EATS

Posted by Chris @ 8:58 AM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

La Cubanita is a wonderful addition to the Knox St. Neighborhood. The only thing that I don't like...and this goes for all of the Lombardi Restaurants is the sub-par wine list. I have seen better wines listed at the Olive Garden in Little Rock!

Posted by brian @ 10:05 AM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

no picture for sushi sake? :(

Posted by Bert @ 10:24 AM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

La Cubanita is not typical of Lombardi's other great restaurants. The food leaves much to be desired, as does the ambiance. In addition to Chris' comment about the wines, the reds are served too warm.

Posted by Shannon Sutlief @ 11:36 AM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

Brian: We would have loved to show what Sushi Sake's interior or its food looks like, but the owners were a little camera shy.

Posted by Michael @ 12:08 PM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

As long as you know its not real cuban food, but more of a cuban tex-mex fusion, it's fine.
Couple of obvious ones...Why serve illy coffee (italian) in a cuban restaurant? Go 5 miles down the road at Fiesta and pick up some Pilon or Bustelo. Cuban food doesn't serve guac. or quesadillas. Arepas are not cuban and cafe con leche is cuban espresso with warmed (not steamed) milk..tastes much different..not american coffee.? A cortadito is sweetened espresso, not (again) steamed milk with italian espresso. It's the details that can easily be adjusted that kills the authenticity of the place. It's false advertising. It should be called Havana Mex's American guy cafe.

Also, service is questionable. I had one who looked like he was just released from the county jail and never got our meal right, but wanted to talk about how he was hung-over from a night of partying.

Posted by Churros @ 1:02 PM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

La Cubanita is not Cuban food. I am not sure what it is, but it was not good. All would take for the owners, is a trip to Miami to the many Cuban restaurants there, including the favorite Versailles, to learn what real Cuban food is all about. And Guacamole? Even if it's not Cuban, there was enough for maybe 1 chip in the tiny cup it came in.

Posted by Phil @ 3:35 PM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

La Cubanita is completley over-rated! Much, much better Cuban food can be found at Carribbean Cafe in Frisco (and other locations, I believe).

Posted by Claire @ 5:32 PM Thu, Apr 03, 2008

I love the atmosphere, but I think the food is just so-so. And ditto on the skimpy "cup" of guacamole and salsa. You could not literally fit one chip in it. HELLO! This is Texas! Everything needs to be bigger!

Posted by Alex @ 10:37 AM Fri, Apr 04, 2008

I don't agree with Bill's review. This place is far from having true Cuban food. I agree with the previous posts, the name of the restaurant is very misleading. A place calling itself La Cubanita should have real Cuban food, like Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, Ropa Vieja, Croquetas de Jamon, I can go on. This is NOT a Cuban restaurant.

Posted by Bill Addison @ 2:38 PM Fri, Apr 04, 2008

I find these comments intriguing -- it seems like there's an unusual amount of passion around La Cubanita's bastardized version of Cuban cuisine (and I don't disagree, I call out the Americanized dishes -- but that doesn't mean I had bad-tasting food there.). Why so much ardor around Cuban in particular, gang? Is it because there's so little of it in this area that you were hoping for intensely specific authenticity?

And I just want to mention to Alex above that my review never stated that LC was a bastion of "true Cuban food" -- though I do think the lechon asado nails it. Also, the restaurant does offer arroz con pollo, picadillo and ropa vieja.

Regardless, sounds like I need to hit Caribbean Cafe.

On a traveler's note, my favorite Cuban restaurant in the country is in Key West: www.elsiboneyrestaurant.com

Posted by Brad @ 11:19 PM Fri, Apr 04, 2008

We love the food at La Cubanita especially the roast pork, the arroz con pollo and the ropa vieja.
Just like the places my family and I ate when I was a child in Miami. I even enjoyed some of the non-Cunam items like the guava pastry dessert with ice cream. Delicious.

Posted by Carlos @ 8:45 AM Sat, Apr 05, 2008

I agreed with the mayority of the reviews here. I went with my wife and a friend. The music was extremely high. I went to a cuban restaurant not to Gloria's. We could barely hear our waitress, which by the way I gave her a 3 out of 10 in service. We order an appetizer sampler and a variety of entree dishes and it was mediocre at best, including the coffee. My wife and I are big time dessert people and it was also mediocre. If they would have charged me half of the price then I would have say it's fair. No disrespect to you Bill, and this is the 1st time I write something here, but unless you are from a latin country and get exposed to this food every single day you are not gonna noticed the difference. This place is overrated and overprice for the product. Better places are Caribbean Cafe, Chic from Barcelona and a new addition to the DFW area www.eltumilatinrestaurant.com.
This last place is the real thing. Real peruvian food from real peruvians, great flavor and prices. To resume, for the amount of money you pay here they MUST have a way better product. From service to desserts. I would never recommend this place to anyone I know.

Posted by Cheryl @ 10:14 AM Tue, Apr 08, 2008

My dining experience at La Cubanita was fantastic! The food was absolutly amazing and the atmosphere was like nothing else. My first reaction to the menu was a little sketchy, but i asked for some advise from our waitress and i just went for it. I ordered this chicken breast entre served with guacamole, yukka fries & a lemmon butter sauce. My father is a sensational cook but this was better! my fiance ordered their quesadillas and i was even surprised by just how much flavor there was. i've had good quesadillas before but this was delicious. The service was great and I've already recommended it to one of my coworkers. For my first experience trying Cuban food, i was very pleased and i will be going back again.

Posted by Alex @ 4:47 PM Fri, Apr 11, 2008

To Cheryl,

What you ate was not Cuban food, but I'm glad you liked the food.