We came here during our trip to watch World Cup at SoFi Stadium. I was specifically looking for a Cuban bakery in the area to take some guava rolls and this place did not disappoint. I bought a dozen to take home and it was delicious with just the right amount of sweetness and flakiness. This is a mom and pop place where you can either dine in or take some to go. The place is very clean, quaint and homey. The lady spoke to us in Spanish at first but then she probably realized that we're non-Hispanic speaking visitors. They have sandwiches and rice plates from the menu as well as dessert and of course Cuban coffee. There is only one person attending the restaurant but she manages to keep the flow going. We will be back here to try the sandwiches and rice plates. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Guava rolls - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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So annoyed .. My family is from Cuba and I grew up having Cuban food and I always get excited when I see a Cuban cafe.. and the women behind the counter ruined it for me .: I ordered a media noche but she said they didn't have it so she walked away and not even asking if I wanted anything different starts taking my order and wrote down a Cuban sandwich of which I didn't order. So she walked away and I said excuse me I'm trying to order some baked items and I had to repeat it three times that I wanted pastelito de carne y guava And then walks away again I said are you even listening to me ? Can you just stay still a moment to take my order ? I had to ask her to please focus and she mocked me saying she was focused and then lastly asked me what I wanted to order ! Bye ! I won't be back read more

Amazing Cuban tamales and tequinos (the small little sausages) never tried a Cuban tamale before and it doesn't disappoint! I came in seeing lots of people grab and go and it didn't disappoint. A really cute atmosphere and good eats! read more

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The lady at the counter is not friendly..... so like for real please go knowing she is not warm or welcoming lol. But the food is so worth it. You go to a restaurant to eat not so much for the friendliness- although that would be a perk- but I come back again and again because the food is sooooo good! The media noche sandwich, the stuffed potatoes, the ropa vieja. Soooo good. read more

Pace is great Cute little coffee and cakes spot Workers are so friendly and nice Quick service all around. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Hazelnut cafe latte (L) - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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Cozy little place with delicious guava and cheese pastry. I understand the negative reviews of the service BUT to be fair, the lady seems old school and some people depending on their background and culture have a strong attitude that they will not change for anybody. They are not fake just straight to the point. So no complaints. With this said, the lady was a bit serious (not rude) and greeted me with an Hola! Hi! Good thing I know Spanish. After politely asking a few questions about their menu and ordering, she softened up chatted a bit and gave decent service. Food: I tried the guava and cheese pastry which were so good with the perfect crunchy flakiness I also tried their cafe con leche and sugar to sweeten it up and it did not disappoint. Their 'ropa vieja Cuban sandwich' was very tasty too with perfect seasoning and flavor. I will definitely come back and try other things in their menu. read more

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Walked in for lunch, it was fairly packed but looked like everyone was done eating & just chatting, since I seen there were plates that needed to be picked up. Two of us sat at an open table in front of the register & waited a little over 10 minutes before we left because we were never acknowledged. We weren't sure if they were suppose to come to our table to drop off the menus + take our order or we go up to the register & order. Regardless, we didn't see any menus out in display to order at the register. Before we decided to leave the person had walked to the back to handle something's for a while, until they came back out. When she came back out we waited a little while before we officially decided to leave to see if she acknowledged us. She didn't. So we just left. I hope next time is a better experience. I understand places can be busy but all it takes is to acknowledge someone's presence. This place wasn't busy though. read more

Homey spot for Cuban sandwiches and baked goods. Came here for lunch with my boyfriend on a weekend and we originally tried splitting one cubano, but it was so good that we ended up getting a second one. If you dine-in, the sandwich comes with a side (which in this case, were fries). We also got Batidos - you can get this with milk or water. We had a mango one with milk and a strawberry one with water - both were very large portions and very well mixed. The sandwich is made to order and you can get take-out or dine-in. Credit cards are accepted. They speak primarily Spanish but can speak some English. read more

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Teen wanted to serve Cuban food for a birthday celebration. We ordered Cuban sandwiches cut in thirds, small meat pies, and guava cookies and it was a hit with all the teens. Perfectly sized and portioned to munch on throughout the night. The sandwiches were beautifully wrapped and looked great when we put them on a platter for serving. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

The food is amazing but the wait is so bad. Every time I come here I've waited more than 20-30 min. I wish they would have better service. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - I rang this bell for help 10 mins ago:) - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

Potato Balls omg. THIS is what they're supposed to taste like! Still warm from the Doordasher's car to my doorstep, these wonder-balls has a super-crispy breaded crust, a firm layer of mashed potato, and a moist and well-seasoned core of ground beef. New addiction. Must eat more! Sandwiches are another specialty here, especially the deceptively simple Cubano. It's a layered ham and cheese, but the way the make it gives it a subtly elegant finish. The Bistec de Milanese features a very tender cutlet, but it's a bit blander and could use more tang in the onion and pepper mix. Pan Con Lechon is a fun one. A roll stuffed to the gills with garlicky roasted pork. If you add a dash of whatever hot sauce you have at home, it goes from very good to amazing. I'm sad you can't Doordash the desserts, but I'm quite happy with just potato balls anyway. Would definitely eat those and really any of this food again. read more

Only came here since place next door is temporarily closed. Stood at the counter while the lady working there acted like I wasn't in front of her. No greeting then after two minutes asked for my order. I ordered potato balls, they were mid. Then she didn't charge me left me standing there while she walked around and spoke with the cook. Finally after another 5 minutes she charged me. They have a sigh for 3.99% off if you pay with cash. There was no discount from what the menu listed vs what I paid. Another 5 min and she brought me my order. They were not busy and I now understand that others critical of their service are spot on. read more

I was in the area for an appointment and found this place. Got the most amazing sandwich cubano, cafe con leche, guava and cheese pastry and a dulce de leche cookie. The area and the exterior doesn't look like much but don't let it fool you! The food was really good and tasty. The sandwich was hot and melty, the bread perfectly crusty on the outside and soft inside. The place feels homey, the service is homey, and I enjoyed my time there. It's was a little warm inside but I didn't let it bother me. I am always looking for the best dulce de leche and I can tell you that the cookie I got hit the spot like no other. It has the perfect consistency, flavor and color. All the other pastries look amazing too but couldn't fit anything else. I will be back to try more next time I'm here. Prices are very good. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Cubano Sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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Initially came in for something sweet but ended up getting both savory & sweet. I got their guava con Queso pastry & a potato ball. Omg, it fulfilled my craving of savory & sweet. First off, the potato ball is double what you might get at Porto's & the potato....oooh the best & the seasoned ground beef & freshly warmed, yum! Almost wish I would've gotten 2. And the guava pastry was perfectly flaky! Can't wait to go back & try other things like the batida. Thank you, Cafe Cuba & Cakes for making my day better. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Potato Ball to-go - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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Yes, the service is slow. Like Miranda Priestly said, "By all means, do move at a glacial speed, you know how much that thrills me!" But, the guava cheese strudel is so delicious, I actually like it better than Porto's. It was worth it! read more

Kinda terrible service before I even had a chance to try anything. I walked in to the front and went to the order area and informed the lady who welcomed me in Spanish, I just wanted a chai latte. She then walked away and took a bunch of dine in people their stuff. I awkwardly stood there for like 5 minutes, another worker came out and literally ignored me too. I legit just wanted a drink but was very rudely not acknowledged with even a simple "we will be right with you" Guess I'll save some money and get a drink elsewhere. I was open to trying the food on a return visit but I'll just skip this spot in the future read more

Had the media note your sandwich. Don't have a Cuban grandmother, what if I did that sandwich tasted like how she would proved to me that I was her favorite grandson. It was perfect. If you like Cuban cuisine do yourself a favor. read more

A Cuban cafe serving up pastries and delicious authentic Cuban food. Stepping in feels like entering a home, with the Cuban-themed decor and the salsa music playing in the background. As a a small family-owned business, expect a bit of wait time to order. Most customers seem like usuals and usually strike a conversation with the sweet waitress. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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This spot has some good cuban pastries as well as cuban sandwiches.the iced coffee is also delicious.the guava con queso pastries are bomb read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Vanilla iced latte - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

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Excellent lentil soup in ample sizes, the "small" is huge. Pollo sandwich is gigantic, on crisp bun with tender white meat that can easily serve two people. Staff doesn't speak English so it is difficult to communicate. read more

Everything here was amazing, the food was very good, we had a great time and loved the service and ambiance. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Pastelito de Guayaba con Queso Ropa Vieja Plate 10/10 - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

Pollo a La Plancha was very basic home cooking, nothing special, chicken could have been browned a bit more but it was fully cooked, , black beans good. read more

Was looking for Cuban food around the airport and was excited to find this spot. Was in only for a second but the place was busy, the service was quick and very kind, and the medianoche I got was delicious. Love supporting smaller businesses especially with food that reminds me of home. read more

Saw a comment that rosita's bakery from huntington park relocated and renamed so i went to try it out hoping to find some good pastries but unfortunately that was not the case. Their food is okay a little bland and no pastries only thing they had was the pastelitos de guayaba but it was either burnt or didn't have much filling. Also, the service was not great maybe because they were only 2 ladies and short staffed ?? but the lady who took my order did not seem welcoming or happy to take my order. read more

Great food and coffees. Sandwiches were great and so were the potato balls. Service was fast and very polite.

After being raised in LA for so many years. I learned that this cafe had been in Hawthorne for many years. We ordered the Frita Cubana, plátanos maduros, some pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Refugiados) and Pineapple. It seems as their pastries have a coconut and sugar wash to give the bits a different sweetness layer. We included each a Cortadito, which HIT the spot on a rainy afternoon. The service here was very attentive and fast in a laid back environment. I most definitely recommend this Cafe, over other competitors who have grown too big and have undermined the product. This visit took me back to my childhood being Cuban in LA and going shopping with my parents doing the rounds supporting our community. read more

This store needs to have better communication skills with its loyal customers. I guess they didn't feel like making my order via DoorDash before closing so they did not confirm it. Instead of making me wait almost an hour they could have simply cancelled. Not to mention I also had an allergic reaction from eating their Ropa vieja one time. So they could definitely be more careful when preparing food. read more

Stood by the counter for 12 minutes without even being acknowledged. Only reason I stayed was because someone was craving their food. When the lady at the counter finally talked to me she said you'll have to wait because the people at that table (just sat down) are before you so I have to serve them first. I mentioned I was before them so she was like ok what do you want. Very rude, not friendly at all. It's really a shame because the have good food just the service sucks. People sit at the tables forever before she even comes to take an order. Oh and they charge a fee to pay with credit card. read more

Their oxtails and rice are This Hawthorne gem has really good pastries too. If you like Versailles, you'll love this place. read more

Let me start by saying that this place is incredible. I had no expectations when I decided to give this place a try.. But even if I would have, they'dve been blown away. When you walk in, even with all the chairs up, you instantly feel the culture of the place. The music draws you in as the ceiling fans circle round and around. A woman with a lovely accent comes out from the kitchen to greet you, and you can't help but get excited about the food you are about to get because you know she was just prepping for it. And that's how I felt. I gave her my order of Bistec de Milanesa Sandwich, Cubano Sandwich, Papa Rellena, Tostones, Pastelito de Guayaba con Queso, and Pastelito de Carne. Bistec de Milanesa Sandwich-- Now THIS is delicious. The steak was done beautifully, seasoned well, and the shoestring fries compliment it wonderfully. The sliced tomato and onions were done just right. It was awesome, and I would totally get this again. Cubano Sandwich-- It was decent. Not the best cubano I've ever had, but it wasn't bad. I do wish that they used a more intense mustard, as it seemed kind of mellow.. Rather than a bright mustard that you'd expect in a cubano. The same goes for the pickles; they were so subtle that at first I thought they were forgotten, until I got to the second half of the sandwich. The meat I think is probably pre-sliced stuff. The bread toasting could have been better, too. All of which again, doesn't mean it's bad, only that it didn't particularly stand out to me. The best Cubano I've ever had belongs to El Conchinito on sunset blvd. Papa Rellena-- Oh man, this was incredible. I've never had anything like it. The meat inside was seasoned perfectly, and the contrasting textures of the golden crispy outside to the fluffy and warm inside was entrancing. It was just the right size, and I felt totally satisfied after finishing it. Highly recommend you snag one of these! Tostones-- SO good. Perfect, even. I would not change a thing. The thickness, the flavor, the texture were top notch. And the sauce they give you to dip it in was wonderful! This will be my shining example of tostones, for sure! Pastelito de Guayaba con Queso-- I am a huge fan of guava, so I was really looking forward to seeing how they use it here. It was quite good! The crust was perfectly done, and the guava and cheese dance together on the tongue in a wonderful way. While good on its own, I bet it would be great with a cup of cuban coffee! This place is out of the way for me, but I would definitely make the trek for it. This is officially where I will send people for good, authentic Cuban food. Pastelito de Carne-- Yum, this is the perfect take away snack. read more

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Amazing food. Staff in the front not so friendly but I'll still go for some pastelitos , when I'm in the area.

Honestly, the most delicious Cuban food I have ever had! It's homemade, delicious, and well priced! I've been coming back for years now because their coffee is absolutely amazing. I had their Cuban tamale today and it beats all the tamales I've ever had! The croqueta and papa rellena are to die for! The pastries are better than the ones you'd get at a chain restaurant. Hands down the best restaurant in town! read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Papa rellena, croqueta, Cuban tamale and Iced latte (cafe con leche)! - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

I ordered some guava and cheese pastries cut in half for my baby shower and they were delicious. Their service is friendly. If you call, you might find that they don't answer right away, so just call again. They are always busy, so it isn't that they are ignoring the phone. read more

Family and I stopped by to try their cuban sandwiches and they were tasty. The potato ball was big! We had a lot of their pastries to go and my favorite was the coconut one. There was only one waitress working so we had to wait a little bit but we weren't in a big hurry. read more

Cafe Cuba & Cakes - Cuban Near Me - Hawthorne, California

The sandwich and pastries from here are great. My family has been coming here for years. But the experience I have had with the lady answering the phone, the same lady I'm assuming that the other 1 star reviewers have mentioned, is beyond rude. My wife called to ask about the status of some pastries we ordered, and the reply she got was "I don't see any order with your name and if you ordered it they should be here sitting on the counter. I don't know why you have picked them up." It was almost as if we were being scolded for not having picked up the order yet. I literally stopped with what I was doing at home as I was in shock with the tone in which she was using to speak to wife. Lost a longtime customer over nothing. Horrible service. read more

First, order the guava pastries. So good. I got a guava and a guava and cheese and I'm not sure which is better. I also ordered a cortadito which was pretty strong and definitely gave me the caffeine boost I was looking for. I love that this is a locals place and is close to home but never realized it was there before seeing it on Yelp. It is kind of hidden but is definitely a must try. They have meals here besides just getting pastries and coffee so I will be back to try those. read more

I really am a fan of Cuban cuisine. I've been to various Cuban eateries in the southland such as Porto's, Versailles and a number of others. I was looking for a place to have a light breakfast and especially get a good cup of coffee. My search on Yelp brought me to this place in Hawthorne. It's a nice-sized eatery with tables and chairs as well as a section with a rattan sofa and armchairs facilitating a group of friends to be able to sit around and visit with each other while enjoying some good eats. I was drawn to the papa rellena which is the potato balls filled with meat, in this case, ground beef. They also had the Cuban guayaba which is a pastry filled with guayaba and there is also one with guayaba and cheese. These delights are $0.95 and go perfect with a cup of coffee. I went with the large regular coffee so I could get free refills as I planned to take advantage of the free wi-fi and settle down and do some studying and work. The papa rellena was freshly made as it took a few minutes for them to deep fry them for me. They are $3.25 each but if you order a pair, you get a discount and pay $5.75 or so. I was immediately served the guayaba after finding a table which was enjoyable with my hot cup of coffee. They have sandwiches for order as well as hot plates such as the Ropa Vieja, chicken plates and tamales. I have to come back to try the Ropa Vieja which is one of my favorite Cuban dishes. The service is very friendly and I was able to use my Spanish in ordering and in my conversations with the staff. They do speak English as well. I will definitely return again to enjoy the other offerings at this quaint and authentic Cuban eatery. read more

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This was too funny to not share... This morning I had a pastelito craving and decided to give this place a second chance based on the reviews and photos. Yep, been here before. Yelp has it opening at 9am. I'd been up since 6, but I decided to wait three hours to eat because I really wanted a pastelito and cortadito. When I walked in at 9:01 there were already four tables finishing their meals, so clearly someone posted incorrect info. It only went downhill from there... Walked up to the counter and saw that they had a couple of loaves of Cuban bread, a small display case with a couple dozen guava and meat pastelitos, but no one behind the counter. Good, I thought. I'll get some stuff to go. It was probably a good minute before finally, a lady comes rushing out of the back and says to me as she's flying by, "Vas a tener que esperarme un buen rato porque no te puedo atender ahora mismo! Tengo aquella mesa primero, así que siéntate. La otra muchacha no vino y estoy sola..." I had to take a moment and look around to make sure I wasn't back home in Miami, LMFAO!!! That was straight out of the 'Miami Unfortunate Customer Service' handbook! Instead of, "Buenos dias, mire disculpe que estamos un poco atareados, pero tome asiento y ya lo atiendo," fue mas bien como un regaño, LOL!! I thought to myself, 'this can only get worse...' so, of course I walked out, and immediately called the wife and we howled with laughter reminiscing over similar bad service experiences we had back home. Ah, good times.... But yeah, no, I won't be back to this place. I'd rather wait and get the real thing when we go back home to visit. read more

I was very happy to come by and find a authentic Cuban restaurant. I will definitely be going back.

In a pinch, thank goodness I found this spot open on New Year's Eve day. I'd originally planned for Porto's but dreaded the thought of waiting in a long line, plus this place was closer to where I was going. I asked the cajera how long they'd been at their location and to my great surprise she said like 8 years! The menu had your typical selection of Cuban coffees, Cuban pastries and Cuban sandwiches. The bakery display didn't have much in it beside guava pastelitos so I took all 9 of them. Then a lady from the back brought more out but the batch she brought out was guava AND cheese which are the best- super flaky and flavorful- so I took a dozen of those too, along with a dozen of the meat pastelitos- not enough meat or meat flavoring but the same size as the guava pastelitos. The prices of guava pastelitos are like 1.25 each and the meat were 95 cents but they were both about the same size. When I'm back in the area, I'll definitely try tue coffee and sandwiches. read more