La Cubana — Restaurant in Toronto

I was super excited to try this and have wanted to for awhile. Hot sandwiches are my favourite food.

The actual location is decent. Right across the street from Bang Bang Ice Cream so you have dessert taken care of. Ample street parking on Ossington.

The interior of the restaurant is well done. Walls tiled with a pastel Tiffany blue, booths running along one wall, and decorative shelving with Cuban products really does transport you for a little bit.

My wife and I walk in and are seated promptly at about 1:45 pm on New Year's Eve. I ask what the waitress recommended, and she said she liked the Cuban burger, which is a chorizo patty, spicy slaw, and pickled jalapenos. She said it had a bit of a kick to it so even though I came for a sandwich, I decided on that (burgers are not sandwiches, don't @ me) with a side of fries. My wife ordered the Guava Beef BBQ Short Ribs.

The first thing I noted upon receiving my order was the amount of "spicy slaw" that was on the burger. It looked just like purple cabbage on a bun because you couldn't see anything else. My first bite was basically bread and cabbage. When I got to the patty, however, I realized why; it was terribly salty. You needed that much slaw to balance the saltiness of the patty. The burger wasn't spicy by my standards at all; didn't really taste any pickled jalapenos. Fries were standard and good, but small portion for $5. I didn't end up finishing the patty, pulled out all the ingredients and ate the bun by itself.

My wife's Guava BBQ Short Rib plate was much better. Meat was super tender but I feel like the meat itself wasn't too flavourful and it relied on the sauce slathered on top more, which was light and enjoyable. The fried plantain should have been more fried, as it was moreso a grainy/chewy patty than the crisp I was expecting, but the rice and beans were good. Plenty of beans.

With my experience being mediocre, I was ready to leave ASAP, but I couldn't see my server and the other lady was chatting with the kitchen staff rather than seeing if the customers needed anything. My wife ended up just walking up to the counter and paying after waiting 10 mins.

Mediocre experience as mentioned above, and disappointing relative to my expectations. I'll most likely try a different location and follow my heart when ordering rather than the waitress'...

During my recent visit to Toronto, my niece highly recommended La Cubana for lunch, and I’m so glad I took her advice!

My sister, who is a vegetarian, joined me, and I was pleased to find that the restaurant was quite accommodating to her dietary preferences.

At first, I had a bit of confusion at the entrance. I tried opening the door marked with the number ‘92,’ only to find it locked. Thankfully, I saw another customer enter through the adjacent glass door, which actually leads to the restaurant. Had it not been for him, I would have assumed the place was closed!

Once inside, we were greeted warmly by Gautier, who immediately made us feel welcome. I was caught off guard when he asked if I had ever been to Cuba—I've never visited, nor had I ever tried Cuban food before. But Gautier was incredibly friendly and walked us through the menu, making the experience even better.

Though I was hoping for more beer options, Gautier offered their house beer (the name escapes me), and to my surprise, I absolutely loved it!

For our meals, my sister ordered the Veggie Medianoche along with a Mango Juice, while I opted for the Chorizo Burger (I hope I pronounced it correctly). The burger was mouthwatering, with perfectly seasoned meat and fresh toppings like tomato and dressings. My sister enjoyed her veggie burger, which came loaded with queso fresco, avocado, tomato, cucumber, and arugula.

Adding a special kick to the meal, Gautier brought over a Cuban Mango Habanero hot sauce, which added just the right punch to my burger—spicy yet fruity, making the meal even more flavorful. The mango juice was refreshing and paired well with the food.

Both dishes were not only super delicious but also filling. Paired with the house beer and Gautier's attentive service, it was a delightful dining experience.

I’ll definitely make it a point to visit La Cubana every time I’m in Toronto! Highly recommended for great food, friendly service, and a...

I used to love this place but had a pretty bad experience yesterday. Feels like the service level has gone way down. I understand it’s post covid closure but this was a little unpleasant experience.

We arrived and asked for a table for two people. There was a table of 4 available, and we were told that this is for a group of four and we need to wait for a two person table to open up. We agreed and went to wander around for a few minutes. Once we came back there was a new two people group that had been seated on the 4-person table, which was already weird since we were the first ones to arrive anyway.

Fast forward to dinner. The chicken was quite dry and the food was a little bit cold overall, it didn’t feel as fresh and juicy as before. When we were eating a waitress came and told that they need one persons contact information with phone number. We were in the middle of dinner biting the food and none of us could reply immediately, and the waitress just stayed there waiting for us to be ready. I feel like this could have been done in prior to eating once we arrived in the restaurant, alternatively at least saying that she will be back once it’s a better moment for us. We were also charged for hot sauce which wasn’t charged before covid, it’s not a big amount but just makes the experience kind of even worse to be charged for something you’re not expecting.

Overall, even if it’s post covid I would have expected better service and I was disappointed to the restaurant this time. It’s sad because I used to come here regularly and I really liked everything...