El Bohio Cuban Cuisine — Restaurant in Lakewood

After reading the reviews, my parents and I drove long across the city to eat here with high hopes. I am a Cuban-American born and raised in Miami, FL. My parents emigrated from Cuba in 1984.

I really despise leaving negative reviews, and I really wish their business the best, but I feel obliged to share our experiences and make it clear that this is not authentic Cuban food. The food quality was unfortunately very poor. We ordered the following items: fried steak, ropa vieja and a croquette sandwich. We had issues with everything except the ropa vieja.

The croquette sandwich was supposed to come with ham croquettes and instead they subbed in cheese croquettes without telling me, and only put in one slice of ham (usually it should be many, and of a better quality too). My sandwich was also absolutely dripping wet in mayo. It was three mozzarella sticks, covered mayo between two slices bread with more cheese, not much else, missing all the protein. When I asked why this was the case, the cook told me they ran out of ham croquettes. I really wish they would have informed me of that instead of feeding me something I didn't order. I went home with a very upset stomach.

My mom's steak was over-fried and burnt to a crisp. Hardly edible. See picture below. There were also out of many other items on menu and everything is overpriced for what it is. I would call ahead if you check if they actually have what you’re looking for that day.

If it wasn't for how pleasant our server was and the fact that they gave us a complimentary entree, it would have been a one star review. This place has all the looks of a Cuban restaurant, unfortunately, it is not. Staff is not Cuban either if that is any indication.

If you're looking for quality authentic and appropriately priced Cuban food recommendations, I would visit the following places: Cuba Bakery & Cafe in Aurora(#1 by a long shot) or the Cuba Cuba Cafes around town are decent...

Fri 11/28/25: chicken and rice soup is the absolute best!!! It's so thick you could call it stew. Cuban and pork sandwiches still great, too. Service is wonderful, intuitive.

Fri 12/15/23: Still fabulous. Ordered my favorite: the pork sandwich!! It was great! I wanted to order that fabulous soup they have but felt like I was in too big a hurry. So, next time I'll get again. It is fabulous (chicken rice...)!!! Nice folks!

Wed 8/23/23: Youngish couple running the place tonight. Food is still wonderful as is service. The atmosphere has definitely been enhanced. Very pleasant, comfortable sitting inside given the heat outside and eating/talking. Hope we didn't stay too long. Will return. Can't wait for cold weather to have the Chicken Rice Cuban Soup again!

Thu 3/9/23: Still fabulous! Covered, outdoor seating.

Mon 2/6/23: Food still fabulous! More tables. Chicken rice Cuban soup was amazing!! Chunks of chicken, slow cooked broth, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomato. Comfort food!

Sat 3/26/22: Pork sandwich and flan. Excellent. (See below)

Tues 2/12/22: Great pork sandwich and a pastry (see picture; had guava inside).

Wed 1/12/22: Great pork empanadas and pork sandwiches. I ordered online about 4:15 today and went and picked the food up. It was ready when I got there and tasted fabulous. It appeared that there were more tables than the last time I was there.

Sat 9/25/21: Great food but today I stood in line 20 minutes and line did not move at all. I'll go back on a weekday. Also, there was no air conditioning.

7/26/21: Excellent pork sandwich. Lots of soft, juicy pork. Also full of the onions and juices it was cooked in. Amazing. The black beans were cooked in a similar broth. I must go back...

Amazing, home cooked Cuban food, that was served piping hot with authentic sides, and an amazing Mojo sauce that was garlicky goodness in a tub. My husband had the Ropa Vieja, which he found savory and saucy with tender vegetable and meat, and the black rice, which was combination of rice and black beans, was perfect. My son had the "Pork Crunch Fried" which was actually chunks of the slow roasted pork deep fried to have a crisp crust. I had the Midnight Sandwich with tender egg bread for many of the same innards as the Cuban Sandwich and it was pressed and toasted to perfection. My side was sweet plantains, which I was used to from Puerto Rico and they were tender, crisp, and hot. My husband and son got the Fried Yucca and it was amazing, buttery, crisp and served with that amazing Mojo sauce. I also bought three empanadas to take away with me, and was happy to reheat them crisp in my oven, and the vegetable one had potato and carrots and were nicely spiced. The chicken and beef ones were very nice, too. All with crisp crusts and that Mojo sauce. laughs I'm really into the Mojo sauce. The food takes a while! Be warned, it really isn't FAST food, but it was tremendously worth the wait and every single element we were served was hot. The Cuban coffee got delayed significantly, but our juice and ice water came very quickly. So the service might not meet some expectations? But the food is so completely worth it, I'm still giving this...