Copa's Latin America Cafe — Restaurant in Tampa

Copas is my favorite restaurant in all of Tampa, bar none! This little place has no visual appeal at all. With peeling exterior paint, and a spartan interior, this place draws a lot of it's clientele from the nearby port; sailors, burly dock workers wearing hard hats and sporting butt cracks, truck drivers, and local latinos "in the know" are the demographic. If you're looking for atmosphere, this ain't the place for you. But, if you're in search of the most scrumptious authentic Cuban food you ever shoveled in your yap, then your gastronomic odyssey through this wasteland of mediocre Latin fare is over. Read on my friend.

This old school Cuban cafe serves up huge portions of the best homemade Latin cooking at decades ago pricing. Giant breakfast sandwiches for $2.99, hot pressed Cubans, roast pork with rice & black beans in massive quantities impossible to finish in one sitting, old fashioned cafe con leche, and most importantly, the very best fresh made crab rolls in ALL of Tampa. Way better crab rolls for far less money than those overpriced frozen footballs offered at other restaurants and food carts around Tampa. Copas is family owned and operated by a cheerful Latino lady and her college educated son, who thinks helping his mother is way more important than pursuing his own career. As long as Copas is around, I'll never darken the door of any other Latin joint in town. Only those who heed the call...

Went there this morning as the other shop was crowded. Nothing to spectacular about my breakfast sandwich that I can place it above the other shops. My coffee con Leche was definitely not as good, it was on the weak side and not sweet. So overall I would return but only if in a hurry and everyone else is crowded. I was the only person in the place, which might tell you something, especially if two other...

I'm from BC, Canada but worked 12-16 hour days at the port across the road for 6 weeks and it was great having this place in such close proximity. The food and service was excellent and I am still trying to replicate the cafecito at home with little success. I would make the trip back to Copa's next time...