little difficult as there has been construction and there is just a lack of parking on main street especially around that area. My recommendation is to park in the shoprite plaza and walk across the street or close to shumi or casa luna. This is also an awesome place to go for a big birthday party because its just a casual let loose type of place where everyone will feel super comfortable relaxing and of course the food is amazing.
Will continue to go to Martinos over and over and over :)

Some really good authentic Cuban food. Came here with a coworker who was visiting NJ too for training. I got the Churrasco a lo martino with rice and sweet plantains and it was divine. The grilled onions on top was a nice touch. It was a hearty meal. I also got their milkshake (papaya + strawberry) but it was a little on the sweet side. Since I’m here for a couple of weeks I will def. visit this place again. Totally recommend it

Pricey for basic cuban, I would like to come here more regularly but Ide go broke. with that being said the food here is amazing. everything is full of flavor and love. When Martino is there ask him for dancing lessons, he is the energy behind the success of Martinos.

The lunch buffet is something that you cannot go wrong with. A nice spread of a few proteins, rice, and sides. The lunch buffet menu changes frequently so that’s also a plus. The food needs no introduction but just in case you needed one, Martino will most likely be there to give you a warm welcome and tell you that «everything on the menu is good». He may suggest that in a fun and humorous manner but what he says is not far from the truth. Highly Recommend Martinos!

I really liked the salad.
had some unusual seasonings that I loved.
Nice clean place.

This place is the best around Somerville! I’ve had Cuban food before it’s comparable enough to give a 5 star my favorite dish is the tipica cubana and pollo al ajillio muy deliciouso

I have to start off by saying that the food is absolutely amazing. The prices are reasonable for the quantity of food given and there was a sign for a $ 10 lunch buffet (M-​F I believe) so it doesn’t get much better than that!
I was visiting from out-​of-​state and pretty excited to try this place, never having tried Cuban food before. I made reservations earlier that week because it was a Saturday night and we were a large party. Upon arrival, we had one more person than I had anticipated, but the man who I believed to be the owner would not listen to the fact that our party included an extra person and actually argued with me about us having a reservation (which was indeed in their book). We ended up being seated immediately at a table clearly reserved for our party and a server did accommodate us quickly with one more chair.
The restaurant was very loud, which was exacerbated by the fact that there were screaming, rambunctious children at the table next to us (not the restaurant’s fault obviously). It was very busy, which made the service mediocre. We all ordered entrees and three of us ordered appetizers (including a salad for me). The meals came out first; my salad came out a few minutes later and the appetizers weren’t delivered for another 10 – 15 minutes, and only after the server was reminded that they had never come. As I mentioned earlier, the food was absolutely delicious. All of the vegetables in my salad were fresh & the pork molè with rice, beans & plantains was mind blowing! I even had enough leftover to take home for breakfast the next day!
But this is where things get awkward… the man that I believed to be the owner would periodically come out and dance around to loud music. I’m glad that he’s in such good spirits and wants to add some fun to his restaurant, but it was just bizarre. He brought a child what seemed to be a birthday cake, stood by their table dancing and then took a bite of said cake while the child looked on in horror. I knew that it was time to leave when he started hugging girls at the table next to us & dancing with them.
Some people might find this environment charming & I don’t fault anyone for that, but I just didn’t feel comfortable. All things considered I’m not sure that I would go back to dine-​in, but I would get take-​out in a heartbeat!

The food was good. We had the Cuban sandwich, chicharones, platter for two with various pork, yuccas, clam specialties to share, chicken and chorizo with rice and beans, banana shakes and coffees con leche. The food was good and authentic. It could have been spicier. The portions were larger then most Somerville restaurants but not as typically generous of Latin familia style restaurants. Typically we take food home even, but between the three of us, we all ate it right up! Flavorful and delicious!
Our only complaint was the service. There are two dinning rooms and they didn’t seem as busy as they potential could have been since only one room was almost full, but our waitress was frazzled. She came over once to order and once to give check. I came up to a bus boy to get water. Food was bussed to us. This was the only reason for taking away a star.
The prices were decent and environment was family friendly. There is a small TV and Latin music playing which my three year old and I enjoyed along with the chicharones. My husband said it was the best chicharones he has ever had. We will come back here again and take advantage of BYO (liquor store within a block). Street parking. No wifi. Small clean bathroom.

Great place with an eccentric and awesome owner that is passionate about his business and delivers quality food that tastes extremely authentic. Located In the heart of somerville, this place runs an awesome lunch buffet special. For 10 dollars you grt access to an amazing buffet that is typically different from each visit. Rice and beans, amazing salad, stuffed chicken, meatloaf, pork, plantains and more… All of it is great. Everyone that goes here easily gets 2 – 3 plates. Typically the give complimentary flan, which is the best I’ve ever had.
For dinner this place is bumping! It becomes a little more pricey, but the quality and quantity of food with the fantastic service really makes this place a staple for when I’m in town.
I love this place, I love the workers and I love the food.

I grabbed some takeout from here a few months back while in town for work. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite (cannot speak to service since I just picked it up). It was kind of a pain to park but so worth the effort (since this is in what I believe is considered «downtown» Somerville?).
I don’t remember the exact name of my dish, but it was skirt steak (ropa vieja?) and then I asked for the yellow rice. All of it — the steak, the onions, the yellow rice and the fried plantains were really, really flavorful and good. I meant to stop back by before leaving town but did not get around to it. This place makes me want to find a Cuban restaurant at home to try — thank you Martino’s for expanding my palette.

We started with the rib belly with green plantains. My companion Liked the rib belly more than I did (a little crunchy for my taste, though not bad), I thought the plantains went well with the meaty sauce (gravy?) it was served with.
The strawberry milk drink was delicious! You could smell strawberry 3 feet away.
Bread was a little harder than I’d like on the cubano. Not my favorite, but not bad either.
I liked how much cilantro was on the beef dish (Palomilla con mojo crudo). The dish works well with everything on the plate mixed together. Though I did have a bit of food envy watching some other tables receive their plates. Perhaps next time I will try the mole de cerdo or the cuban platter. The plantains were delicious.
Tres leche was very good. It was moist to the point of dripping (as it should be) and had a pretty rich flavor. The flan was terrific. Thick, creamy, and no where near bland the way some flan can be.
The owner is super friendly, he was dancing around the restaurant talking to everyone.

The owner of the joint is a real interesting fellow. An old Cuban man with a fedora and a great energetic, and friendly attitude. Simply charming fellow.
The restaurant is bustling with business, loud conversation and laughter. The staff is friendly, the food is priced relatively well and entrée portion sizes are filling.
I got pork, it was so incredibly tender and juicy. The glaze was quite tasty. My date got a steak dish with onions, cilantro, lemon juice on top aaannndd carmelized onions beneath it. The empanadas were great! The crust was golden and crispy, however the portion size was lacking. Finally, the tres leches cake was fantastic, just get it.
I would easily rate five stars, however our orders were completely forgotten. Much of my time was wasted, and they did not make an offer to amend the mistake. However, I enjoyed the food so much I wasn’t too upset.

Found Martino’s by happenstance on Unilocal.Read multiple reviews and knew I just had to try it out. From the moment we walked in the door, the atmosphere was lively and energetic. We were promptly greeted with a friendly smile and big welcome. We didn’t have to wait long to be seated.
The hostess was super friendly (I think her name was Ashley) and told us about all the specials with such a happy demeanor. Our waitress, Tiffany, was even nicer (as if this was possible). She kept checking to see if we needed anything, were enjoying our meal and engaging is in friendly conversation.
We met Martino, as he went from table to table, making sure everyone was enjoying their meals. He was filled with happiness and pride, that you could see in every smile he offered. He walked around and took selfies with different customers, us included and my nephew even taught him how to use the camera on his iPhone.
We had the black bean soup to start with. (Delish) I had the Camarones Al Ajillo (shrimp in a garlic lemon sauce with cilantro). It was out of this world and the sauce was addicting. We also had the Arroz Con Pollo and that too, was fantastic!!!
We finished with the Tres Leches Cake, first time having it and it was OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! Deliciously moist and flavorful.
Martino’s was so much more than I expected and I can’t wait to go back and try another dish off their menu.
One visit and it has become one of my favorite places.
It’s BYOB, so be sure to take your favorite wine to enjoy with your dinner.
Thank you for making our first visit to Martino’s fun and delicious!!!

Actually in this restaurant I was really disappointed with the service and away the food was served. The portion of food is a small, real small like a full bird or children menu. The flavor is good but not taste like a original/​authentic Cubans food. The owner is really friendly and he trying to use the Spanish-​language with everyone all, but when he’s speak Spanish to the workers he use so bad language to treat them and tell them things what to do. /​/​Estoy un poco decepcionada con el restaurante esperaba un mejor trato, una mejor comida. La porción de la comida es demasiada pequeña como para un niño. El sabor es muy rico pero no sabe a la comida auténtica de Cuba. El dueño es muy amistoso tanto así que a veces molesta además de eso siempre le pelea a sus empleados usa palabras incorrectas Humala frente de la gente y obviamente la mayoría de los que van allí hablan español y lo entiende. En fin si desean probar comida hispana caribeña pueden pasar por el lugar sólo que no les sorprenda la porción y el trato!