Old Havana Sandwich Shop and Cafe

Reviews 4

DC

DC Roe

Nothing about our visit was actually bad, but after reading the reviews, and hearing it named the best Cuban Food in the Triangle, I cant pretend I wasnt disappointed. Theres better Cuban food in the Triangle, but youll have to go to Cary or Morrisville. The Service The Service was...weird. When we got there all the tables were filled and there were 3 parties waiting. So, full, but not what youd call a long wait. But there was no way to sign in or stand in line so you just had to hope that they sat you in the correct order. Then one of the staff asked one of the couples waiting if they were willing to share a table with someone else. They said yes, and wound up with 4 people sat around a cafe table for 2, and awkwardly ignoring each other. We said wed rather wait. The Food Im a big fan of Cuban food, and growing up in Hialeah, Ive had plenty of exposure to authentic food, so in order to properly judge I ordered some old stand-bys--A Cubano sandwich, fried plantains, and croquettas, and my wife got the pork pâté--all of it to share. The plantains were good--soft and sweet, with crispy burnt edges--no complaints. The croquettas were...off. Traditional croquettas are deviled ham with a coating like panko crumbs. These were filled with roasted pork, and had a coating more like hushpuppies--they werent bad, but they werent as good as traditional ones...the texture was drier and less satisfying. The sandwich suffered from the same problem that all the Cubano sandwiches in the Triangle suffer from--there is no Cuban bread in the area, so they make due with something else--whatever they chose was too dense. But they were oddly stingy with the mustard and the pickles were those trendy sort-of-dill pickles instead of the strong dill thats more common. In a traditional Cuban sandwich the mustard and the pickle are the acid--the tang--and with them missing the sandwich was fine, but not noteworthy. The standout oddity of the meal, though, was the pork pâté, which wasnt pork pâté at all. It was a terrine of pork, and was under-flavored. When you order something called pâté you expect something soft(ish) that you can spread on toast (in fact, thats its definition), but what we got was chunks of pork pressed into a mold. Meh... The Price Generally speaking, the prices were reasonable. The two exceptions were the black beans and rice. To order a side of each would total $6.25--thats crazy for black beans and rice. The reason its a staple is that is basically the cheapest way to get protein into a poor population.

BR

Brian Warner

I heard lots of great things from reviews and wanted to try it out. I really appreciate the farm to table approach and was a huge fan of Chef so of course I had high expectations for a shop that specializises in this type of cuisine. I grew up in the south and are very familiar with using good quality pork for cubano sandwiches. However my experience overall was poor and these are my reasons as to why my rating was so low: First, I walked through the door and was greeted with a cloud of deep fried and oven roasted grease. This cloud permeated for the entire visit. My best guess is that there is not adequate exhaust to handle the cooking and could be easily remedied with an open door or fan. Ok pretty minimal, but personally I dont like smelling like a deep fryer all day. Second, there is little to no customer service. No warm smile, no welcome, no have you been here before, no nothing. Just place your order and step aside. I know this topic is a bit polarizing for some folks that just want to eat and leave but I like to at least have a greeted conversation as a customer. Third, the pricing. I got 2 sandwiches. One was $12 and the other $11....these are just sandwiches right? The $12 one was double meat which was so difficult to discern from the other sandwich without double meat that the extra $2 seemed to not carry any weight in the pork department. Compare this with any other sandwich place where you can actually see double meat. As far as value these are more like 5-6$ sandwiches and certainly not double that. Taste wise they were good, but still pretty average. The bread was a bit dry, the pork had good flavor, the pickles were a perfect thickness, but the mustard tasted like a standard yellow Heinz. Fourth, I must have waited over 35 min. for 2 sandwiches and it wasnt very busy. This seemed way to long for me given the effort required to make these sandwiches. Im sure that I may have caught them on a bad day but still think that the overall experience didnt warrant a return trip. I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone wanting to get good quick food at a good value.

JO

John Morris

Quality 3/5. If I need a light snack I may stop by again. But the price simply doesnt justify it. Parking is about 5 cars tops. Youll have to drive a bit away. Service 3/5. FORCING your customers to TIP before you even get your meal presents a pressured environment. The waitress explained to us "We ask you to pay up front so that you can enjoy your meal." I dont know the kind of service Im going to get. I dont want substandard service however just because the staff thinks Im already skipping out on paying a tip - when I simply want to wait and see if a tip is even deserved. I can enjoy the meal just fine without paying first. It seems like more of a disguise to avert eat-n-go nonpayers than anything else. Cleanliness 4/5. The tables had this oddly, sticky grease coating and if youre expecting to sit down and enjoy your meal you get the feeling youre supposed to clean your own tables as well. Which leads me back to why Im even tipping to begin with. Price 4/5. For the prices youre paying for the sandwiches youd like to think that at minimum - youd get a bag of chips or one side with your order. The sandwiches are okay but like others have said... THEY ARE SMALL. I barely had any pork on my sandwich. For claiming to be "The Best Cuban Restaurant in the Triangle" I was very disappointed because there wasnt any real flavor and the wepa sauce was weak and watered down. The food was mediocre at best. Its too much of a hassle with parking, forced pay and tipping up front and expensive bland sandwiches with no sides to ever warrant a revisit. We wont be back.

JI

Jim J

Cmon Durham, lets change this - every time I reply "Cuban" to someone asking me what I had for lunch that day, the inevitable response is, "Oh, from Cuban Revolution?" Sigh. You can keep the neo-Warholesque, Che-chic pop-art vibe. Ill take the real thing, even if it means a few less posters of Marilyn Monroe on the walls and no liquor. The owners (who youll probably find behind the counter) are down to earth and incredibly focused on making a damn good product. Theyve taken the first floor of a neat historic building that once housed a radio station during WWII and converted it into an airy and sun-lit space, with soft colors and the sounds of jazz trumpet and drums emanating from an Ipod on a typical day. A 57 Bel Air parked out front instead of a hybrid would probably complete the feeling of being in Havana, but you cant have it all... Ive been coming here for a little over 2 years, and although prices have risen theyre still a great value for the quality. The Café Bustelo coffee is amazing - this place could function as an excellent coffee shop even if the sandwiches and maduros werent so addicting.