Cubana Café — Restaurant in New York

Unfortunately I’m writing a review that is not in favor of this establishment. I had high hopes when I was stationed in the area only to be let down, not do to poor service by the staff because they are pleasant but do to the greed of the owner. The food is not traditional Cuban food but there are some bright spots on the menu which revolve around the sandwich varieties ie “the Cuban sandwich” and standard arroz con pollo; other than that you will be let down do to sub par un authentic recipes. Apart from the food I will say my rating is based mainly around the actions of the owner. Cubana Cafe has a standard price for a cocktail which is between $14 & $20 which is acceptable due to the the skillfulness of their main two bartenders as both are great at making drinks and portions. Unfortunately the owner Jose requires them to make watered down drinks for an increased price in order to gain more money for his business. I had an issue do to him coming over to my table and making a scene because he felt that my drink was made with more then the standard limit after I simply ordered a standard drink and had it delivered. Look I’m a patron but I’ve never had a business owner stop you from eating because they looked at a drink and felt you should be charged more. The interaction was surprising and unprofessional at very best and when I said to him hey I don’t know what the issue truly is I was combatted with him telling me how I can leave ect if I didnt want to pay additional cost for a standard drink ect. This comes just one time after when I went for a late meal after pt and ordered a night cap that he intended to charge $20; when I asked him to make it a little stronger he said “fine you can die if you want to die I don’t care” and then poured an excess amount of liquor which I stopped him in the mist of. When I got up to leave he sincerely apologized and said that he had other things on his mind. I returned a week later for food and was met with the same disrespect as a person for absolutely no reason at all. If your in NYC just go to queens for good Cuban food and drinks Cubana is...

I would give the restaurant 1 star, but the food was pretty good so that does count for something. I will prefix this review to say, our orders were relatively simple meals and the restaurant was not crowded by any means.

My friend and I decided to go to this restaurant for a chilled bit and drinks Friday evening. I arrived a bit earlier than my friend, I ordered tostones from a waiter before my friend arrived. My friend arrived, and a man, appeared to be the manager asked about our orders. My friend told the man her order, and I indicated that I ordered tostones and I will look at the menu further. The waiter came over, and I placed my order and the tostones arrived a few moments latter. The table next to us, ordered tostones and the plates, portion size, and presentation varies from us although we paid the same price.

The man returns and asked if our orders arrived, my friend and I order did not arrived. The man became snappy, clearly had an attitude problem, when I indicated that my order did not arrive, he said all you said you ordered was tostones. I told yes, but I order something else afterwards from the waiter. He stopped off

About 5 minutes later my friend got her order, then an addition 8 minutes latter I received my order. We started eating, things started to go smoothly. Then, the check arrived. I noticed that they scribbled over a receipt and the final amount did not add up correctly. I would also note, the establishment had a 4-6 tablets by the bar running Seamless, Ubereats, etc, but they didn't have a POS (as this is a cash only restaurant) for the restaurant itself. I informed the man, he seemed to be confused, had a bit of a attitude and said he would look into it. A few moments latter, he came back and mumbled that is calculated wrong and the updated total was at the bottom.

I left the restaurant feeling a bit appalled and underwhelmed by this establishment, especially since there are several other good restaurants on the street. Not surprisingly, I definitely will not dine here again or recommend this place to...

I am the vegan of the group and although my options were a bit limited, I enjoyed the food. I ordered the arroz con vegetales, chips and guac, and tostones. I really enjoyed the arroz con vegetales! A great ratio of vegetables to rice. I do wish there had been a vegetarian protein options because I definitely left a bit hungry. Overall, I had a good experience and the atmosphere of Cubana Cafe was so cute.

As the non-vegan of the group, I ordered the Arroz con pollo. It came with rice and beans and it was a very large portion so I had leftovers. Chicken was cooked well and you had a choice of rice, I got the yellow. The elote was perfectly seasoned and there were chips and guac for the table. The shrimp ceviche came with a fruit salad and it was delicious. The only thing I wanted to mention, we had a few vegans that ordered the ‘Yucca with Mojo’. On the menu it doesn’t state any dairy in the dish and so we thought it was safe to order. When it arrived, it seemed to have a dairy sauce covering the entire top of the dish. Although tasty, they weren’t very eager to replace the dish so we just handed it over to the rest of the table and shared it while the other folks had to order something else. Overall, it was a cozy restaurant...