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Mon-Tue. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Wed-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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I happened upon this place while waiting for a show to start. The sangria was delicious. Crisp and refreshing and $3 each at happy hour! Yes I had more than one. How could I help myself. Perfect for a hot summer's afternoon. The food is also half off at happy hour and it ends @ 7pm.
There was also some live music but I was happy just sitting outside(sidewalk seating) in the sun.
A good friend of mine took me to this restaurant about a month ago but I'm still craving it. The appetizers were great but the main dish was the star. I had the Rabo Encendido, Ox tail slow cooked in red wine served with black beans and rice with a side of palatinos. This meal just made me think of my mother's cooking right away. One of the best dishes I've had a a restaurant in a very long time. Highly recommend getting the Cuban Sampler which includes ham croquetas, cuban tamal, empanada & mariquitas served with a fruit salad. This is first date, girlfriend of wife territory. Enjoy!
This review is not about the food but happy hour and drinks. We were about to go next door when we were sort of persuaded to go inside Cuba Central instead. It isn't a very big place... two rooms and a small bar. Everyone seemed to be eating with the back room focused on the solo guitarist strumming Latin American hits. We opted for the 3 seats at the bar and ordered away. The mojitos were very good and, at happy hour prices, very worth it. The sangria was also very tasty. We also had the dried plantains, which acted as chips, with mango salsa- excellent. We were all about the drinks that day... the people working there were very nice and the musician really made the whole place feel authentic. We had a really great time there and I'd recommend it for happy hour!
I work downtown, and this is one of my favorite spots to grab lunch. Grew up in SoFla, so I know good Cuban food when I taste it. This place isn't rave-worthy, but it's a pretty cheap and decent lunch if you're craving a Cuban and mariquitas.
I got the pork sandwich the first time, but they don't have authentic pressed cuban bread, so by the time I brought it back to work the bread had gone soggy. The upswing is that they give you mariquitas or fries with your meal, and the mariquitas -- while not amazing (they're a little hard) -- are very decent, and they come with a side of mojo (theirs is too thick for my tastes, but also not bad).
I usually get the cuban now, which is much better than the lechon.
I guess I'm just spoiled when it comes to Cuban food, but I still eat here at least every other week.
Cuban food for a decent price? Sure I'll try it!
I came here with E R. to grub after one of our classes when we were still in college. I really like the mango salsa with the chips. YUM! I got the arroz con pollo. Its a quarter chicken over a bed of saffron rice. You can't go wrong with plantains and they definitely made it up to par with the rest of the cuban restaurants I've ate at. Eric got a sandwich, don't remember which one, but I do remember him saying it was very good and filling. The place is very casual and I like their decoration. Cute little festivities all around the walls and corners of the place.
Soooo, the food is 7.5 out of 10, I am Jamaican which is a part of the West Indies, as is Cuba, so a lot of our foods are very very similar. I will say that their plantains were very authentic and cooked properly (they are often under cooked when people don't know what they're doing) and they have a decent little bar. Wondering why the 2 stars? The service - absolutely horrible. There was this neurotic little woman walking around that seemed to enjoy making you get out of your chair to ask for something. She never once asked how the food was, and I had to go through flaming hoops to get a side of sliced peppers. Simply not worth it. In Los Angeles there are too many Cuban restaurants to choose from to have to go through such an unpleasant experience.
As far as I'm concerned, this may be the best Cuban restaurant in Los Angeles. And I grew up in Miami eating in Little Havana. The Lechon and Lechon sandwiches are amazing. The mojito chicken, fried rice, and arroz con pollo are amazing. And the drinks are good. The menu is small, and parking sucks (though they do give you back 3 dollars on the 6.50 parking next door so it's not too bad). This is the first place I head when craving Cuban. Second would be El Floridita - but only because they have a bigger menu, including Caldo Gallego and Masas de Puerco. Only other minor gripe is I wish they'd bring back the moros y cristianos instead of just having white rice and black beans.
Cuban food should be better than this. I ordered Arroz Con Pollo, and it was soooo salty! Like so salty that i got a headache and couldnt finish it. It didnt look appetizing either. More like a chicken gumbo or something. The Sangria was in the tiniest glass and didn't make me feel any better. Oh also they were supposed to have "live entertainment" that night but there was nothing...I over heard the table next to us complaining to the waiter. I can understand because the restaurant was advertising the live entertainment all over the place!
Their sandwiches look good though, maybe maybe i'll go back for lunch!
OKay So being a native New yorker growing up with cuban's, Puerto rican's
and dominicanos etc... im must say came "close" THE empanadas BOMB! and fuck the B on the door thats B for BOMB! they must cook with there foot in it and if thats wrong then shit i am going to cut this short!
Good food good price
this wasn't the worst food I've had, but!
....the place was empty and they sat us, not in the main dining room, but in the bar which looked like a bar in Ensenada or something like that. corona banners and ugly art on the walls. the food was bleh. I've had better from lunch trucks (and that ain't saying much)
I don't know, but when I go out I want to be wowed by the food. the service or the ambiance. which this place did not live up to any of those.
I wouldn't know about the food, I didn't get to try it.
12:30 - Arrived at Cuba Central
12:38 - Seated
12:40 - Ordered food
1:05 - Asked waitress if it would be much longer, response was, "it's coming out"
1:15 - Food had still not arrived. Departed and went to Quizno's next door.
I only had an hour for lunch, what else was a girl to do?
Ok, so hunger monster sets in and I look famished.......driving over 400miles in 24 hours is insane. Not to mention working a full day. So going back to my review......
Driving around downtown, hungry, hungry soooo damn hungry!!!
Come across j-town and nothing really sounded appealing, then...in the parking lot, I see CUBAN Central! Im thinking...fried plantanos (bananas) and chicken or pork......
Came and sat down and waited......
and waited..........
Finally after 15-20 min, Kolbe got a waiter and he took out order. Remind you, there were 6 firemen (already eating and finishing up. No Masa tho) and another group of 6 that were already eating also.
I ordered the shredded beef and she ordered the jumbo shrimp meal and we waited.....
and waited.........
Finally after 45 min we got our food. Shredded beef was barely wet...(good still cause I was calling 9-1-(food arrives at this point)
Kolbe's shrimp was cold and lacked flavor. Black beans were not hot and were luke warm. Bleh. Okay enough. Wheres our check?
and waited.....
Needless to say after hunting down our waiter, SAYONARA
I was really disappointed about this place. I can only imagine what I woud've wrote if I wasnt in a good mood!
Stopped off around Beaumont for some McD's. Flurry and Strawberry Shake. Kick ass.
Its nice to have a little bit of variety on the fringes of Little Tokyo. I love noodles, shabu shabu, yakitori, shushi, etc . . . but its nice to break it up. Cuba Central, in the same parking lot as Weiland's Brewery, caters to many non-Japanese city/county workers and Little Tokyo-Artists Loft District folks.
When the place first opened my office was so psyched, we were there the first 2 days. That's also about how long it took for us to get our orders, so we did not return for almost a year.
A year later, we revisited (cannot hold a grudge with non-Japanese food when you're in Little Tokyo all the time). The service had improved, as had the food. I guess "staying power" is a good sign, because they seem quite busy in this ever-expanding, often bustling neighborhood with the recent boom of condos, apartments and lofts.
For the food, they start you off with some very tasty plaintain banana chips and a very nice salsa with plenty of garlic. We usually ask for more, as everyone seems to like it. The main dishes are OK, but no Floridita or even Versailles. The "ropa vieja" (shredded beef with a tomatoey sauce) is OK . . . the breaded steak (biftek empanizado) sandwiches are a good option. The black beans and rice are OK, but nothing out of the ordinary.
They have a bar, which is nice and they sell cigars in there too. There are a few small bistro tables set outside, but its where the sun shines, so not much shade. They have my favorite soda pop . . . Materva !! It is a yerba mate tea flavored soda that is very tasty.
Again, if you are in Little Tokyo and need a change, its a decent choice, but I would not go out of my way to sample Cuban food here.
Surprisingly delicious food in one of the less seedy parts of downtown. The pork was some of the tastiest I've ever had, and the fried rice with chicken that my girlfriend ordered was equally delicious.
The service was fine (waitress was quite friendly), and even though the restaurant was bustling we got our food in a normal amount of time.
It looks like they might close at 5:00 on Sundays now, so if you're thinking of going for dinner on Sunday you should call ahead to see if they'll be open.
Sarah E and I checked out this place for lunch a couple of weeks ago. She had always wanted to try it and despite my misgivings about a place that featured fake palm leaves covered umbrella tables out front, we gave it a shot.
The decor can only be described as "beachy" with flip flops on the walls, odd Hawaiian looking pictures, photographs of Cuba and other beach/Hawaiian/Carribean things.
Service was a bit slow. I got my papaya milkshake way too late and halfway into my oxtail stew. And much to my dismay, the shake came with a huge dollop of whipped cream. Bleh, I hate whipped cream.
When I ordered the oxtail, the waitress asked me if I wanted one or two. I couldn't imagine eating two oxtails so I said one. In retrospect, maybe she was asking if Sarah E wanted one too?
In any case, the oxtail wasn't that tender and the accompanying rice was horrible. Only the bread was good but it was quickly used up to dip into the oily sauce.
The only thing I really liked were my plaintains.
Next time, we're eating Japanese food in Little Tokyo. Although this place looks like a good happy hour spot with discounted drinks and "Cuban lettuce wraps." ??? Bizarre.
Also, a warning- if you used your credit card, they ask you to tip in cash only. WTF is that about?
Eh. I've been to Cuba Central twice I think. Neither time was memorable. Although my opinion might be biased seeing as how much I love Versailles and El Rincon Criollo. As "fake" as some people might think Versailles is, no one can say they are stingy with their portions or that their prices aren't reasonable. Cuba Central is both stingy and perhaps a little more expensive than Versailles. Or maybe I just felt cheated because the food was not up to my expectations.
My orders:
Grilled Salmon Salad - It was ok, but not something I'm dying to have. I had to ask for lots of lemon because it felt so bland to me. Ohhh, I just read a review below and they said they were out of oxtail. They were out of CHICKEN this time and this is why I ordered the salmon. How is a restaurant out of chicken?!?!!? On a Sunday?!?!?
Chicken dish - I don't really remember the exact name of the dish, but it too was bland. Not infused with garlic like other typical Cuban dishes.
The banana chips w the mango salsa is perhaps the restaurant's only positive. But I'm not a banana chip person, so there!
Service was slow both times too and there were only about 7 other patrons.
I was hugely disappointed and pissed off at myself for coming here a second time. But you know me, I'll try most things twice (plus, Weiland's hadn't opened yet) ;)
It is right across the way from the Japanese Village and right next door to Weiland Brewery and Senor Fish. All these places bring Cuba Central to shame. I'll let it keep the second star, just because of the pretty decor and all the other things this restaurant could be, should it have a better cook.
Stamp this: Blah!
Something about the lighting and decor of this place, despite being basically windowless, makes me feel like I'm sitting in a breezy sunny place.
Its relaxing even.
The food is good, plantain chips, with a garlic salsa comes out first, and make sure to ask for the spicy fruit salsa, its really tasty.
The food is good, tasty Cuban/Carribean type good. Plaintains, Ropa Vieja, a burger, lechon asado which was really good on a crusty cuban loaf.
The sweet potato fries were greasy and not crisp but tasted fine.
I've not had any of the drinks, but for lunch its a good stop off.
I don't give a shit if you have a 'B' rating on the door, that was the best surprise dinner in LA I ever had. I recommend the Cuban sampler and the Shredded Beef thing and rice. All this wrapped up with the best mojitos at a fair price.
It was a sunny summer afternoon in the City of Angels my friend and I were slated to attend The Police Concert at Dodger's stadium but wanted to meet up for dinner beforehand. Where to go? Silverlake? Eco Park? Downtown? I suggested we do Sushi in Little Tokyo but when we drove by SushiGen I realized they were still closed as were most of the good sushi places that don't open until closer to dinner time. Soooo we decided to park and walk around and try out luck. We parked in the $5 lot across the Moca and spotted the Cuban restaurant located right smack dab in front of our faces so we figured Cuban in Little Tokyo it shall be!
I'm so glad we tried this place. I agree with other reviewers they have done wonders with the interior decor. Although the restaurant has an odd S shape to it they've made it work by creating intimate sections that retain their warmth. We ordered some Sangria and enjoyed our leisurely meal. The food was DELICIOUS! Better than I had in Cuba (shhh! don't tell Cuba!) I liked the presence of Spanish elements in most of the dishes it was there but it was subtle.
I also enjoyed the music and the fact that the staff didn't crowd us or rush us. The door to the restaurant was open and letting in the perfect amount of outside noise and cool breeze and I could have stayed there for hours.
Don't forget to order a Cafe Cubano....YUMMY!
I've been past this place at the edge of little tokyo a bunch of times. Every time I think "oooh, Cuban place, I should try that" but I'm always already on my way to somewhere else. After finally making a point to go there, I have to say that somewhere else would have been a better bet.
The food isn't bad. It's just unremarkable and lacks the necessary touches to make it shine. Plus the service is really slow.
I had a roast pork sandwich and a cucumber and avocado salad. The roast pork was excellent. However, the sandwich was boring because it was just the meat, sauted onions, and bread. It needed something. Garlic sauce, mustard, lettuce, I don't know, just something. I ended up putting some of the avocado from my salad on it and that helped but it still felt like music where all the chords were missing a note. The salad was cucumbers, avocado, and onions, just as advertised. I was expecting something where everything was cut up into bite sized pieces and mixed but instead it was big slices of all the elements.
I definitely wouldn't go back for a meal but their mojitos looked good enough that I might be tempted back for happy hour.
Whenever I go to little Tokyo in Los Angeles I think Cuban Food!!! Not really but this is a great little restaurant. Sharing the same parking lot as Weilands Brewery and right across the street from the Litle Tokyo Village Shopping Center, the Japanese Cultural Museum near at Central and 1st Street. AS soon as the Metro Gold line Extension is completed this place will be the place to be. Expect new business to start sprouting up within the next few years because of it.
Food is great. Service is really good. Ambiance is above average. Seating is a little cramped but manageable. I prefer the back area where the TV is since there is a little more elbow room. The decor is nice and has that tropical Cuban feel.
Price is great. Not too expensive. Actually very reasonable. Most of the items on the menu are great tasting. And if you have a chance, try the Cuban sodas. My favorite is the Coconut soda with real coconut pieces.
Accessible by D line Dash and A line Dash buses. A will circle around Little TOkyo shopping centers and the D dash will bring you back to Union Station or Olvera Stret if needed. It great to go to this area on a weekend becaue there are so many shops to visits within a few blocks. So if you have the time, make a day for it.
I love rainy nights in Los Angeles...that's a topic of its own, but I did adore this tiny restaurant hidden in Little Tokyo, part of the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. I haven't ate enough Cuban food to compare this lovely little place to anywhere else, but I have to admit that I did love what I ordered. I figured, "really, how often do I get to eat at a Cuban restaurant?" So I ordered a Mojito Chicken dish and a Malta Hautey to drink with it.
The Malta Hautey was a non-alcoholic drink that initially tastes like root beer soda but leaves that lingering flavor of malt liquor. That may not tickle your taste buds, but it sure did mine. Uh, then I noticed the 200+ calorie count on the bottle and I was on my way to sticking to water the whole night through. The Cuban drinks come straight out of their cans/bottles, unless you just want a soda then you have your free refills.
The Mojito Chicken dish was huge, I mean, that must have been one huge chicken because that chicken breast took over an entire plate. It was savory and juicy and you can definitely taste the lemon/lime zest. Nothing was really special about the white rice (they ran out of yellow rice) and black beans. And I'm so used to tortillas being served with such a dish that instead I got a slice of bread. Speaking of tortillas, I'm guessing Cubans love their plantains because we had plantain chips served with a fruit salsa. It was yummy. And fried plantains went with my Mojito Chicken dish. Mmmm...
My friend ordered a Bistec Empanizado which, to me, tasted like a country fried steak. She was digging the rice and beans and ate that up before she dug into the steak. My other friend ordered Arroz Con Pollo which, personally, was a huge dish. Needless to say, he didn't finish it. Both these dishes were about $10+. Cuban sandwiches are always popular so my other friend (okay, there were 10 of us occupying a small corner of this colorful restaurant) ordered a traditional Cuban Sandwich which looked like a grilled pastrami sandwich. She swears that it didn't taste like one. That was about $6.
Anyway, although I wanted to stay for dessert, the place was closing and waiting for us to leave. They gave us several hints - turning off the music, dimming the lights, turning off the television - once we understood what they were trying to do, we headed on our way.
They have their own parking, but if you don't want to pay, go park at a meter (remember, FREE at any meter after 6pm). I parked somewhere behind the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) on Alameda Street. Not too far of a walk.
Anyway, great food. Decent service. Patient. And overall a very warm ambiance, good for a rainy evening in Los Angeles.
I'm part Boricua moved from NJ about 2 years ago and know what good Carri bean food tastes like. This is not it. I got the pollo epanizado and it just wasn't good. no flavor. There are many disappointments of Carri bean food here in LA, but If your in the mood for GOOD, TASTY Cuban food go to El Cochinito on Sunset in Silver Lake!
I think this is good Cuban, especially for the area. I preferred it to Versailles. I grew up in Tampa, Florida, where there is a large Cuban population and lots of Cuban cafes. Cuba Central wasn't quite up to par with the best of Florida, but it was tasty.
Next to Senor Fish.
6/5/08. Not bad but hard to give more than three stars to a restaurant that serves frozen vegetables. A restaurant not aiming as high as I'd like.
In my ever continuing quest to find Cuban food in Los Angeles. I came here. We were visiting Little Tokyo because my daughter had some art in an exhibit there. Saw the signs for Cuban food. The food was OK. The rice morros y christianos was pretty good. I can't make that dish to well, so I guess every bodies tastes good to me. The picadillo I had was good. My wife's Chicken was dry. The mojitos were horrible. They had a sign out front "best mojito's in Downtown". I don't think so, even if I haven't had another one in downtown. The service was the worse. Big red stamp on our bill that said to pay tips in cash only. I will not be back.
Really yummy cuban sandwich and a very casual, cute, festive setting. Love the plantains. Good value for money too" Collapse
Cuba Central -- you get three stars because you're a good cuban restaurant, because you introduced me to Iron Beer (http://en.wikipedia.or... -- where have you been all my life!) and bedito's! Your decor is cute, the interior is spacious and light and I felt transported to a family kitchen in the Carribean rather than being across the street from Little Tokyo.
But the food is only solid, not great. And the service was horrrrrible. I know how hard it is to wait tables and I dont blame the entire establishment on the isolated experience we had. [We were there for an early dinner 5:30 on a sunday and the waitress admittedly told us she forgot us when we had to wait 15 min to order, but that still didnt help the food to come any faster (another 25 minutes. I mean -- really? 25 min?)] But, i still cant give em more than 3 for that. (esp. when Mike F had a similar experience.)
Also, cuban food is really heavy and i wasnt that hungry so I felt sick after (like, 'i ate too much'-sick. not 'the meat was bad'-sick.) If I go back and it's better, I'll definitely up the review.
holy canolli! how does this place not have five stars?!
i think this place is under new management cuz it's now cafe cuba central..and while my trip a day ago included my first TASTE of the food i had actually wandered into this place to look around a few months back and there's a different look (including a hanging menu above the bar and friendlier people).
i had the pork and onions..the bf had the ox tail (we were first timers on that but the server recommended it) and we shared the cuban sampler and fried plantains. we were BLOWN AWAY. the food is ridiculously amazing. the service is freakin outstanding. i'd never had fruit salsa and i'm actually craving it today. the bar is beer and wine only so aside from the domestic/imported beer selection they offer white wine mojitos (really refreshing) and sangria. happy hour prices are half off mojitos and sangria as well as two appetizer choices, including the cuban sampler which ended up only being about $5.50!!!
we absolutely love this place....my new fave place in la. i can't wait to visit again...
I was here three years ago with two of my best gals. Let's just say that was my first visit and it was also my last. My friend found a roach inside her napkin. DISGUSTING!!!! And the food wasn't all that either...
This place was a huge disappointment.
We tried having lunch at Weiland's next door, but who knew it was THE spot to be at in the middle of the day? So we opted for the Cuban joint instead.
Maybe it's because I grew up on really good Puerto Rican food, which isn't that different from Cuban, but the food here was just plain blah. It's like they completely forgot the salt.
I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich, which comes with the sweet potato fries. It was completely tasteless. The chicken was a little tough and the sauce they put on it had no flavor whatsoever. The fries had no seasoning either, just limp and mushy. I drowned them in ketchup, which seems sacreligious somehow.
The back room was pretty loud too. You can't hear yourself over the din created by everyone else, so you end up screaming at the people across the table. It gave me a headache.
Oh, and you have to leave your tips in cash, even though they take credit cards. The best thing I can say about the whole experience is that the fountain drinks were really good. Not the Cuban sodas, mind you, but the coke itself.
I wouldn't come back here. If you want decent Cuban food, head to Porto's in either Burbank or Glendale.
I thought the food was great. The steak was tender and the sangria was tasty. It had apples in it that were marinated in rum. Overall i had a good time and i think it's better than versailles
"Well, it wasn't horrible". That's not really a great review. It was edible. I added salt to it, but it still had no spark. Not really worth the calories. The sangria was pretty good, and the plantain chips were good. The moros y cristianos rice was okay -with some added salt. The potato balls (my fave thing at Porto's) had this weird creamy taste - waaay too creamy. Kinda creepy. The croquettas were ham-y in a bad way - like ham you leave in the fridge too long, and it starts curling up and getting dark on the edges. The chorizo tasted like kielbasa. Once again, in a bad way. All in all, just sad none of my fave sushi places weren't open on a Saturday for lunch. :(
Starting the night off by jayrunning across the street from the Japanese Village parking while wearing heels, I'd hope our dinner would be as zestful. I ordered the lemon flavored chicken and it came with rice and beans. The flavor was good and portions were huge. My friends order salmon, steak and the Cuban version of fried rice. Everyone suffered from food coma afterwards from the portions and heaviness. Call me mainstream but I think the flavors at Versailles is more intense, the garlic chicken is packed with flavor (and grease).
This was my first visit here with my boyfriend this weekend. We have been passing by this place for years from all our Japanese dining at Lil Tokyo. Always wanted to try it but somehow sushi always won out. So, we walk in through the back (parking lot entrance) and they tell us we can sit anywhere. We picked a little table in a corner by the front entrance. It was the one cozy spot that wasn't loud like the other areas. There was a lit candle and a fake lil flower in a vase on all the tables that I thought was a cute touch. Menus were brought to us within a few minutes. Our drinks came rather quickly accompanied with banana chips and a fruit salsa dip. Banana chips? Sounds iffy, I know, but they were salty tasting like real chips, not sweet like you might expect, and if you weren't looking at them you wouldn't know they were banana chips. They were pretty good though we would have preferred them a little less salty. The fruit salsa was sweet (tomatoes, mango, lil cilantro etc) and was too "fusion" for our taste. It definitely tasted odd with the banana chips.
We both ordered the Mohito Chicken with yellow spanish rice, black beans, and mixed vegetables. The dish included bread and fried plaintains. My boyfriend's friend and his girlfriend had raved endlessly about how yummy the fried plaintains were at Cuba Central but we tried them and our only reaction... scrunched up faces. Try at your own risk.
We especially loved the chicken and the yellow rice. The chicken breast was healthy white meat and DELICIOUSLY seasoned (not authentic Cuban flavor but we didn't care because it was GOOOD...) The black beans were so-so, nothing like the authentic black beans we LOVED at a party we went to a few years ago. The mixed vegetables came in a separate bowl and was definitely a take-home sized portion.
While we have only tried one dish and cannot speak for the other dishes, the food was pretty healthy. The chicken, beans, and rice were not greasy and didn't leave an oil well on the plate when we finished eating. The vegetables were steamed and not loaded with butter. I took leftovers home and just had a delicious lunch :o)
Our only beef was the parking. It is $6 for parking upfront but only $3 with a validation from the restaurant (you get a $3 reimbursement when you show your validation afterwards). We were not inside long and I almost said we should just pay the attendant $3 upfront because he can see us going into the restaurant. My boyfriend paid the $6 but when we come out to the parking lot, the guy had closed up and left without reimbursing our $3. SHADY.
The prices were very reasonable. The Mojito Chicken was $9. I ordered a lemonade - $2.50. We would definitely come back. The service was not bad on our visit, like some of the other reviews. Hopefully service will still be good on our next visit.
i would come here for happy hour again.
1/2 price apps. and sangria baby.
but dude....they were out of OXTAIL.
the whole reason for me going to a Cuban place is OXTAIL.
i settled for the next thing my server recommended which was shredded beef in some tomato sauce which was OK. but not up to par as a nice succulent glutenous piece of oxtail would've been.
the beef was gamey...like i was gnawing on a pigeon. i've never gnawed on a pigeon but i imagine it to be gamey..
but the company i was with made it that much better.
connie knows how to throw back some Cuban steak y'all.
HOMEGIRL KNOWS HOW TO EAT!!
cuba central vs. versaille vs. bossa nova
=
versaille
bossa nova
cuba central
thats the shizzlefonizzle
The restaurant smells like pine sol. We ate in a windowless room, it felt like we were eating in a bathroom. All I could taste was pine sol. gross.
First time I have had Cuban food. It was pretty good. Small portions though. The prices were pretty good for what you got though. The service wasnt that great. The plantain chips were awesome though.
My brother and I stopped in for lunch today and it was pretty good. We both had the same thing: the chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. The service was great and they checked up on us a few times which was nice. It's nice to see an independent restaurant on this stretch, which is also home to a Quiznos, Office Depot and American Apparel.
I have been going to this place since it first opened. It's not hard to find since its one of the few eateries in Little Tokyo that doesn't serve Japanese food. I noticed there are some bad reviews about this place, but it seems to be more about the service than the food.
So let me start with with experience with the service.... I have never waited too long for a waitress to get my order. There have been a few times that I couldn't find one immediately, but they eventually got there soon after. I believe the layout of the place may be the reason for this. But I always got my food in an appropriate amount of time, and the waitresses check in with me throughout the meal.
As for food, It's DELICIOUS! One of my favorites on the menu is the Mojito Chicken. A large chicken breast with a side of, black beans, and platanos. The chicken is moist and flavorful, and serving size is just right. The Cuban Steak and the Caribbean Salmon are also good choices.
Make sure to ask for the Fried Plantain Chips to snack on before your meal. It comes with a garlic oil and mango salsa. I can snack on these for days.
I was disappointed at their Mojito though. For a Cuban restaurant, theirs can be pretty sad. I will recommend trying some of the Cuban sodas they have, a little on the sweet side but worth a try.
Enjoyed the food here but the service left a little to be desired. You are served banana chips when you come in which you can dip in a garlic or a sweeter, sauce. My friend had fish which was very fresh. She enjoyed it. I had a chicken sandwich which was nice. The waitstaff had a very hands-off attitude. I know when I worked at a restaurant what we used to do when it was slow. Whatever they were doing, and I don't want to make too much of this, the food was excellent and I don't mind being given space to enjoy my food, but it felt a little ghost-towny nearly. I didn't mind waiting about 25 min. for the check because I thought of my experiences in Central America....I dont' mind a leisurely pace and some time to digest my food. But we barely saw the waitstaff during the meal. Still, maybe they copped some good ish...I dunno. I was hoping there would be some Cuban beer but unfortunately the most exotic import was Negro Modelo. Ain't complainin' but....well, maybe I am complaining a little. Regardless, good food, but I think I may have brushed away some cobwebs from a vacant table on the way out.
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Category: Cuban
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: Silver Lake
Category: Bakeries
Neighborhood: Mid-City
Category: Latin American
Los Angeles, CA
Category: Cuban
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