Armando's Caribe — Restaurant in Duluth

Update: The paella is still an amazing dish here, this time we got paella de mariscos. Same perfectly executed rice, seafood, and flavor.

Molcajete was unbelievable. I am in love. No, really, you need to try this. It's not on the menu, you have to ask for it. Chorizo, steak, shrimp, cactus leaf, grilled queso, poblano, onion, peppers, with rice and black beans on the side and flour tortillas. Served in a screaming hot volcanic rock bowl so it is still boiling when it gets to the table.

Others in our party had Bistec a la Parrilla, Quesadillas, and Tacos. The attention to the plates is great, no matter the dish!

Swing by and check Armando's Caribe out! Maybe even say hello to Armando! (After all, he is a real person!)

‐------------------------------------------------------------------------Our first visit will not be our last.

Paella is one of those dishes that can be open to interpretation by region and Armando's Caribe has two. We got the Paella Valencia and it was great! One of the things I do not like of many paella is when the rice is done more like a risotto, but this had some tooth to it that was very satisfying.

Cazuela de Mariscos here rivals one of my favorite dishes, Pollo a lo Macho at Mifflin's House. The Cazuela de Mariscos seasoning was well balanced, the seafood was added to the dish at the appropriate times to not be overcooked, and if there were any mussels that didn't open, they were NOT on my plate! Bravo! (Sorry, being brought a plate with unopened mussels, clams, etc annoys me greatly) The loaf of Cuban bread was warm and perfect for sopping up the broth in the skillet.

Lobster tacos were very tasty, no rubbery lobster here! A good plate with rice and beans.

Fajitas... our party had two different styles, all of it great! And if you are wondering about size, they were big enough to split. Of course, all the fajita goodness you expect, but with an eye and care for presentation to draw you in.

Speaking of big enough to split, the Cuban sandwich is that as well. With sides and the appetizers earlier, nobody was leaving hungry.

Armando stopped by for a couple words, he is also a VW guy! He has opened a Taqueria in what was the Sonic... just a short walk across the parking lot from Armando's...

I am incredibly disappointed at how I.... as a regular customer for the last 5 or so years, I felt so disrespected and disregarded. I asked my server to let me know how much they would charge me for Grilled Salmon a la carte. Unfortunately, at Many restaurants of this likeness, the minimal carb options are limited. She said "so you just want grilled salmon"? Me being afraid they would bring me basic steamed salmon, I told her that I still wanted seasoning SUCH AS blackened or whatever but please don't just bring me steamed only salmon.

She never came back and to day they could not do that nor told me the price for a la carte. She brought me my salmon and so I assumed she worked it out as I can do that often when at high end restaurants as they deem to please.

The salmon was delicious and I thought I was in heaven to have what I requested. I ordered 2 to-go meals, and my daughter and I had our meals, appetizers, and myself a premium margarita seated. 2 people and our bill was $80.

With that said, when I saw they charged me $18 for a piece of salmon (the whole meal is $18), I was confident they would adjust and we could move on. However, I came to find out my server did not know what a la carte meant. That was okay because I was sure her manager did.

The manager NATALIE came over and said she took off $2 for the blackened, but her server did not understand what blackened was and that they did not do a la carte. I proceeded to let her know that would have been completely fine if I was just informed so I could make an informed decision. Natalie proceeded to say that was Armando's rules. I told her that was fine... but I was not told of the rules so I could decide what I wanted to do on my own.

As long as we have been coming to Armando's (which she also confirmed that she knew we were regulars)...I would have expected to have some grace. Me being a woman of integrity...I paid the waitress well and went on my way... feeling...

[Location/Ambiance]: Parking is plentiful. The plaza doesn't seem that busy.

Inside, there were maybe 4-5 other tables so the restaurant seem pretty empty. Then again, it was only a Tuesday I believe so maybe this place picks up to fill the dining hall on weekends.

The booths are pretty small though. With everyone's entrees and some of the appetizers still left, our table was really filled up.

[Service] Our server was pretty attentive, water refills were pretty good. Food come out in a fairly manner.

[Food Highlights]:

Unfortunately, no one really wanted to order the lobster taco's and after reading Lyndsay K's review I was pretty hesitant. Maybe next time?

What we did order, felt like it was ok. I wasn't really impressed to be anxious to ponder a next visit.

Calamari Frito Plate - Fried until the batter was crispy but the inner meat was still tender. A bit too much salt and the sauce really didn't add more to the overall flavor I believe. It did take away some of the pieces that were dusted with a little bit too much salt though. It's ok but overpriced.

Ropa Vieja - Cooked until fork tender. But the flavor was really lacking in that department. I wish it was better. I really liked Papi's version, but this one let me down. The tomato creole sauce didn't have any oomph. Pass. Or as my foodie buddy said at dinner, "this is the worst dish at the table" =(. Ouch, cause I picked this one out and we all shared.

Salmon - This was one of the better dishes I got to try. Grilled but still juicy, sitting atop a mildly sweet guava sauce. The rice and veggies included were more meh.

Cazuela de Mariscos - This thing is more stew than anything. Fair warning, they aren't holding back on the cream. Dunk the included Cuban bread with caution while you scoop out the various pieces of seafood. This sat kind of heavy after the meal. Possibly due to just how buttery the cream was.

{Summary}: I was expecting much more, but was really let...