the lentils and white rice, ropa vieja, arepas and cortadito and café con leche are real good . (and pretty much everything I've tried) I don't know where Mi Apa gets awarded the "best Cuban place in Gainesville", but Flaco's is clearly the better option. read more

This place is the best. The people who work here are stupendous and the food is always consistently awesome. I usually come in for a late-nite egg sandwich on pressed cuban bread, swiss cheese, and a little pepper. Haven't tried their taco bar, but have heard good things about it. read more

It's 3 a.m. and you're piss drunk and hungry. This is not a good combination. You have two options. For one, you can go wait in the drive through line at McDonalds or Checkers. This is just not cool. Or you can walk on over to University and 2nd, and if your senses are not shot by the copious amounts of Miller Lite or your nostrels aren't suffocating with cigarette smoke from the bar, you can probably detect the divine scent of sweet cuban bread being pressed over at Flaco's. Yes, Flaco's: the best Cuban (possibly only) sandwich food place in G-ville. The great thing about this place is that the service is relatively quick and they know that everyone walking in the door is a drunk monkey. I mean, these guys must bank. But anyway, there's room to sit inside and meet some interesting night owls. Thursday nights are open mic nights where you can hear some of Gainesville's best local folk and eclectic bands. My favorites: Media Noche, Cuban and the empanadas . read more

So here the deal... I totally would have given five star but I'm genuinely upset with the hours of operations for their midtown location. It's so incredibly inconsistent. I understand having varying hours due to the slowness of summer but at least communicate with your customers base. I went to go eat there the other day and they had written in the back of a paper bag with there hours in a very confusing/careless set up my opinion. Long story short it was 530pm and the sign said they open at 6pm so I waited because Flaco's is one of my favorite places to eat. Then when a staff member is in there I go to knock on the door to order and he barks at me at the fact that they will not be open till 7pm. I am just upset with the lack of accurate information and the rudeness to a customer that is seen on a regular basis. I give enough of my money to this business that I don't think that I deserved to be treat as the way the staff member did to me. All and all with hours and staff treatment aside their food is absolutely amazing and they are reasonably price with many options! Love you Flaco's but please get it together... read more

Flaco's Cuban Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Great food at very reasonable prices along with kind welcome and great service. But if you are into look of the place, this is not your cup of tea. But if you want good Cuban food and pastry, then you gotta try this place. read more

Flaco's Cuban Bakery - Bakeries Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

Really disappointed in this place. The pictures of their food looked so good, I had high expectations. My friend and I got there after 8, so we could only order off their taco/burrito menu. I got a sunshine taco, which was supposed to have tempeh and veggies. However, what I received was basically a lettuce taco, with a couple veggies mixed in, and no tempeh to be found. The tortilla tasted stale and gross. I didn't enjoy the meal at all. I do still want to try their sandwiches and bowls, but I now have a bad impression of this place and I'm not sure I'll be going back. read more

So good! I love the staff and the Cuban sandwich is mucho mucho grande bien. The space is fun and I have a lot of good memories here and my time in Gainesville is always linked to Flacos. Like a dependable friend I can always come to and feel better in its presence. read more

This little restaurant has the BEST beef empanadas! I assure you one bite and you'll be in love too! The prices are very affordable and the quality of their food is excellent! read more

best cuban sandwiches. also their quesitos are amazing and the iced coffee is better than starbucks

Best burritos on University Avenue, in my opinion. Flacos has a very diverse menu with many good options. My personal favorites are the aforementioned burritos and the arepas. However, everything else I have tried on the menu can be pretty good. Flacos is not flawless, however. The business hours are very inconsistent. I have walked in several hours before scheduled close finding them just about to close. They are very customer sensitive and will close early if business is slow. Another problem is that Flacos does not always have all of their ingredients. One might be craving an Arepa or Avacodo Garlic sauce only to find that they are out of cornbread or avacodos. Lastly, the empanadas are very inconsistent depending on who makes them. I recommend to the restaurant using discos instead of puff pastry for less flaky empanadas that are easier to get a good feel for when they're ready so that they don't burn. That said, Flacos is amazingly good and cheap to boot. If you are in Midtown and Flacos is open, give it a try. read more

My sandwich had only one of the stated 5 ingredients. No sauce no cheese onions or peppers. It had no flavor no tenderness overall just a real piece of shit. read more

Price-Overpriced for what you get Atmosphere-Not quite done with the construction look Service-Ugh Food-Unmemorable Cuban food made by noncuban people just don't taste right, actually kinda weird. Their sandwiches was nothing short of disappointing and their pastries were nothing special to gloat about. I hear they do most of their business in the morning....if I was drunk and needed to use the pisser I would shell out money for something I wouldn't even remember in the morning. read more

I am CUBAN. This place is NOT! No taco has ever been made in Cuba, no arepas either. If you claim to be Cuban, get your cuisine straight. This place is a disgrace to the culture. The food is nothing even close to authentic. If you think it's good then you need to actually eat real Cuban food and you'll realize it tastes way better. read more

Lord Pretty FLACOS Jodye! This Cuban hole in the wall restaurant is my go to spot if I want wholesome and spicy food at the same time. Usually my food is only really spicy because I love siracha sauce! Any who I always get the combo bowl with either a variety of chicken, pork or beef. I don't do lentils so black beans for me paired with white rice and plantains. I really haven't ventured away from my first clutch plate. But they do seem to have other interesting eats. I'm gone try something new someday soon. I used to eat at another Cuban place in town, but that has all changed since FLACOS. Just check it out if you are in downtown Gainesville it will be worth your while! read more

I hate to give anyone a bad review. Most of the time I'd rather not even give it a review if the place is not good. But after reading all the good reviews for Flaco's in Yelp*, I think people deserve a warning. I give it one star because the kids working there are all very nice and cool. And I give it another star because the bread is good. But other than that, naah! In the first place it's not anywhere near real Cuban. The Ropa Vieja (shredded beef) was dry and overloaded with cumin (real Cuban food uses very lttle cumin, that's more of a Dominican or Mexican thing, even a Mojo adobo has a balanced amount of cumin.) It had very little of the green pepper and tomato flavor that is the soul of the Ropa Vieja. The spinach empanada had potatoes (!?) in it. Where the heck did that recipe come from? And the Pork sandwich my wife ordered was flavorless and bland. Even with the Mojo (not real either, Publix Mojo is closer to the real thing) on it, it just was not authentic Pan con Lechón. She couldn't finish it. I'm getting to think that most of those 4 and 5 star reviews were from people who've never had real Cuban food. (And, no, "Mi Apá" is NOT authentic either, though their Ropa Vieja is much better than Flaco's, and they do have Cuban steak sandwich on their menu.) And finally, the prices at Flaco's were just too high. If you want to try some real Cuban food, take a ride 350 miles down to Miami and get yourself to La Carreta or even any of the little cafeterías in Calle 8 or Hialeah. I was VERY disappointed. read more

The food is good at the place across from UF, but the service is a joke - a bad joke. The store is manned by unsupervised part-timers whose job there seems to be a low priority. We had not just a single problem with a simple order, but a series of problems including inability to process a credit card, failure to make the proper change, but that's not all. We called in an order, showed up 30 minutes later to a store empty of customers and he had not even started on the order. read more

Apparently they've been in Gainesville for 9 years... I think I found a gem here. I have yet to try any food from here, but the Cafe Con Leche that I had was amazing. I still want to come back and try the food, it looked pretty good too. read more

This place is good but beware of the burrito. I had a burrito a few weeks ago ago and encountered some gas, but I wasn't sure if it was because of the burrito. Last night I returned and I can now confirm with definitive certainty that the avocado garlic burrito is the culprit. Let me be clear, this is no ordinary gas we are speaking of. I awoke in the night, not because of the stomach ache, but because my room smelled like someone had left a piece of human feces on the floor. I made nothing of it and kept sleeping. However, in the shower I let one rip and it was the most disturbing grotesque odor I have ever smelled. It smelled as though a skunk had crawled into my anal cavity, let out all of its scent, died, and rotted for weeks. The gas you will get from this burrito is unlike any you have ever encountered. It smells as though you have literally let out a piece of diarrhea in the form of a gas, and it lingers. Because of this burrito I will walk around in fear for the entire day. If i am so unfortunate as to let on out while in class or around any acquaintances, I will surely scare them for life. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. read more

Great late night spot. The sandwiches are big and delicious. I always stop by when I'm in the area and it never disappoints!

Oh Flacos, how I love thee especially on a late night after drinking at Nellys! Hands down, my fav place to get a burrito and you can't beat the price for what you get. Wait staff are super friendly and helpful. I've never been disappointed when I roll through. read more

Beware, this is not a bakery, its a diner. That being said ... I went there once. Good food. Great motivated service. Decent prices. I went there again and they were out of meat. Pork, Beef, Chicken, every type of meat. The person (know-it -all undergrad type) behind the counter was unapologetic and tried to push some vegetarian dishes on me. She could have said sorry come back in 20 minutes, 2 hours, tomorrow, Monday, ... would have been the right thing to do. I have nothing against vegetarian dishes, I just don't goto cuban joints for them. read more

Food is good. Great late night place.

How difficult is it to get an order right?! I came in WELL before the drunk crowd (circa 12:30am when the place is absolutely dead) and they STILL messed up my order. My order was simple: one sunshine and one empanada. First, the guy tries to ring me up for just the sandwich ($6.96) and I kindly reminded him about the empanada (so my bill rose to $9+). I checked the bag and, seeing two items, thought everything was fine. Then I get home and what's in my bag? Two individually wrapped halves of a sandwich and no empanada! Seriously, maybe if they stopped screwing around and flirting so much behind the counter they would actually get an order right. The food is mediocre and overpriced anyway, thus 2 stars for Flacos. And look out midtown! (apparently they're opening a new one there...) read more

I was born in Cuba, moved to Miami when I was seven, and then continued to dine mostly on authentic home-cooked Cuban meals until I turned 13 (which is when I rebelled and independently began feeding myself crap). And although Flaco's food can't hold a candle to my abuela's cooking, it does taste pretty good, especially the media noche. read more

This is by far a place you can get the best tacos in Gainesville! They also have incredible empanadas and several other foods to choose from. Best part is that it's open late read more

This place is amazing. I walked in off the street because it smelled so good. I wasn't even planning on eating anything but the owner saw I was pregnant and told me the quesitos were better than the ones in Miami. THAT is a hard taste to beat but she was right! I will be back to try the Cuban sandwich soon! read more

Me and my friends have come here before and we would've given them a 5 star rating that time. It was fast, despite the very long line, and the food was extremely good. We went last night with to show our friend who'd never been to Gainesville how good it was. When we got there the line wasn't long at all really. The dude with long hair that's usually there was nice, and efficient with the time it took to order. The shorter girl on the other hand is my biggest complaint. She called my name for my food ONE time and then turned around and went right back into the kitchen, no time to grab it at all. Then when she came back out 10 minutes later I asked if she had called my name or any of my friends because at that point we had been there for an hour. She said she'd check. She came back out and said I called your name multiple times and nobody claimed the taco. That's is completely wrong and I didn't like how she tried to dumb me down for her mistake. I would have completely understood if she just said what had actually happened. Then she didn't give the person we were introducing to the store a fork or spoon for his bowl, causing him to literally eat the bowl like a dog. In summary, first time was excellent. Second time, complete doodoo. The girl needs to not drink on the job, considering another excuse for her messing up was "I may or may not be a little messed up right now." Long hair dude, keep it up. read more

Best Cuban sandwich ever! Definitely coming back for lunch and going to try some pastries next time.

This is a perfect example where the food is 5 stars and the environment (no A/C, dirty bathrooms, broken fountain drink machine, etc.) is 0 stars. I will round up the 2.5 average rating to 3 since any place that offers sriracha sauce to its customers deserves a bump. read more

Cheap place to get pretty big burritos. Best late night. Not a spot I'd head to in the day.

I try there Cuban sandwich and it was so good wish they would have put bacon on it, I would recommend people to try the cuban.

I love Flaco's. You cannot find a better deal in town, plus the food is filling and delicious, and it's fun to sit near the windows and people-watch. My favorite dish is the plantains and cheese sandwich, but I have also had the ropa vieja bowl, which is also very, very good. Tacos also cannot be beat. There is parking in the rear of the building (rare for downtown!), and there is plenty of seating. read more

I crave this place. Gainesville is full of awful restaurants, and this place is a gem. The ham and cheese (or jamon y queso for the aristocrats) is the best late night meal the city of Gainesville has to offer. read more

This is my favorite place to eat in Gainesville! The food is amazing, I always get a sunshine on the sweet bread. The staff deserves a ton of credit for dealing with all the drunk people. delicious! read more

One of my favorite quick and easy downtown food venues has to be Flaco's Cuban Bakery. Flaco's serves up a number of delicious pressed sandwiches on Cuban bread. Usually staffed with only one or two employees, this place is not ideal for large, group orders, but it can be a quick and easy place to stop in for a bite. They also have a tendency to get a bit loud and rowdy later in the night, particularly after bar closing. Flaco's has many traditional Cuban dishes like ropa vieja. Although the name literally translates to old clothes, ropa vieja is a shredded beef dish served over rice. Personally, I enjoy their empanadas. They offer a variety of empanadas, but some kinds are known to sell out over the course of the day. I recommend the chicken or the spinach empanadas, but they also offer beef and tempeh varieties. These empanadas are a little small, so go ahead and order two. For dessert, I recommend the guava pastry. The light, flaky crust is a delight, and the sweet filling really puts a finish touch on any meal. My absolute favorite is the simple egg and cheese sandwich. I always add ham and tomato and it's always perfect. read more

I love this place. Easily best late night food in Gainesville. The tacos and arepas are so yummy. Best thing in here is the quesito (pastelito de queso, essentially). Get one. read more

I looooved it. The cuban is highly addictive and the Sriracha hot sauce was a very nice bonus. I only wish they were open 7 days a week...

Pork sandwich was dry (no onions at 4pm no mojo) took 20 minutes to get my order. Only 2 other customers during time frame and they got there orders before me. Turns out server is the grandson of the owner, nothing like job security. All the individual cared about was flirting with the female customers. Have eaten there a few times before and it was passable but $30.00 for 2 pork sandwich's, 2 coffee's and a couple of guava pastry is ridiculous. You do not run out of onions for a sandwich at 4pm is nothing but incompetence, if you do not care to make a sandwich correctly I don't care to patronize your establishment. read more

One of my favorites. Would rate 4.5 if that was an option. Ropa rice bowel with lentils is the way to go. They make a very good Cuban Sandwich as well. Service is great and always with a smile. Can get a little busy from time to time, but well worth any wait. read more

Best food for hangovers...lol get the sweet cheese desserts called queso something. Also they have good empanadas for the kind of joint that it is. The tacos are cheap as well. Good vibe,but easily crowded late at night when all the clubs have just shut down. read more