El Cubano — Restaurant in West St. Paul

Fantastic, family-owned local restaurant! I never had the pleasure of trying authentic Cuban and Dominican food until I went here, and now I learned that I love it! El Cubano has come a long way since their days as a food truck, and has become one of my favorite restaurants that I go to almost every week, if not several times a week (and I've never had any problems or complaints with my orders) whether to eat in, or carry out ( and the 20% military discount is also highly appreciated).

Food: all right, let's talk about the most important thing first, the food is amazing. Lots of good stuff on the menu, from appetizers lots of (grilled /fried items) to their classic sandwiches ( my favorite), to larger entree items. Some of it may look rather exotic at first (I mean, that's kind of the idea) but then you try and find out it's delicious. And none of it is really spicy.

Portion sizes tend toward the generous side. You could easily bring a friend, split one of the sandwiches, and feel quite full afterward.

If you've never had Cuban/Dominican food before, and you don't know what to try, my recommendation is to try one of the grilled sandwiches (comes with a side of Yuca fries and mojito sauce) and perhaps the croquetas ( they're like mozzarella sticks, but with meat inside them instead of cheese).

They've expanded the menu quite a bit in several months since they started out, so keep an eye out for new items and specials as they come out.

Service/Staff: the service has always been top-notch, friendly atmosphere, and I'm on first-name basis with all the staff. Absolutely wonderful people. Service is very prompt, although if you come there during one of the busier times ( it is a very popular place), it may take a little longer.

Atmosphere / location: El Cubano has made great use of that space that used to be a bakery and was sitting empty for a long time, it's a very nice central location, however oh, the parking lot is fairly small, so if you're in the area, it may be easier to just walk there like most people do.

Inside, the place is always clean, bright, well-kempt, and family-friendly. Items of Cuban and Dominican culture tastefully decorate the walls, and lively Latin American music plays from the speakers. The bathroom, which is off to the left-hand side of the order taking area, has always been very clean. Sometimes, when it gets particularly busy, it can be practically standing room only, but don't forget there is a second dining area off on the right-hand side of the restaurant.

All in all, one of the best new restaurants in the city, if you haven't tried it, you're...

This place was pretty average. My husband and I weren’t blown away by it. I had the wild-caught Red snapper, it came with black beans, white rice, sweet fried plantains and a SMALL palm size salad for $22.95, my husband and daughter ordered the Cuban steak sandwich, each sandwich was $15.95 and 2 orders of croquetas the chicken & ham for $5.95 each. The prices are not on the menu and I couldn’t see the prices online either. But we spent with tip and credit card fee a total of $83.96 with no drinks. My food tasted good but I would have liked some sort of garlicky lemon sauce on my fish. My husband said the steak in his sandwich wasn’t tender. The bread is not the authentic Cuban bread. Authentic Cuban bread is more flaky. And the croquetas weren’t good. Skinny and flavorless. They came with ranch which doesn’t go. This place has more of the Dominican taste rather then the Cuban taste. Should have been called El Dominicano instead. But thats just my opinion. My husband is Cuban and we both lived in FL for a long time and know what our Cuban food taste like. I think it was fine to go there once to say we tried it but we won’t be...

El Cubano blows me away every time. I’ve only been here three times and tried two dishes, but every meal was out of this world delicious. The ropa vieja is fantastic, I had that twice, but the juiciness, rich flavor, and fall-apart tenderness of the slow roasted pork in their el guajiro was on another level. Everything tastes fresh, the food always comes out piping hot, and it never took too long for my plate to get to my table, even when the restaurant was fairly busy.

I don’t know what the staff secret is, but everyone in this establishment is on another level - and it’s not fake, either. The young woman taking my order was genuinely friendly and helpful. The chef and any help they may have are phenomenal at what they do. Even the wait staff, who physically did little more than bring me my food, check on me once, and take my dishes away, both radiated a sincere kindness and desire to put me at ease. I really felt at home here.

Whether eating in order dining out, I’d rank El Cubano among my favorite restaurants in the Twin...