I am from New York and was in Rochelle Illinois visiting family who had arrived from Cuba a few years ago. They missed Cuban food and had just had a baby so I found this hidden gem. It was a 75 minute drive but it was worth it for them. I called to check what time it closed and was told 9pm so we decided to arrive at 8 for dinner. When we got there apparently there was a mix up and they actually closed at 730 ! Well thanks to Yesenia she made it all better. They kept the restaurant open for us and made sure that we were able to have an amazing meal. Now that alone should merit the 5 stars. But the food was amazing Cuban food. The steak and onions were savory and paired great with the rice and sweet plantains. The pork was on point and from a fellow Cuban that's a high praise. Desserts were delicious and The mojitos were the perfect blend of sweet and minty. Thank you Yesenia for making us Santigueros so very happy and welcome. Will definitely be back for that oxtail. read more

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Great food and friendly service but they're a little overpriced, and they have a fee for card transactions, for aome reason. I had missed breakfast and had to have a late lunch so admittedly I was very hungry: a medianoche sandwich, Cuban coffee, tostones, and two empanadas de guayaba for $38.88. The food itself was authentic Cuban American (it's better here than in Cuba, believe it or not) and the waitress was super friendly, though. read more

I need coffee from here all the time! Super cute little cafe in the neighborhood. They are so quick with attending to you when you walk in. I was picking up to-go to have a snack for school pick up and they were so quick. The staff is friendly and so helpful. I need so come back to have a sit down meal. I love the interior and the lively atmosphere. read more

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Great place for Cuban food. The atmosphere was great with perfect lighting and art murals on the walls. It's my understanding that this place just recently moved to this location. They should be extremely excited as it's a great area. The staff were extremely wonderful and polite. Food and drink were wonderful. The lechon sandwich was outstanding. The meat was very tender and well seasoned. Aak for the mayo on the side so you can taste the before and after difference. If you like oxtail, you will not be disappointed. It's very tasty and tender. Loved it. Oh, I brought it home as a meal to eat later. One awesome thing they have going on Friday's is they have live bands playing starting at 8, if I'm not mistaken. read more

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This was a very cute, clean restaurant A few of my friends and I met up here for a light dinner. I ordered the Cuban bowl, very simple.. Rice beans, avocado cucumbers and chicken... Reminded me of a poke bowl..... My friend ordered the breaded steak she said was also delicious.... For what we ordered I appreciate it wasn't heavy. I left there feeling good about what I ate... I'm not really familiar with Cuban food so I really cannot tell you about authenticity but I can tell you that we did enjoy it... Only issue that I had was the server which she was adorable but she didn't really speak much. English was kind of hard to communicate with her... As a customer not being familiar with the menu, I would have liked to been able to ask her about it... Overall was delicious read more

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Love this little spot. The food is always delicious. They have live music on Saturday nights! read more

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I love this place! The owners are great! Awesome food and incredible energetic vibes! Please go visit read more

Fabulous dishes. Get the fried Yucca! The Miami and Cubano a thumbs up. Flava flav read more

Very quick service. I had the Cuban sandwich. Large servings. The pork on the Cuban sandwich didn't seem very flavorful.

What a cute place! I ordered the Ropa Vieja and Congri and both were delicious. They had Materva, one of my favorite sodas, also. Service was friendly and prompt. read more

Yesenia provided timely service. The Jibarito was a good version of this plantain sandwich; I've had better and I've had worse. I asked for some hot sauce and all they had available was sliced jalapeño bits to put on the sandwich. I'd have preferred it more saucy with something like cholula or other sauce, than just mayo. The ambiance was pleasant and served as a good gathering spot for friends to get together in central Oak Park. read more

***** for the service and great live music. Good location for parking and the vibe was great. You gained a loyal customer.

Food mighty close to authentic! Croquetas were very good! Note: if you order pork masas comes with rice and maduros! (Menu doesn't say it) impeccable service. Thanks for a great experience! read more

What a quaint airy place! We arrived at an off hour (between lunch and dinner) however as we were almost done eating several people arrived. With that being said the tables were placed at a comfortable distance. We were greeted by a person who was our waitress. She asked right away about a beverage selection. We both wound up ordering Sangria (side note, some of the fruit was definitely "aged"). On a scale of 1- 5 I would give it a 3.5. The glasses were beautiful. We ordered Empanadas (chicken & beef) as an appetizer. The crust was a bit thick for my liking, however tasty. The filling seasoned well. There is a dipping sauce which was a bit overpowering for the taste of the empanada, however after adjusting how much sauce did taste better. On a scale of 1 - 5 I would rate 3.75 One of us ordered Ropa Vieja and the other Enchilado de Camarones. Both meals were hearty and delicious. Ropa Vieja was seasoned well, meat tender and when combined with the black beans rounded out the taste. The Enchilado de Camarones was equally tasty. After mixing the sauce with rice the flavors rounded out, and with adding the black beans turned into a perfect bite. I must admit that I was hesitant because the rice was plain, however its mild taste complimented the Creole sauce the shrimp was cooked in. On a 1 - 5 rating this dish hit 5! Our waitress was pleasant and very attentive. All in all it was a pleasant refreshing meal to kick off our 22nd year of marriage. I would recommend getting your taste of Cuba at Cafe Cubano! read more

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Great food, service and location. Def will return. Parking was easy as well. We enjoyed everything about it. My friend had garlic shrimp and it was delicious. Also churros for dessert were really good with guava sauce. read more

Café Cubano - Cafe - Cuban Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

If you are looking for a great Cuban sandwich spot, you've found your place. This was my second time at Cafe Cubano and it was amazing, as expected. My partner got the Ropa Vieja sandwich and I got the Miami sandwich, and we each gave each other half (the way to do it). 10/10 recommend the plantain chips for an appetizer, you get so much, plenty for 2 people. Their sangria is amazing and you can tell that there is love here. Thank you Jasmine for the wonderful service! read more

Café Cubano - Miami sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Pleasant atmosphere, welcoming service, generous portions of delicious meals. Like the wall mural and unique decorations. I consider the cost well worth the experience. read more

Decent food! We liked the shrimp with rice dish (Sorry forgot the name!). We also ordered the sampler platter that came with a variety of appetizers - everything was fried. It was okay - did not have a favorite. Our waiter was nice and gave us what we need. It is roomy inside with nice decor around the restaurant. We came for lunch on a weekday so it wasn't too busy but it was the right mix. read more

If you go there Jasenia is amazing person, she is the reason we go back over and over, always give my wife hugs. Food is great, mojito's are amazing. The staff makes you feel like family, live music is great too. read more

Café Cubano - Cafe Cubano - Cuban Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

I had a really nice experience here for lunch with a friend! My Cuban sandwich was delicious, and they have some fun non-alcoholic drink options. The service was kind and prompt, and I love the ambiance in here. I will be back to try out some of their bar drinks, too! read more

New Oak park restaurant that was a long time Elmwood Park staple. Had dinner there with my husband and 3 year old. They took the old space which was a short lived Jewish deli and before that Geppeto's pizza and painted the walls really beautiful and vibrant. Everything we ordered was delicious, meat was tender and flavorful bean and rice on point. We were waited on by the owners grandson which was very sweet. It's only been open for a few days when we visited the food and service was excellent, I am very hopeful they make it in the space! read more

Very cute restaurant on Oak Park avenue. I loved the Cuban sandwich I ordered. Service was a bit on the slower side, but the food made up for it. read more

Yo!! Have been going here for years since they were in Elmwood Park. Didn't realize it was a complete move from Elwood Park to Oak Park. Finally got a chance to try it last Friday, and it is excellent! Everything is good, everything is tasty, and your time is worth it. They did a great job with the space- given that it was formally Geppetto's, then Fritz bagels. Love Cubano s as the new home! read more

Everything is great at this place. Service was awesome! Food is really good! My Cuban husband said the food is truly authentic Cuban food. Brings him back home. The place is bright and tables are far apart from each other. Great place to hang out with friends or go on a casual date night. read more

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I visited Cafe' Cubano twice. The first visit when they first opened the atmosphere was wonderful. The live music, lighting, service and food were all delightful too. On my next visit, if there was music, we couldn't hear it, the lights were so bright it felt like a middle cafeteria especially with the screaming kids. The service was poor but the food was good. I want to go back and have an experience like the first time. Hope you're reading your reviews! read more

Really love their platanos, rice and beans etc. love that they are in oak park and their sign (I know weird thing to notice) is so nice! A great, different, treat for dinner read more

Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. There are so many better restaurants in Oak Park. My family used to eat here all the time when they were in Elmwood Park. We were looking forward to trying their new location. I don't have anything positive to say about our experience. The ambiance is boring. It looks like someone went in their basement and hung up all of the random stuff they found. There's mismatched tables - not in a cute deliberate way. There are outdoor lounge chairs. It's very odd!!!! The other location was cute and felt like you were walking into an authentic Cuban restaurant. Next the food, they were out of 2 of the 5 things we tried to order! When you have such a small menu, you should have everything available. We got the appetizer platter. A few of the things were edible, but most were extremely bland. There wasn't a sauce or anything. NOT worth $25. When my sandwich came out, the meat was raw. I had them just take it back and cancel the order. Our waitress never asked if she could get me something different. Instead, she stayed away as much as possible. My son's black bean soup was just that... blended black beans - no seasoning. My husband said his sandwich was nothing special. My mother said her sandwich was messy and the bacon was raw. None of us will ever return. read more

Very glad this is in Oak Park! Wonderful croquettas and great service. They've done a great job with the decor.

Lovely evening here. Food and music adds to a delightful evening with friends. And it brought us to dance to add to the cachet.

Tried café Cubain for the first time. The Cuban sandwich was flavorful quite filling.

Good food, but the service was painful. It's also rather expensive considering you could get a comparable meal in other neighborhoods for less. (When I lived in Washington heights in NYC, you could get a Cubano just as good on literally any corner for half the price. ) I think I'd feel better about the bill if the service got its act together, and I'm sure they will. All our waiters were kind but no one seemed to know what tables needed to be taken care of. The table to our left sat down soon after we did and left free of charge for their sodas because that's all they had been served by the time our dessert came. It took three waiters almost thirty minutes to come around to our table to take drink and food orders. We sat with water hoping to be noticed. I think they have potential to be a great little spot once they get the service down, but at $70 for two (excluding tip), it's hard to feel good about the whole experience. read more

Café Cubano - One of the fruity cocktails my wife ordered. Very cute with the flamingo but nothing to write home about. - Cuban Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Ambiance makes it feel like you're in Miami! Tasty food, I got the Aji rellenos and Cafe bombon.

Love the music The food is naturally heavy but delicious, so plan accordingly. Great service and love the Cuban tunes! Will return! read more

Ok, I was so excited for this restaurant to move into OP. I took the whole brood there for mom's day and I must say, the food was AWESOME! Further, the interior design and art are simply amazing, fun, and fitting given the nationality of the food being served. As others reported however, the waitstaff seemed messy. Took too long to be waited on initially, lacked follow up after the order, and lacked follow up after the food arrived. When we finished, I thought that I was going to have to go find our server and ask for our check. When I have to wait to pay, it is unacceptable. We figured that this was a result of the restaurant only being opened for a short time and it being mom's day so I was willing to give it a pass. Then we rec'd the check. The check was broken down into two columns: one for cash payment and a second for credit card payment. I looked back at the menu and no where did it suggest that there would be different costs depending on payment method. When I compared the check to the menu, I noted that the menu prices are based on cash payment. Seriously? How many people come in for a $180 dinner and pay cash?? AND NO WHERE ON THE MENU IS THIS MENTIONED. I get really annoyed with restaurants that charge the customer 1.5-3% additional for using a credit card. This is the cost of doing business! If you really feel the need to do this, simply roll the cost into your menu prices (and then consider offering a discount for cash). But when the menu fails to indicate that the advertised costs are contingent on using a certain payment method, and this fact is not divulged until the bill shows up, it can almost be considered fraudulent. This really pissed me off and it is unfortunate given how awesome the food it. I hope that the restaurant will improve the waitstaff and stop this bait and switch crap with their pricing. We would like to come back but not until these aspects are addressed. read more

Pros: Great location, fun decor, good music, friendly wait staff, good drinks. Cons: Waited 45 min for appetizers. Patrons in the same position looked miserable as they waited for their meals. Appetizers: ropa vieja on tostones and ceviche. The ropa vieja needed to be seasoned better, there was too much meat served atop a super thin tostone that resembled a chip all served on a gross-looking lettuce leaf. The ceviche was such a boring presentation, some of the tomatoes cut into the mix had black lines, and the accompanying tostone chips were over-salted and difficult to eat. We decided to leave instead of ordering anything else. The place has potential. Hope they can turn it around before they go under. read more

We have gotten Cafe Cuban twice now and we've been happy with the results. My kids enjoyed the empanadas and the beans. My favorite is the chicken skewers, delicious and fairly healthy option. My wife likes the Cuban bowl. I look forward to trying some other things on their menu. read more

Was excited to try this place but was underwhelmed. The food was not interesting and somewhat bland. Total for 3 of us was about $100.

My friend and I went here for the first time and we just loved it. Super cute, great service. I had a lovely cocktail and a cuban sandwich. We both had flan. We will definately go back! read more

Such a great find for us and we can't wait to go back. Everything we tried was delicious.

Great food & the Cuban restaurant on the Westside of Chicago. Bar just adds another aspect to the eating experience, you can hang out out too. read more