Carolinas Cuban Cafe

I have been all over to Cuban restaurants and this one is just as good, if not better than he best of the best! I came here while in town visiting my in-​laws and this will definitely be a regular stop every time we visit going forward. You must try it out! The Vaca Frita was delicious and all the rice was perfectly cooked!

Wife and I went here Saturday ³⁄₅ for lunch. It was around 2:00 o’clock. When we went in we waited for some time before being seated. Afterward our waitress, who I think was the only one working the floor, came over and brought menus then left before even getting our drink order. When she came back we were ready to order. I told her what I wanted but she never wrote anything down. I wanted to get a side order of fries and discussed it with her. My wife ordered. Took a long time but our food came and my sandwich was wrong. Instead of taking it back she just brought some sausage for me to put on it. NOT WHAT I ORDERED! I decided to eat it because I was not going to wait any longer. About half way through the meal we realized we had no fries! We finished eating then had to go to the desk for the check. Of course the fries were on the check and had to be taken off. We used to like this place but this was the worst visit ever. Food is good but thumbs down on service.

Very good pressed Cuban and awesome french fries. I went there for lunch. They are a bit slow if you are pressed for time, but my Cuban sandwich has plenty of pork, ham and cheese. Very flavorful!

This place is a true gem in Spring Hill. It completely eliminates the need to head to the big city for delicious authentic Cuban cuisine. My Boyfriend and I returned to Carolina’s Café after having tried it out a few months back during our last visit to Spring Hill. This time around, we brought my Parents, who reside right in Spring Hill. The food was just as delicious as our previous visit– so fresh and flavorful. And such great portion size for the money! Sometimes my Parents need a little push to branch out from their standard restaurant rotation. They made it clear that they will now be Carolina’s Café regulars, and they plan to clue their friends in on it as well. Lastly, I’d like to mention that the waitress we had both times is just the sweetest!

Best cuban sandwich I have ever tasted! real fresh. The real deal when it comes to cuban sandwiches. The pork is so juicy!!!

Wonderful empanadas. We were here for lunch and other than the empanadas everyone ordered sandwiches. Great flavor all the way around.

Good Cuban food, generous portions, reasonably priced, but very slow service! The Sea Bass is my one if my favorites as it can be grilled instead of fried with red peppers and onions.
We’ve also had the Cuban sandwiches, shredded pork and beef. I like the black beans and rice as well as the yuca. The fresh baked Cuban bread is authentic, but you may have to ask for it. Definitely worth trying if you’re in the Spring Hill area as there is a lack of decent restaurants here.

The food is pretty good but the service is slow. I have been there many times and more often than not, the speed of service is is terribly slow.

The best Cuban food around! Seriously I was really surprised myself to find such AMAZING Latin cuisine in Spring Hill. I have to drive a half hour to get there but it’s totally worth it! On my way back for dinner tonight. Can’t wait to have the best dang mojo pork and housemade sangria EVER!

Not Good. Closer to a one then a three. Beef was tough. No red beans the day I went. No bread came with the meal. I went here to save about 30 minutes of
driving to Masaryktown Café. Bad move the Masaryktown Café is terrific. This place was about 30% more the Masaryktown Café. The service was ok.

My husband and I were taking the back roads way back to the highway on our way to Atlanta. We are from South Florida and have an affinity for Cuban food. When I did a search for restaurants in the area, I was very skeptical when this place came up. How could their be authentic Cuban food in this area? But since my husband has to eat Gluten Free our restaurant choices were limited. We thought we will give it a try.
Pulling up its in a small strip plaza. The windows say «Authentic Cuban food», «We will see about that «I said to myself. As we walked in, the place is minimalistic but clean. We were asked if we wanted a table or a booth. We proceeded to the booth. The menu had all the usual suspects in Cuban food dining. I ordered the Picadillo and my hubby got his usual favorite Ropa Vieja.
On thing I did notice on the menu was they just had espresso listed but no colada which is a staple Cuban coffee (the kind that comes with little cups to take shots of the espresso with the beat sugar in it), but they did have cortadito listed.
Our food arrived and it was spot on in presentation. Both of our meals were flavorful and true to the tastes we have lived with for many many years. Dare I say, some of the best I have had. One note: the bread did not come correctly, as the butter is supposed to be grilled into the bread and the bread I ate had it smeared on top on the already grilled bread, that gave it a totally different experience. Grill your bread with the butter on it already! ;)
We finished our visit with a cortadito (espresso with milk), which came presented perfectly and with that strong Cuban coffee kick.
Our waiter was not Cuban, or even Latin, but he was nice, and got us our food and drink quickly. I did hear him explaining a dish to the people next to us, he needs a little practice on how to explain Cuban food, but he is well on his way and gave us great service. So based on this visit, I would say if you find yourself in this area, this is a golden nugget you would never expect!

Coming from South Florida, I certainly know what great Cuban food is. Carolinas fits the bill as my fiancé and I enjoyed our meals. My fiancé ordered the bistec de palomia which was seasoned well and came with grilled onions. He had a side of salad and the yucca with garlic sauce which were both delicious. I ordered the lechon asado which was very tender and seasoned well. The service was lovely since this is a family establishment. Give this place a try and you won’t be disappointed!

I do not understand the bad reviews. I eat there at least once a month and have never had a bad meal. I love thier MOJO dipping sauce… it’s a light citrus garlic oil that is not overpowering buts adds the right zing to my favorite side «Yuca Frita». And the bread is baked fresh in house, the best I’ve had. Don’t be scared off by the negativity of some people. They would complian if Wolfgang Puck cooked for them. Go make up your own mind. Friendly staff and great prices.

This is the best Cuban food in Spring Hill. Everything is authentic and tastes like it should. The café con leche is superb, and I always finish my meal with one. I highly recommend the sampler platter if you’re unfamiliar with Cuban food or simply can’t choose one thing. Service is always friendly and the ambience is bright and encourages conversation. I’m disappointed to see so many poor reviews for this place, but if you really read them, it’s easy to see that the reviewers are usually the ones in the wrong. Carolina’s is a welcomed addition to the overbearing chain restaurant scene in Hernando county.

Definitely a fan of this place! I was excited to find Carolinas as I was getting tired of driving to Tampa for great Cuban food. The menu is simple and includes all the traditional Cuban dishes. The price can not be beat, and I always end up with way more than I can chew.
I haven’t had a dish that I wouldn’t order again, but the ropa vieja is a sure favorite. Give this place a try, you will be impressed!

Bring the whole family. They have a nice kids menu with american items if you’re children aren’t into Cuban. Prices are reasonable and the food was good. I had their Chicken Stew special with Plantains and Rice. I wasn’t expecting the chicken to be on the bone but it was delicious and I ate it all up. Previously I had the Ropa Vieja which was tasty. We were happy with our meals and our waitress. We will go back!

They charged me 50 cents for onions to go on my black beans and rice… this is a first… won’t be back food was just average anyway… Thanks but not thanks

Not sure what restaurant the other two reviewers ate at, but it certainly wasn’t this one.
The meal seemed to start out fine. For appetizers, we ordered empanadas and yucca frita. The empanadas were just slightly overdone and a little dry but nothing inexcusable. The yucca tasted fine, though the dipping sauce provided tasted like absolutely nothing.
The thing that really ticks me off about this place is how deceptive the menu is. DO NOT ORDER BASED OFF THE PICTURES ON THE MENU. What you see is NOTHING like what you will get. It looks like they just googled pictures of Cuban food and then pasted them onto the menu. False advertising to the max.
I ordered the pork tamale and sopa de pollo. Again neither of these looked like the photo. The soup was literally Campbell’s condensed soup with some chopped yucca thrown in. The pork tamale had two little pieces of pork in it, the rest was masa that was quite flavorless.
Other dishes at the table were boliche (Cuban pot roast), which was reported to have no heat to it and was overall pretty bland, and camarones al ajillo, which were the highlight of the meal. The black beans and rice that came with the boliche looked like someone heated up a bowl of them and then turned it upside down on the plate.
Now we come to the absolute worst part of the meal, the fried plantains. These were a complete abomination. They were overcooked and lost all their flavor during the frying process. The frying batter was way too thick and they were served with that tasteless sauce again. Nobody finished them; small wonder why.
The service was acceptable, though I had to ask three times for my soup (honestly should’ve left it in the kitchen). The waitresses were pleasant enough. The restaurant only had one other table, which should’ve been a tip-​off but we figured people were staying in because of bad weather. A few people came in for to-​go food though.
The table behind us had an old fart who, when asked how the food was, said «It’s not nearly as good as I had in Miami». Although a rude thing to say, he’s right. I’ve had better Cuban food elsewhere. I knew I should’ve been suspicious of an «authentic» place that misspelled «arroz» on their menu, among other things. Come on, when a white American girl can spot your flawed Spanish, that’s pretty bad.
PROS:
Restaurant is nice, modern, and clean
Prices are pretty good
Big portions
Pleasant waitresses
CONS:
Most of the food was very bland/​overcooked
The menu pictures look NOTHING like what you actually get
I suspect some of the food is frozen
Less than ideal location
VERDICT: Not coming back to this one.

So, in light of my favorite Cuban place being closed as they move locations I decided to check out Carolina’s Cuban Café in Silverthorn Square off Powell for lunch for my fix. I had the Masas De Cerdo Frita (fried pork chunks with mojo).
I was VERY impressed. It would be easy to overcook the pork, but it was perfectly cooked with just enough fat to give it some real flavor. This is going on my list to go back to and try again. Plus, you can get a coupon for some money off as well from

Do yourself a favor and take a pass. The pork was gamey and the empanada was frozen. Plus I can’t stand places that don’t smell like food… I find it super strange.