Cuban Breezes — Restaurant in Oldsmar

I’ve been frequenting this restaurant for nearly 2 decades. Two generations of my family have been coming here, enjoying our time and food and spending our hard earned money at this establishment. We order catering for events like empanadas or cuban egg rolls, we’ve dined in, my friends have dined in— long story short I have a good sense of what’s the norm and what’s not. Today, I came in with my nephew and he ordered a kids meal which comes with a drink. The waitress asks if he wants a big cup or small. I asked is it okay for a big? And she says yeah, of course. This server has been here for a long time and is nice. But I get another server and she seems friendly so we go on with our meal. In the end, I see the bill has two drinks on it. At first, I said it was alright because I didn’t feel like arguing over $4. (Rounded up). But then it bothered me because this has NEVER happened at this restaurant or any other restaurant, so I ask about it. She says, well I saw a large cup so I charged for it. I explain I’ve never seen anything like this before and that the kids drinks get free refills as well so I’m not understanding. I tell her how I asked if it was okay before hand and she snaps back with “did you ask if it would cost more?” I said no, why would I ask about something that was implied. I was offered a large or small and I asked if it was ok for the large AFTERWARDS. The waitress offered to take it off but warned me that this would happen in the future. Do not warn me. She had something to say after everything but never once was she apologetic or said something like “sorry for the confusion” which would have resulted me accepting the situation and this could have been avoided. In the end, I spent, $35 for me and a kid, and tipped $7 making it $42 and LEFT my food there because I’m not begging anyone for anything. Principles matter. Common sense is needed in the food industry. I told her this experience left a bad taste in my mouth and she snickered behind the counter like she was some mean girl in a high school movie. I’m shocked by the entire experience. One person can really ruin...

First and foremost, let me state: I am 100% of Cuban decent, my parents are cuban immigrants, and my grandfather was a chef in Cuba who owned several high end restaurants prior to Castro. If you're looking for authentic cuban food, this is not the place. You won't find oxtail, cuban bread made the traditional way with palm fronds, chicharonnes de pollo, or anything of the like on this menu. We don't eat burgers, phillies, burritos, seasoned fries, or mahi sandwiches in traditional cuba. The staff cannot even pronounce many of the spanish words on the menu and I literally cringe whenever I hear any of them try to pronounce "a la plancha".

Now, that being said, the very americanized "cuban" fare is flavorful, reasonably priced, and always consistently good. The staff is friendly, welcoming, and very good at what they do. The souvenir cups that come with each beverage purchase are a nice touch for locals and tourists alike and I've found that over the years, I've amassed quite the collection in my pantry. The owner is friendly and doing a fantastic job (I've even seen her there with her baby strapped to her back while slinging food and serving tables)! Highly recommended: The mahi sandwich, cuban philly, party papas, french fries, and cuban egg rolls.

If you're dead set on a classic cuban sandwich, skip this one and head to Michelle Faedo's, West Tampa Sandwich Shop, or one of the many west tampa and ybor restaurants that serve award winning cuban sandwiches. The bread here is all wrong, it uses white american cheese rather than the traditional swiss, and the ham is a lower quality, square cut thing that harkens back to 1950s cafeteria lunches; leaving the whole thing a bit lack luster. If you're just craving a cuban sandwich and have the misfortune of being stuck at the top of the bay, go ahead and grab one, because there simply aren't any other decent options...

So, I’m a Cuban Miami native that recently moved to the stress and wanted some Cuban food. Choices are sparse compared to south FL so I gave this place a shot. I’ll breakdown my experience by section

Service : decent service, seated by waitress and she was attentive. My only complaint is she brought out food that really should have never left the kitchen 3/5.

Food 1/5- my stomach is still upset, I ordered the vaca frita with white rice black beans and tostones

Black beans- they were grey ( see pic) I have never in my life seen black beans this color, I took one small bite and can confidently say it was poured straight from a can , no seasoning at all and watered down and slightly stale tasting

Vaca frita - was not shredded as custom prior to coming out( in the pic in had already started to shred it) , dry dry dry , again no seasoning no flavor, just bland and tough

Tostones - looked like it was previously frozen, fed not freshly made, off color , and tasted off I took one bite and left the rest on the plate

Bread - plain bread, not toasted, no butter even offered

Bistec empanizado ( my husbands dish) - bland again, zero flavor

In can say confidently that whoever is cooking is most certainly not Cuban or even familiar with Cuban dishes or flavors, this place has no business serving “Cuban” food until the chef is properly trained, not sure how many cooks they have but we went on 11/22 . If you’re looking for a nostalgic taste of home, you’re better off making it at home, even the worst Cuban place I’ve been to in Miami tasted and looked better than what we were served here. We won’t be coming back.

If I was the owner I would be ashamed of the product...