Papi's Cafe — Restaurant in Tampa

Don't be tricked by the high rating like I was. I saw the photos of the food, and the review about the fried rice, and thought that looks AND sounds bad. But I thought 4.8 stars so I should give it a try. I felt totally cheated.

With so many Hispanic food places nearby, I can't believe this place is open. But I guess they have captive diners, people who work in the building.

LOCATION. It's a cafeteria inside a business building. Google Maps did not give good directions.

FOOD. The review about the fried rice did not prepare me for how bad it looks. I had much better looking and tasting fried rice from Trader Joe's.

The pork looks very dry and lifeless in the pan but I gave it a try anyway. Who knows maybe it tastes better than it looks. Nope. This was at 11 a.m. so the food shouldn't look and taste like that.

SERVICE. There's barely anyone in the dining area but it took awhile to get service. It was a good thing I wasn't in a hurry. But they were nice.

PRICE. $8/meal + $3/fountain drink. So I guess the place has low price...

Papi's Cafe is a family-owned cafe that has killer breakfast and lunch options. They're a hidden gem inside the first floor of the Florida Blue Tower. The food here is delicious - Alex the owner is a great chef and cook. Everything he makes is tasty and delicious. You can tell he puts his heart and time into his dishes.

Alex's Cuban Sandwich is hands down in my top 5 list of Cuban sandwiches. Big portion, mighty sandwich, and always prepared perfectly. You can also customize it your way. The Cuban Breakfast Sandwich is also delicious and one of my favorites. It's pretty much a bacon, egg, and cheese on Cuban bread but you can also customize it your way. Extremely delicious. For lunch they switch it up everyday and have different Cuban dishes out every day.

Everything here is extremely delicious. If you're landing in TPA and want to get something local and Cuban this is your spot. Much better than La Teresita Restaurant...

Come to Papis and come here NOW! I had a Cuban sandwich, cortado and mango juice. The Cuban was $9.99, where on the dated google menu I found $8.29 or so. My food and dining experience was unparalleled, unhindered by servers or loud typical music.

Idk if they always do, but I enjoyed classical music and box breathing in the cafe with a wonderful windowed view. I saw the lady who served me address a regular by name, and even offer to chat in Spanish with me while a patient gentleman was right behind me!

The ONLY, and I mean only things I can see really improving here are stocking the front with an abundance of snacks(think, eat with your eyes!!) and serving hot beverages in house with stoneware versus styrofoam(ew!)

I hope Papis continues to offer incredible boons to guests at affordable prices. Classical music and good food is the recipe to success here....