Cuban Sandwich Cafe

Try the Cuban sandwich with everything + that green sauce that’s in the fridge. Get it get it!

Small, local, cheap— best cuban sandwiches in central Texas! Worth coming to the NE side Austin.

THIS… IS… THE BEST PLACE EVER
I recommend this place to EVERYONE. I am a Puerto Rican so I am VERY picky on my empanadas and Pernil [lechon/​pork]. This place is as authentic as can be. Tostones done perfectly [fried/​smashed plantains] however heads up they do not put Goya Salt on it.
I recommend everything not because I am trying to be vague. I truly love EVERYTHING here. The fish is AMAZING. The Yuca al Mojo is AMAZING [I always have them add a bit more onion]
IN MY EXPERIENCE: I look for authenticity so… the other puerto rican restaurant in Austin is HORRIBLE and this is exactly like home in Puerto Rico. Closest I’ve come to it here in Austin. SOooOOooo from MY PERSPECTIVE this food is AMAZING.
In regards to it being a Cuban restaurant? I’ve never been to Cuba and can’t compare. But I’ve been to Puerto Rico a lot and I myself cook these things… And they cook here better than I do. lol
Just my 2 cents overall: I THINK EVERYONE should try this place. Its amazing. AND DON’T BE AFRAID. They speak english very well, the portions are large, its cheap as hell [burritos for $ 1.35 people] just remember its small and you might not always get seating because this hidden gem is POPULAR AND IT ISN’T OPEN FOR DINNER so heads up after 4 you’ll have driven there for nothing [done it 3 times before. this place is worth it I’ve been at least 20 times to eat lol]

My how time flies people. My first ever experience with Cuban food was at this place several years ago. I can distinctly remember being hungry and searching reviews for food near me. I kept seeing people rave about their empanadas and sandwiches.
I took that plunge and five years or so much hasn’t changed. The exception being the Tropicana which I believe may have been linked to this place at one time. Both are good at what they do though. Cuban sandwich café is the original and still provides great food.
I had a taste for a chicken sandwich and decided 12.14.15 to go back. I called my order in because I was pressed for time. After arriving it didn’t taste long for my food. Unfortunately they forgot to make my empanada. No problem, they made me a fresh one and threw a little macaroni salad in.
The food was very flavorful and filling. The way they season always seems as if they’ve melded together many spices. The grilled chicken sandwich was delicious and my empanada was pretty tasty. I really liked the fresh macaroni salad. 99% of the time I wouldn’t eat a cold macaroni salad but this stuff was delicious and fresh with nice herbs in it.
If you want food that gets straight to the point give them a shot. The people here know what they’re doing and put love into their food.

Hola! I had lunch today at the Cuban Sandwich Café. I had their Medianoche. It was very, very good. The bread was amazingly soft on the inside, crunchy on the outside, while the meat and fixings were also very good. Portions and pricing are also good. If you come with a date, my strategy is to get 1 cuban and 1 medianoche to share… can’t go wrong with that.
The only item I can think of that they could do to improve the experience would be to maintain the parking lot. There are of large potholes, plants growing out of cracks, etc… it probably hasn’t been mended in 5 – 10 years. Not a huge deal, and this obviously doesn’t make the sandwich taste any different, but I was driving a slightly lowered car and it was bad enough that I had to creep through the lot at low speed to avoid scraping.
I’ll definitely be back for more.

I started working near this café a few months ago and when I don’t happen to bring my own breakfast, I’ll come here for their breakfast tacos. They pack them full and it’s always hot, always fresh. The chorizo is particularly divine and satisfying. Just a damn good taco. Today I had their Cuban sandwich and was blown away! The flavors are there, it’s hearty and fulfilling. I cannot recommend this place enough!

Their plates are cheap and plentiful. They’ve got delicious beef milenesa and rusa salad! I was disappointed with the congri, it was dry both times I’ve gotten it. Other than that everything I got here is on point!
Don’t forget to add a $ 1 churro to your order!

After coming back a few more times I have only great things to say about this place. Last sand which I had this time was the midnight. The semi sweet bread is amazing and the meats were so tasty. The sandwiches are always hot and fresh. And you cannot beat the price of this place. Do not overlook this place so to its appearance. You must give it a try. Or keep driving by if you want and keep missing out on one of the best sandwiches you will ever put in your mouth

Really great cuban sandwiches. Fresh baked bread. And amazing breakfast tacos. I highly recommend this place. I wish they were open for dinner!

We were in Austin for F1 weekend and we got hit by some really bad weather (think hurricane). We didn’t want to venture too far for a quick lunch from our hotel so we chose the nearest sandwich shop in the area and it just happened to be Cuban Sandwich Café. Honestly when we got to the café, my first instinct was to run because it looked very run down but I’m so glad we ended up staying because the sandwiches here were fantastic! The owner of the café was also very friendly and was more than willing to explain things on the menu for us and he continued to check on us during our meal.
We ordered the Cubano (cuban bread, ham, swiss cheese, mustard, pickles, pork), Lechon (cuban bread, pork in marinade, onions) and some yuca fries. I thought I knew what Cuban sandwiches were but clearly not. This sandwich was absolutely delicious and it was served piping hot. I loved it and ate as much as I could before letting my boyfriend finish it. These sandwiches are on the larger side. I didn’t enjoy my boyfriend’s sandwich as much because it was dry. However, once I poured on some of their green salsa, it tasted just as good as mine. I haven’t had yuca fries since my visit to Costa Rica and it was just as great here. Served hot and fresh, it’s a million times better than regular french fries.
The only downside to this café is that because it’s so small, the food takes awhile to come out. Plus, it seems like a lot of people take their food to-​go so it gets a little busy. Also they forgot about our yuca fries and I had to remind them towards the end of our meal for them so it’s a little disorganized. Still, this is a great spot for a no fuss meal and I have a newfound appreciation for Cuban sandwiches! ⁴⁄₅

This place is one of my favorites. They have an excellent breakfast at great prices. The Tortas are amazing. The pastor and Cuban will leave you with a full belly or a half of sammy.

I finally came here this morning for breakfast and I am so, SO happy that I did. I got a breakfast torta and café con leche, and my boyfriend got a breakfast burrito. Each was flavorful, we got huge portions, and the sauces are delicious. My torta bread was fluffy and absorbed everything the filling threw at it. It fell apart from «deliciousness» right at the end, but I was prepared with a fork. Also, my café con leche was perfect, and far exceeded my expectations (which were high). Quality coffee, perfect temperature, a tiny bit sweet but not overwhelmingly so.
The décor lends itself to the authenticity of the atmosphere, and the man who took our order (I would guess the owner) was so friendly and welcoming, and when I had to change our order to go (my error, the food was not slow to come out) he was really nice about it. This is a small thing, but important. I gave him my card to ring up, and he used my name when he returned it. Whenever someone pays attention to that extra detail, it makes me feel warm and fuzzy for the rest of the day.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ will be going back again.

Great pork Cuban sandwich not too expensive small place friendly people food was good. I recommend the pork Cuban sandwich so tasty mmm.

Very tasty Cuban sandwich. It was served so hot I had to wait a while to eat it while it sat there smelling amazing! Sure enough, burned my mouth on the first bite (I’m impatient) but it was well worth it. The pulled pork was nicely spiced, the bread perfectly toasted, definitely recommend this place.

I had the massive and amazing Cubanito, which is basically a bacon cheeseburger with all the fixings for a Cuban sandwich on top. SO GOOD!

I recommend the Cuban sandwich for lunch. Its huge and super delicious. The bread is fresh and soft, and the meat is tender and juicy. I like my food flavorful with spice so i reached for the self-​service green salsa and it was the perfect add-​on. Great food in an unassuming locale with few frills.
Thats usually where the best good is ;-)

Ate here again and had the special. I almost fell asleep on my way back to work it was so much food. Also brought the wife a slice of desert bread that they had made and she loved it.
See you tomorrow Cuban Sandwich Café!!!

After hearing nothing but good things for a while about this place, we finally checked it out. They were some of the best sandwiches we’ve had in Austin!
Absolutely delicious, great price and a fun coffee shop décor. It’s a little hidden gem, when you first get to it you think, «is this it?». We tried the Cuban Sandwich, the pork sandwich and the fried plantains. Both sandwiches were cooked perfectly and we practically inhaled them. We weren’t huge fans of the fried plantains, they were a little too greasy and soft for us. The owner was extremely friendly and nice to us as well.
We will definitely be going back.

This restaurant doesn’t look like much on the outside or inside and isn’t in the best part of town but, if you stop in you will be as impressed as I was.
This place is an incredible value for pricing and portion size! We over ordered as usual but, I am glad that we got to try a bunch of items.
Cuban Sandwich ($ 5.50): The bread was buttery on the outside, warm and soft on the inside. It was quite possibly the best Cuban bread that I have had. The ingredients were well portioned in the ratio to the bread and the flavor was outstanding. It was served with a small bag of lays potato chips.
Macaroni Salad: I believe it had some ham in it! The fresh parsley added a great dimension to the flavor and it was addicting. It was very light on the mayo flavor which is also a plus!
Fried Plantains ($ 3.00): I couldn’t believe this was only $ 3.00 because the portion size was huge! They were the perfect ripeness because they were not overly sweet! The cream sauce was a nice balance to tone down the banana flavor! This was a WOW moment for me!
Tostones ($ 3.00): These were fried green plantains! I really didn’t care for them as much as I did the regular fried plantains but, the sauce was epic. It was herby, citrusy and creamy. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was exactly but, the blend of the flavors was impressive.
The people running this place are obviously the owners and were taking orders, cooking and serving the food. Even though it was counter service we ordered and then paid at the end. There isn’t many tables and it got very busy so, get there early. They have various canned soda and some bottled but, no fountain drinks! I was happy to patron this locally owned business and was equally happy at how impressed I was.

The kind souls at this humble little café on Briarcliff have presented the lover of Cuban sandwiches with three distinct delivery vehicles for Cuban sandwich goodness, which is no mean feat.
1. The Cuban sandwich. For $ 5.50, you’ll get the expected pork/​ham/​cheese concoction between hefty slices of pressed/​grilled bread, with mayo/​mustard/​pickles. It’s excellent.
2. The Cuban torta. For $ 5, you’ll get a plate-​sized bolillo loaf stuffed with the same pork/​ham/​cheese mixture, as well as the typical lettuce/​tomato/​avocado/​sour cream/​jalapeños. It’s superb.
3. The El Cubanito burger. For $ 6.75, you’ll get an ordinary cheeseburger that’s been extraordinarily augmented with bacon, ham, and about half a pig’s worth of pulled pork. It’s unfathomably delicious.
Each is better than the last. I recommend trying them in order, so you can experience the culinary equivalent of rapid evolution, like Peter Parker being bitten by a spider made out of pulled pork (hey, not every analogy is Pulitzer Prize-​worthy).
I don’t really understand the relationship between this restaurant and its seemingly identical twin on North Lamar — this location is closer, so I’ve mostly stuck to here. Either way, if you want a Cuban sandwich in Austin, you owe it to yourself to stop here. It more than gives places like Texas Cuban or Habana Soco a run for their money — it flat out forces them into a marathon.
Oh yeah, get some plantains or tostones as sides, you’ll thank me later.