Azafran
12 Reviews for Azafran
100% authentic cuban food. I should know it tastes like my moms home cooking.the fact that it is still in business after at least 3 years earns it an extra star. I have seen restaurants come and go so quickly on cost hwy. this food is the real deal. and the night we went with my whole family they had live music it was pretty good.and the Mojitos are of the chain.
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Cuban in North County!? Yes.
I've been coming here for a few years now after I realized that I didn't need to drive to LA for Versailles, another premier Cuban place.
Truthfully, if you want excellent Cuban for taste, quantity, and price, go Versailles. If you want the next choice - which is still a winner - go to Azafran in Oceanside/San Diego. Live music helps too.
I ordered the steak palomillas. The flank steak and its sauteed onions is sweetly delicious. The first time, I had a thick cut; a following time, I had a thinner cut of steak, but the flavor was still there. The fried plantains seemed to be minimally sliced and sparse. Maybe because it was a busy night? Regardless, my palate was satisfied.
If it weren't for the great live music and the ambiance of this place, and I had to judge it solely on the food and service, I would rate this restaurant three stars. The live band they had playing there and set-up of the restaurant were so excellent and true to the spirit of Cuba and Miami that it makes this place definitely worth coming to, even though I had some issues with the food preparation and the service.
If you are expecting gourmet, fusion-ish type food, don't come to Azafran. This restaurant has simple, home-style staples of traditional Cuban food such as rice, braised meats, plantains... lots of starches and protein combinations prepared in a "no-frills", home-made sort of way. To start, we ordered the appetizer plate, which included the croquettes, plantains, papas rellenas and empanadas. The empanadas and plantains were very good, but the papas rellenas were too salty and the croquettes were too small in comparison to what you get at most Cuban restaurants. I would suggest either ordering the empanadas or salads as an appetizer, since your entire meal will be somewhat of a starch overload if you order the appetizer plate.
For dinner we ordered the Chicken and saffron rice, which was very good, although the chicken was on the dry side. We also ordered the "La Bandera" sampler plate, which consisted of white rice, yellow rice, plantains, black beans, ropa vieja (shredded beaf), lechon (roasted pork) and roasted chicken. Everything was pretty good in this dish, except that the ropa vieja was so salty that it was a little difficult to enjoy.
We then decided to share a couple of desserts and Cuban coffee. The Cuban coffee tastes exactly the way it does in Miami, but the tres leches cake was disappointing, because although this type of cake is supposed to be soaked in three types of milk, this one was overly soaked, and not cakey enough. The flan, however, was very good and wasn't too sweet, which I really liked.
We stayed for a while after dinner because we were enjoying the music so much, and we ordered mojitos and Cuba libres, The mojito was excellent, but the Cuba Libre was just ok.
I will definitely go back to Azafran because it was definitely much better than most Cuban restaurants I have been to outside of Florida, and they have a lot of interesting souding dishes on their menu that I would like to try. Plus, it is a super fun place to go! I definitely recommend checking it out.
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A nice change from the usual standard restaurants... very tasty food, but my waitress did NOT know English, so she couldn't answer my questions. I actually had to speak to her in my poor SPANISH!!! CRAZY!!! They have entertainment some nights that is really good too.
I am disappointed - i like cuban food, but this wasnt all that great...maybe it sounds weird, but i guess this is too authentic for me. i tried a smoothie from this fruit i never heard of, but the waiter said it would be good, and it wasnt...takes like sugar and milk...the meat was good. there were three of us and we each got a little bit of something and in the end, it was ok. the place is small inside, and they were getting ready for a live band since we ate a late lunch. Im glad we left when we did, because i dont think i wouldve been able to give 4 stars, since the music in the tiny room would be a deal breaker...
We walked in to Azafran Cuban Cuisine to order take out. We wanted food for a crowd and took the waiter's suggestion to get the sample plates. We also got a Cuban pork sandwich. All of the food was very good. They said the sampler would serve two, which it almost did. It didn't really have enough rice for two people.
My brother took me here for my birthday dinner (per my request). :) We had a blast. There are definitely a couple things I can complain about, and will, but I guess the bad outweighed the good and I'd totally go back there and would recommend it to friends.
I'M GIVING 4 STARS BASED ON THE FOLLOWING:
The atmosphere was perfect! Live Cuban 3-piece band, smelled delicious, lighting/ambiance was subtle and warm.
The food was really good. There's this olive oily/garlicky/basily dip that they give with the bread...omiGOD! yum. I can't remember the name though :( The beans were perfectly pork-seasoned and the rice moist and chewey.
You need to be prepared for a LOT of garlic. I love garlic, being Italian, so I thought it worked well. But if you're not a garlic fan, you're not going to be happy.
Mojitos were strong. Good.
I'M TAKING AWAY 1 STAR BECAUSE OF THE FOLLOWING:
Service was, well, minimal...
The Sangria tasted like Welch's Grape Juice with 2 lbs. of suger added! Seriously, it was baaaaad. And we politely told our waiter so. He didn't know how it was made or why it was sweet...dummy.
All in all...go. Try it!
I lived in Florida for many years and came to love authentic Cuban food. When i moved to subsequent places I had to give up on Cuban because there just weren't any places to get any -- and if there was it just couldn't compare with the food in Little Havana in Miami. When I went to this place I expected it to be just so-so, or to be "Mexicanized" because of our proximity to Mexico and it's huge influence here. I am happy to say that this place is the bomb for those that really want to experience great - authentic Cuban. Great atmosphere, pleasant staff, good service.
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I was so excited about you, Azafran. Why did you have to go breaking my heart? I'm Cuban, too, you know, and it's not easy finding some of "my food" here in San Diego.
I had been waiting 2 weeks to finally come and experience the wonder of you - couldn't you see the giddy excitement in my eyes? What the hell did you do to that Arroz con Pollo I ordered? It was dry and smelled and tasted so awful, and you didn't even come by ONCE to ask me why I hadn't touched it. You even made me pile up my own plates at the end of the meal since trying to make eye contact and nodding with your waiters didn't make any difference whatsoever. Why did you spurn me? Didn't you know I'd be a loyal customer willing to drive 30 miles north just to see you if you'd have just treated me right?
It was really the last straw when I ordered the Flan for dessert and you didn't even bring it to me. I watched as you served it to the table next to me, and waited and waited and waited to finally get mine. You never gave it to me, yet you still charged me for it! I had to act like a shipwrecked fool gone mad, waving my hands back and forth before one of your waiters finally came over with the bill.
When I told you about my disappointment, you said you were sorry ... but Azafran, my heart is still broken.
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I tried this restaurant out with a friend since I heard all this buzz about this place. I have to say it was very good. It a small but nice restaurant with good service and food. I had the Arroz con Pollo which was great. The prices for food is moderate. 2 people can eat for about 45 dollars.
I never had Cuban food before this experience, but will try more it since I had a good experience with Cuban. I appreciate that this is a mom and pop style shop which are always my favorite. So try this restaurant if you're up in North County.
Azafran is a very good restaurant. They serve traditional Cuban Cuisine very well and the basics they have a very good. Their cuban sandwiches are very good and their Ropa Vieja is great. The old staple rise and beans are always fresh and delicious. Also, their fried plantains are the best I've ever had.
On Sundays they have a Cuban band play and things can get pretty packed. It's worth the wait though for the music and food.
I can't give this place 5stars though due to the slow service I have had at times. Other times it's been great so I gues you would call it inconsistent. For authenticity, I take my Cuban friends there and they are pleased with the quality and taste of the food.
Great food, alright service, can get busy for dinner.
I totally agree with you Robert. I have a friend that is also very familar with an authentic cuban dish and he loved it here...I did also!
The atmosphere was very inviting...I tell all my friends about Azafran.
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