El Jefe Cafe — Restaurant in Florida

I love Cuban food... and am lucky there are a couple Cuban restaurants very near to where I live. I decided to try a new one today, instead of my usual. El Jefe's did not disappoint!

As I walked up to the restaurant at about 11:45am I could see it was busy. Several people waiting for takeout orders, and all the booths and tables were full. Always a good sign!

Good service... I was helped as soon as I walked in, and Natalie was friendly and helpful. I ordered a Cuban sandwich and an order of Platanos Maduros to go. I received my order quickly, and it was "El Jefe" that handed it to me... also very friendly and helpful!

Got home, and unpacked the food... and took pictures. Sandwich was gorgeous, and nicely pressed with some nice browning on the crust. Platanos looked perfect!

Started eating, and the sandwich was delicious... crispy Cuban bread, succulent meat in nice portions, just the right amount of condiments. The best Cuban sandwich I have had in a good while!

I really love Platanos Maduros... I will always order them with any meal I can. And these were some of the best I have had... so soft and flavorful with a little bit of crunch from the frying pan. Really, really tasty!

I will be going back to try other dishes... and wish I had started going to El Jefe's...

I’ve been coaching kids nearly 15 years. One of the requirements throughout all those years was to maintain CPR certification. In the CPR classes, they also taught the Heimlich maneuver. In those 15 years, I’ve never had to use the Heimlich maneuver. That is, until today after ordering your steak sandwich. My wife and I each ordered one. We picked them up and brought them home. I ate mine right away and while the flavor was terrific, I certainly did notice the steak was tough and almost rubbery. I hadn’t eaten in about 36 hours (had to fast for a medical procedure), so I wasn’t too worried about texture, I was just happy to eat. My wife, on the other hand, ate her sandwich a few minutes after I finished mine. She took one bite of that steak and began choking. We’ve been together over 10 years and have eaten all kinds of food, mostly meat and Italian dishes, and she’s never once choked. This was the first time I had to use the Heimlich maneuver. She’s fine but will definitely never eat your steak sandwich again. That was a very scary situation. I’m a 5th gen born/raised West Tampan, so I’ve had some good cuban sandwiches and the occasional steak sandwich. Your cuban is ok, but I think your steak sandwich has more potential. Please work on that...

I live in Pinellas County but make the drive here whenever I can and it is so worth it. Today I came with my son who is very discriminating when it comes to food and restaurants (his first time although I did bring him a couple of breakfast sandwiches to go last time I was here) and he declared this his “favorite restaurant “!! . I consider myself to have a very discriminating pallet too. Every time I come here everything is is excellent. I have had the Ropa Vieja…outstanding. The Cuban…outstanding. The grilled chicken on Cuban toast…outstanding. The best red beans I have ever had and my girlfriend who is Colombian said exactly the same thing… and she is a bit of authority on that subject. I have had several other things here, and they are all excellent. Anyhow, bottom line is the food is excellent, the service is excellent and the atmosphere is great.. I can’t wait...