CAO Finally heard my request to come up to Tampa from Miami. A one stop shop for all your Cuban delights and desires. You must try the arroz con pollo balls. Their cilantro Crema sauce is out of this world. I dream about this snack all the time. It's also very convenient that they have a drive-through. This place can't get busy and sometimes the staff is a little slow but nothing new, just have a little patience everyone is super friendly and their location is big enough to sit down and enjoy lunch. read more

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Have to confess upfront, huge fan of Cuban food. Along w Creole, my favorite food genre. CAO is a chain restaurant (20 Florida location) that mostly features breakfast dishes and pastries. We've had the Healthy omelette, which is egg whites and a generous portion of vegetables. Excellent dish, but they trade out the Cuban toast for a whole wheat roll. Cuban bread is a must! We also tried the Pastelitos Preparadito, a nicely done small breakfast sandwich. In addition to a full breakfast and light lunch menu, CAO has an amazing selection of croqueticas, Cuban pastries and bakery. Lastly, get one of their amazing g espresso drinks. We've sampled cortados and cafe con leches, both done perfectly. Good parking, very friendly and helpful staff and great display case showcasing all of the above make CAO a great in restaurant dining experience. read more

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Cao Bakery and Cafe was convenient for me on my route to work. I was able to pull up through the drive through, order and get my food with ease. It didn't take long for me to receive my food and it was fresh and hot. I loved the fresh Cuban bread with butter and the eggs w/ bacon. The cafe con leche hit the spot on a cool morning. I would highly recommend this gem. read more

CAO Bakery & Cafe - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

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I had cafe con leche with ham Swiss and egg on Cuban bread. Both yummy and not outrageously priced. Atmosphere was open and bright. Lots of seating. Only docked one star on atmosphere because of the lack of outlets. Service was polite and prompt. I love when an establishment defaults to Spanish and encourages my practice. (They do speak English here, but Spanish as well) cool temperature even with their big glass windows. Good music on at medium volume (not as quiet as a cafe atmosphere would be). Definitely going to get pastelitos to go because they look so yummy. Food: 5 Atmosphere: 4 read more

CAO Bakery & Cafe - swiss cuban - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Cao Bakery in Miami has always been a favorite of mine, so I was excited to try out the Tampa location. The food was good, but there are definitely some things that could be improved. We ordered the Cuban churrasco steak plates, and all three came without the chimichurri sauce and onions, which was a little disappointing. The rice and beans portion was pretty small, and while the steak had good flavor, it was overcooked and had more fat than meat. I also tried the coconut pastelito, but it came out chewy and crunchy--maybe it's something that's better earlier in the morning when it's fresher. On the bright side, the frita smash burger was a hit! Super flavorful and delicious, though it was missing the little potato chips I was expecting. What I can always count on, though, is their coffee and bocaditos--those are consistently great and make mornings so much better. Overall, I think the Tampa location has a lot of potential, and with a little more consistency, it could really shine! read more

Came in to try after hearing awesome things about their Miami locations. We ordered a Frita Cao sandwich which had a wonderful sauce and cruchies to compliment the fluffy brioche bun. The ham and cheese pastry was sweet to compliment the salty ham. Atmosphere was cute and we would come back to try more pastries and coffee! read more

Come yesterday with my husband first time. Buy 2 pastelito on with coconut,another with guava. Very delicious. So a lot of choices. Very friendly woman working. Respond price. Nice looking can seat and eat,just need more cold from AC. Definitely come back and recommend. read more

Stopped in for a coffee and a sandwich . The place is very clean and bright. The staff was very friendly and helpful. We shared a medianoches sandwich which was outstanding . It had great flavor and texture and the bread was really delicious. The coffee was really nice too. I would definitely stop back here to try some other options out ! read more

CAO Bakery & Cafe - Medianoches sandwich - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

CAO is Miami pastry shop open in the Bay Area. They planned more store to be open in various locations. CAO is very similar to South Florida pastry shop way of making. Especially the coconut pastry. We got the meat, guava, coconut pastry. We also got some chicken and beef empanadas. I like chicken empanada better. We also got some bacalao Crockett. Taste is good. Even after heat it up for next day. Right now they run promotions of 1 hour before close and all pastry 50% off. Get there before the promotion run out. read more

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Ordene un sándwiches de churrasco y me decepcione por casi $16 Dlls creí que sería un buen sándwiches pues no, no vale la pena perder el dinero ya que solo ponen 5 pedacitos chiquitos esparcidos de churrasco más bien es puro pan read more

CAO Bakery & Cafe - Pan con Churrasco - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

To be honest I had this place on my list to try and was excited to be able to swing by on my lunch. I honestly had different aspirations for this place. When we arrived at first we thought it was closed due to no cars in the lot. We parked and walked in. One set of customers were seated at a table waiting for their order. This is a walk up and place your order type of place. There are ready made empanadas, desserts, etc available to choose from the glass displays. Everything looks so good but don't let that fool ya. I loved that they had baked versions of the empanadas! I got the baked chicken and a Colombian cheese empanada as well as a chicken croquette. The Colombian empanada was my favorite. Loved the corn shell versus the other version. The chicken empanada was ok but lacked something for me. The croquette was soggy and full of grease. The grease stain on my serving tray was actually gross. We asked for hot sauce but they didn't have any. I also asked if they had tea to which I was told it may be an option on the soda machine. The lady at the front didn't seem to know much or want any engagement with the customers other than ringing them up. There is plenty of seating available should you want to dine there. read more

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Welcome Cao Bakery from Miami! So glad you are here! I had to check this out, and let you know we were very happy. It was packed on a Saturday and this place use to be a Latin chicken shop, so we had been to this location before. We ordered a guava and cheese tequeno which was my fave, two chicken croquetas, received a free pastelito from signing up for coupons and picked coconut. Also a media dia sandwich and cafe con leche. Very happy with everything. It did take a long time but I can tell that the place was popular. The location is nice and spacious and has the same decor as the previous place which is also comfortable and clean. Definitely check it out for your fave Cuban snacks. read more

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I was in the area when I spotted a new business, a Cuban Bakery/Cafe. I popped in for lunch on the go. The place was clean and new looking. They were a combination bakery, sandwich shop and hot food cafe. CAO had a tidy collection of foods and beverages and a small bakery assortment. I waited patiently as 2 latina girls had a very loud and lengthy shouting match. As one girl approached she morphed into a super sweet hostess and cashier. I opted for the Media Noche sandwich and it was quite good. Since I was on the run, I took it with me for the road. It's not a place I would drive to for a meal, however, should I be in the vicinity I would likely stop in to try the steak sandwich or cuban. A pleasant place for a quick meal, without the shouting of course. read more

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The BEST Frita I've had a years! The bread was perfectly toasted, the patty had all the right Frita flavors and it was moist. The crunchy potatoes were perfection. read more

CAO Bakery & Cafe - Frita - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

Pretty good steak sandwiches and Latin pastries. Apparently they are the Latin Starbucks of Miami, and now we in Tampa get our very own! Thus far I've had a few items. Pan de buono, guav cheesecake, pan con churassco, and pan con bistec, all with cafe con leche. So, I really love variety of treats they have here. The one thing I zeroed on was the guava cheesecake, because to me it's the most unique and where else can I find that. The cheesecake was more of a guava pie to me, but nonetheless, I loved the tropical sweet taste of the guava in a smooth, creamy cheesecake topped with more guava paste. Their bread is notably light, fluffy, and delicious, in both the sandwiches and the pan de buono. I love pan de buono, and normally I get this from the bakery a little closer to me, but I love trying pan de buono from different places. This was like a fluffy cheese cloud, mildly sweet. The sandwiches are good too; the meat is always soft, tender, and well-seasoned. I love the papitos they have in the sandwiches which add some texture to it. The service here is very friendly, they also greet me when i come in. I love how clean the place is as well. This place used to be the Pollo Supremo chicken place, and even though I'm very sad they're no longer there, it's nice to know that another great restaurant is in its spot. read more

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First time here! Ordered a ham croquette, a chicken croquette, a cheese croquette, a guava pastry and a chicken baked empanada. I didn't receive my empanada or my chicken croquette. Ended up with three guava pastries. A little disappointed on the serves Two people ordered after me received their orders before me. Very disappointed I was looking forward to having a empanada. read more

CAO Bakery & Cafe - Cuban Near Me - Tampa, Florida

We was looking for coffee and sandwiches at a Latin bakery, we found CAO BAKERY& Cafe. It was FANTASTIC! ! You won't regret it. Very clean , and the food was delicious. We try papa rellena, croquet, ham and scramble egg on a flat bread, and we took it to go. We also ordered a ropa vieja, Rice and beans with plátano amarillo. It was delicious. The staff is so pleasant, and the service was great too. read more

Trying these guys out at the taste of south Tampa festival I had to visit here! The breakfast sandwiches, pastries, churros, potato croquettes everything was a hit for me! I truly enjoyed my meal and the staff was the sweetest, can't wait to go back! read more

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Amazing Cuban con leche! Great service and atmosphere! Quick service and very authentic!

They serve the more delicious Cuban Sandwich. Wow. And the ladies that work there are amazing.

Another Tampa bust. Let me start off this review by saying I grew up in Miami and Tampa eating Cuban food/baked goods. I was really hoping that this place would finally solve the problem of crappy Cuban bakeries in Tampa (they suck compared to Miami's thousands of great Cuban bakeries; Tampa has very few). But this place is even worse than what we already have in Tampa. I don't know where these pastries are coming from; are they being shipped frozen from Miami? Or do they just simply not know what a pastelito de carne or guayaba is supposed to look like or taste like? I assume they are coming frozen from South Florida, because there is NO WAY they could serve this crap in South Florida and be successful. I tried a variety of Cuban pastries from the case here and all of them were awful. The pastry tastes like it was defrosted and improperly baked/rolled. The pastry never rose (puffed), resulting in a dense, chewy pastry. The pastelitos had holes in them too. Also the fillings were horrible. Taste nothing like they should. Pastelito de carne made with ropa vieja instead of picadillo and the meat filling was salty/watery. Guava pastry filling had cinnamon or some spices that are not traditional Cuban. I don't think there is any actual baking going on in this place. Go take a look at the photos on Yelp from CAO Bakery's locations in South Florida, and their pastries there look NOTHING like the junk in their Tampa location. Something is not right in Tampa. Maybe they need a better baker in Tampa? On the plus side, the restaurant was SUPER clean and nice and the displays were beautiful. However, none of that matters if you are serving crap. I would literally rather drive 5 hours to a Cuban bakery in Miami and than eat this garbage. read more

Fix your drive thru. I have been several times. And typically the speaker does not work.

Super fast service, authentic Cuban food, and great pastries. Great if you wanna bring some extra snacks or treats to people that live outside of Tampa or more north area. read more

Good place fast service. Would definitely go back and try pastries. Parking was easy. I went later in the afternoon. Wasn't packed. read more

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The food is good, the service is spectacular, and the store is bright and very clean. I will definitely return.

Great food, friendly staff. I will recommend this to my friends and can't wait to try more items on the menu

super duper mid. empanadas were barely warm, but had decent flavor. cuban sandwich deserves a 4star though. cakes were good. empanadas were trash. I have yet to find a decent empanada in Tampa read more

Went in for a quick coffee and pastry. Interior is very nice and modern and a solid place to hang out in and eat/have coffee. The cafe con leche was great and Nutella pastellito was next level great. Staff were very nice and accommodating. Highly recommend. I'll be back. read more

So excited about this bakery in Tampa! Being a Miami native I have craved pastelitos, croquettes, and sweets Miami style and these are excellent and very flavorful. The service was real good. A gentleman saw the line building up and took our order on a device so expedite. The ambiance was nice it was busy and there is enough seating area for lots of customers. read more