Cuban Island Restaurant — Restaurant in Satellite Beach

Cuban Island Restaurant 2910 N. Hwy A1A, Indialantic, FL 32903

5 Stars

It seems I have broken the code on my random name generator after repeatedly disappointing Italian restaurants run by real Italians. The key to getting it to work properly is to type, as Tarzan said, “make Cuban food.” And voila, the name Cuban Island Restaurant popped out at me. Glancing at the GPS, I knew this was automatically a win as I didn't have to go to the mainland. In fact, I didn't have to go far at all as I was there in two shakes of a snake's tail. Seated and handed a menu, my glorious service professional, Normat, soon approached me. Normat is everything a wait staff member should be and more. Normat was exceedingly helpful in going over the menu with me, and to that end, I placed an order for some Carnitas, the Churrasco and chimichurri plate, and one Cuban Sandwich. Enjoying the digs, I snapped a few pics and awaited Normat's return.

Within a short amount of time, my food was in front of me. A wave of enticing Cuban aromas assaulted my olfactory senses like so many tasty atoms. With eager anticipation, I immediately dug in as soon as Normat cleared away. First I tried a sample of the Carnitas. I really love me some good pork Carnitas, and these were some of, if not the best, I have ever had. They were incredibly tender and immensely flavorful. Each bite was a veritable cornucopia of intermingling island flavors. Moving on to the Churrasco and chimichurri plate, once again, I was overwhelmed (in a delightful way) with Caribbean flavors. I could go on for pages about the complexity of the spice mix and how each seemed to enhance the other, resulting in a mountain of tastiness, but you should just stop reading and go there already.

This brings me to the final item on today's glabrous sojourn on our charming barrier island: their take on the ever-popular Sandwich Cubano. As you can see by the picture, this included a mix of thinly sliced ham and roasted pork, oozing with melted Swiss with a pickle and mustard slathered on then pressed Cubano style and toasted to a sumptuous golden brown. This tasted as good as it looked and I was in foodie paradise! This place unequivocally serves some of the best Cuban food in Brevard County and the owner is Italian. I love that!

The Big Boy says, “You want the best Cuban food, you got the best Cuban food....

We went there because of the fabulous reviews. But it didn't live up to the hype. When we walked in, the AC and fans were on full blast. Being locals, we are not used to cold AC. When I asked the person who seated us if it's possible to turn off the fan, he said he can't because of new health regulation due to the Covid-19. So we changed tables, but the one we got had the AC blasting on our faces. My hot espresso quickly turned into iced espresso. BTW, that espresso was very very very sweet. I'm not kidding. It's that cold.

About the food... toasted bread and a hummus type spread was excellent especially with their special spicy sauce. The people who got seated after us got all their food. Hmmm... weird but hey, it happens. I ordered the best seller Lechon (pork). It was dry. The vinegar and fried plantain was nice. I've tried seasoning the lechon with everything I can find on the table to save it, but nothing worked. It was just dry, and the cold AC made all that grease coagulate fast. Just like any foodie, I tried everybody else's food. Turned out that my lechon was better than the steak and the cuban burger. The fries were good, but again, that cold AC just made it soggy really quick.

I've had Cuban food in several Florida places and even in several Caribbean countries. This one was just okay. I thought after hearing all the hype that this would be the one to beat Vargas in Cape Canaveral. No sir! Vargas is still king on this side of Florida. This place is not bad. It's just not as good as I thought...

8/21: this really is a great restaurant.. the food is good.. ive been doing takeout for some time and occasionally dine in... BUT! Never have i had someone tell me or my wife ive never been too Miami! Honey i was born and raised in Miami! The ibis on my arm is a birthright! We did our usual take out order and added a side of black beans and rice.. when i called the order in the young lady taking the order sounded like she didn't understand when i asked for a side order of Black bean and rice.. the order came to $12 more then usually.. doing the math it was the side order of the beans and rice.. i asked my wife to verify they are charging us $12 for a side!! After confirming yes that was the correct price the young lady proceeded to tell my wife she's must not have been to Miami as that is how they do it down there! 2 things wrong with this statement... #1 as stated above im born and raised.. #2 ive never seen to a place that will charge $12 for a side cup of black beans and rice! I did try to call to verify for myself but they are in there rush and not taking calls till later.. needless to say ill be taking a long break from the cuban island..

4- years ago:

When they say just like your mother used to make this is the place.. being from South Florida it's nice to see a true to heart Cuban restaurant in the area. Everything is amazing the food and...