#175 After visiting a co-worker in St. Jo's a group of us headed back to work but not before we nabbed some lunch. Being in West Tampa, which is a target rich food enviroment this should not have been much of a task and it wasn't. It wasn't hard to find lunch. What proved to be harder would be finding a "good" lunch. Driving on Habana south we stopped for the red light at Tampa Bay Blvd. On the right was Arco-Iris Cafe. We decided to try their Cubans as no one had tried them here before. Arco-Iris Cafe is a branch of the Arco-Iris Restaurant on Columbus. The Columbus location is 4-5 star good, although I had never tried their Cuban. So in we go and order Cubans all the way. Got back to work and saw that they were large and cut sharply on the angle so familiar from West Tampa Sandwich Shop. That's where the similiarity ended. This was a ham sandwich. Oh it might have had a sliver of a slice of pork and hint of swiss but it was a ham sandwich. Once again I was reminded of the heaven that is the Cuban from West Tampa and how they excel over all the others. No one tried anything else so I can't report on other items but the cafe has a full cuban style menu. It is very pleasant and bright inside and the wait staff were friendly and helpful. It has about 20 tables so there is ample room. I would go back and try something else but from now on it's West Tampa for Cubans. Nothing else will do. read more

My girlfriend loves the artwork outside so we decided to try this place out. Workers seemed very laid back, which can be interpreted as lazy depending on your perception. I ordered the original Cuban sandwich and found an open table. Food took a bit to come out so I was getting hangry. Sandwich was eh, nothing great pretty bland to be honest. My girlfriends food was also sub par. This paired with the slow service was not the greatest impression. There's a lot of better spots in the area so most likely wouldn't come back. read more

Arco Iris Cafe - Cuban sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

I'm a American of cuban descent, raised and surrounded by pre Castro Cuban, so no lack of ingredients due to embargos stories here), who all know what a cuban sandwich is. I've eat Cubans most of my life with the national drink of Cuba to wash it all down. The cuban sandwich in the Arco Iris is a ham sandwich w/ barely any roast pork, NOT a cuban. The sandwich was layered 7 slices of ham, 1 thin slice of roast pork, 1 thin slice of Swiss, a few thin slices of salami, a few thin pickle slices, mustard, and mayo. A true cuban has more roast pork than ham, and more cheese, as Swiss disappears when melted. Any add ons like salam, lettice, tomato, and/or mayo should not be standards for the sandwich. Lastly the size of the sandwich was correct, but they did not offer the smaller MediaNoche(midnight) option. If you are looking for a GOOD Cuban sandwich, this ain't the place. read more

Okay Cuban food, but not nearly as good as it used to be. Arco Iris was probably the best Cuban restaurant in town for decades. Not much to look at but terrific food, generous portions, friendly people. I hadn't been there in about three years, went back today. Still generous and friendly, but the food was disappointing, fairly bland, not well prepared, not well seasoned at all. The caldo gallego might as well have come from a can, and the bistec salteado was really bland, mostly just seasoned with the juices from the beef (which wasn't seared well) and a little vinegar. I really miss how this place used to be, maybe they need a new chef. Sorry. read more

Excellent latin food with a lot of entrees to choose from. Have you ever tried the "Cuban Pizza". Try it, you'll love it! The price is right too. read more

OMG the food here is the best. Authentic!!! The chicken soup is to die for and the fried rice. Yes I said fried rice. Highly recommend

The Cuban food at this spot is freaking fantastic! I usually try out Cuban restaurants and judge them by their bistec empanizado (breaded steak). At this restaurant, it was great, so that's a WIN. I'll be honest though, this place has been around forever. This review reflects my first experience here, but it's been a local favorite for a long time. I'm sure I'll be back next time I'm in Tampa! read more

It's been a while since I've wanted to check out Arco Iris. There was no disappointment what so all. The menu had a wide range of fare or ll tastes. The kids opted for breakfast (eggs and bacon) while the rest of us tried the rest of the menu. Though I wanted to first try a Cuban o other sammie, the lamb shank special drew me in off the whiteboard. My wife had her go to meal of Ropa Vieja and the eldest had spaghetti and chorizo (who'd ave guessed). Plates were copious and delish. Cuban bread came out warm and devoured by al. The waiter was friendly and attentive. The flan caused a fight between siblings and finished off with a cafe on leche. This makes for a nice weekend lunch tradition. The only drawback was limited parking but we didn't have a problem. read more

Always my FAVORITE go to Cuban food. I've never had a bad meal here. Reasonably priced and huge portions. Literally everything is delicious and authentic Cuban food. I stop in whenever I go to Tampa. Café con leche, stuffed potatoes and deviled crabs are a must!! read more

The fried rice with shrimp is so delicious. I could eat that as a meal and be very satisfied. We had the fried chicken, grilled fish, and grilled chicken. Everything was tasty and felt like you had a home-cooked meal. Great place to dine. read more

This was our first visit here. As a last minute search for a breakfast place that was open on Labor Day it did not disappoint. I was familiar with the location as many friends and employees of our frequent here. The service was good, the food was great and the turnaround was fast. We will definitely come back for lunch one day. read more

First time picking up lunch and definitely going back! Had the breaded steak with sweet plantains and fried yuca. It was delicious! The steak was perfectly done. read more

Great Cuban food but if you are looking to dine there on a Monday you might be disappointed to find them closed. Their Yelp profile says they are open but I've been there on Monday and it was closed, tried calling and no answer. ‍ read more

As a Cuban, it's been difficult to find food as good as my family's cooking. Purely on taste and flavor, the food here is 5 stars! I love their ropa vieja and picadillo with congri, plantains, and yuca! Those are my go to :) read more

Some food is good, Cuban bread is horrible always taste stale. Service is ok, sometimes I get put on hold and bounced around from person to person other times they get our order wrong. They need better organization and attitudes. read more

Looking for an inexpensive lunch near the airport and we were lucky to find this place. The food was really food, especially all the soups. Everything we ate was very authentic and tasty. The service was awesome as well. read more

Not as good as it used to be in the old location. The last time we were there, they added a $3 fee to the meat dishes. It seemed like they only served about 50 cents worth on the plate! The wait staff and especially the cashier would certainly help their business if they were more friendly. read more

Love the ropa vieja con arroz blanco y tostones. Been coming here for many years & it never disappoints.

Best Cuban authentic mom and pop around. Very similar to Miami. Best Cuban sandwich, El bistec salteado was very good, the mamey Shake, frita cubana all have been good. Colada con azúcar. read more

If you are a lesbian, avoid this place. You won't get waited on after you sit down. My wife and I experienced this 3 times and this last time (today), we decided to leave. It's obvious that the female server didn't want to wait on us today and she's done it in the past too. So, I will accomodate them. I will never be back and not recommend them to anyone. And their cafe con leche sucks. Not gay friendly at all. read more

This place is amazing. The atmosphere and employees are so authentic. The Cuban sandwich is amazing and only costs $5!

Family was visiting Florida for the first time. We were told of a small place with great food. The food was delicious. Service was good. One draw back for me (just cause I'm a salad lover)...they don't serve avocados and their salad is extremely bland. Other than that it was good. I will definitely go back..and maybe I can bring my own avocado to accompany my food . I recommend this small but delicious restaurant to anyone visiting. read more

I have to say,after hearing how good this place is supposedly ,I was very much disappointed. A large group of us came after a funeral. The room wasn't ready first off. So I ordered just an empanada and a deviled crab. The empanada was pale with very little meat and one whole green olive. The crab had about an inch of breading and no crab to speak of. Disappointed is putting it mildly. Would not recommend. read more

Nice, quiet, and small little spot in west Tampa. Spanish is the primary language, but English is spoken. I brought my Son here to eat. The prices are really low and they give you large portions. I ordered croquettes for appetizers 3 for 1.25... My son ordered not 1 but 2 Cuban sandwiches. I ordered Carne con papa with Arroz Blanco and yuca. I was super stuffed. I will definitely return. read more

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We were in town for Pride and had tried the other location before it closed, so our friend Bill who lives in the area suggested we try the other location. Glad we did. Wonderful Cuban food and a nice setting in more of a neighborhood place than the other location. Staff were so nice and food came out fast and delicious. Will be back next time I'm in Tampa. read more

My first time visiting but won't be my last. I had the lamb shank which was excellent. I highly recommend it. The prices were affordable and food portions were large. We had a large party of over 35 people. They did accommodate us. read more

Great service,tasty authentic Cuban food, great prices. Pleasant place to sit and eat. Easy parking. I'll definitely be back.

Wow this ciban food is magnificient, cuban food in Tampa is better than in Orlando proces were fair food was amazing

I order breaded steak and they served it still raw red bloody . The breading was saturated in oil . I saw the line cook he also takes out the trash. The places has gone down hill. I saw serve people send food back. read more

Great place, great service!

Waited WAY TOO LONG for service. Girls chatting behind the counter & it wasn't even busy. Of course food was just lukewarm by the time I got it delivered to my table. The Cuban bread was cut small & it was hard. My pork had quite a bit of fat (30%). I left very disappointed. read more

Average cuban food. Probably one of the better Cuban restaurants in Tampa. However they are not to the quality of cuban restaurants in Miami. and oh yes. The owner Jorge is a major league A Hole read more

Found this hidden gem a few weeks ago and it is SO GOOD! The food is fantastic and they have great prices! We've been 4 times in only the 2 weeks we've lived here and will definitely be coming back for more. Keep up the awesome work! read more

Madeline the owner did send me a refund and I appreciate it but still doesn't take a way the fact that we couldn't eat Xmas Eve because the pork was tainted. She said she would of replaced it if I would of called that day but it was already 6 pm on Xmas Eve when I started to heat up the pork , people were already at my house and it was so I didn't even think to call assumed they would be closed . read more

I don't know why this place has good reviews. Coffee y bitter. If I wanted burnt coffee, I would go to Starbucks. Food is subpar.

Loooove this place! Food is the bomb. Very affordable. We come every year to Yankees Spring Training. Close to the George Steinbrenner Field. read more

I have been to a bunch of West Tampa Spanish restaurants but this was first time at this place and I think it's our new favorite. The place was very clean. The service was good. The food prices were excellent, ranging from 7-10 bucks. The 2 food dishes we tried were excellent and very authentic tasting. We had the creole shrimp and the Russian fish. The only complaint was the shrimp dish we choose was the most expensive dish on menu (15bucks) but I don't know why. Even though it tasted awesome, the size was comparable to the rest. Overall, Will diff return to this place. read more

This place blew my mind. The waitress was really nice and helped us figure out what we wanted. The food was great. Defiantly going to stop by again next time Im in town. Wish this place was closer to home worth the drive to visit. read more

The best Cuban food in town. Clean excellent service and the best fried rice in the world. I go at least once a week. Be sure to have a flan for desert. read more

We came to this restaurant for a late lunch during the week of Thanksgiving. We were all visiting from out of town, coming home to Tampa to visit, and wanted a taste of home town Cuban food. That's what we got! We ordered WAY too much and sat there grazing on it, thoroughly enjoying the experience. It was a nice welcome home meal! read more