Paladar

My wife and I went here with a group and all I can say is amazing. First thing that stuck out, the service. Our server was outstanding. Several of us in the group never had Cuban before. She answered all questions and explained everything we asked. I had the Roasted Pork «a la Cubana». The meat was moist and tender and very flavorful. I’m not a fan of beans but the Black beans were out of this world. And of course the RUM. It was the best Coconut Mojito I’ve ever had, bar none, hands down. Also had a shot of a banana flavored RUM, Sooth as silk. For dessert I had the Guava with Cheese. Sweet and creamy, it was absolutely amazing. Looking forward to our next visit!

Perfect place outside of the downtown scene to grab Mojitos in almost any flavor! They’re made fresh and not as sweet as most places so it’s perfect!
Great place to go as a group or even date night.
Service was great! The server was very helpful in giving us recommendations. We loved the appetizer platter of a taste test of everything and the rice. The top sirloin was dry and tough so that was disappointing. We also got the chicken and rice dish was pretty good too but I will probably try something else next time.

I was looking for good Cuban food. This place had good reviews so I gave it a try. The first time I came here there was a long wait & I didn’t have a reservation. So I waited and it was worth it. The food is tasty and simple. I get the carne asada. I’ve been back a few times and the food is consistently prepared well. The service is fast. The drink menu is extensive. They will hook you up with some exotic drinks. I highly recommend Paladar

The Fidel sandwich is amazing! Slow roasted pork, fried sweet plantains and a savory yet sharp barbecue sauce is unbelievably good! It is a hearty portion, that can often be enjoyed over two meals. Fun fact, you can get $ 1 off your sandwich if you order between 11a-​3p.

The food was great and they give you more than enough, tons of drinks, very helpful servers.

Great hidden bar in the back with a great bar staff. Nice small craft beer selection also. Looking forward to dinner and trying the mojitos!!!

Ate dinner last evening here with my son who lives in the neighborhood. What a great experience! It wasn’t very crowded but we decided to sit at the bar in back. The staff were all very friendly and inviting. The bartender/​server really knew her stuff — from muddling up a perfect Mojito, to her descriptions of some of the 65 varieties of Rum, to the food and how it was prepared.
Thank you for the great evening!

Stopped by randomly for lunch one weekend day. The place was empty EXCEPT for another couple I happened to know so we all had a great lunch together. Really nice spot with incredible Empanadas. Everything here was great with good service.
The only hitch was when we got the bill, the price was different on one item than the menu. They said they raised the price but didn’t change the menu, which was not cool, and insisted on the higher price not disclosed on the menu. So, no stars for that.

LOVE RUM. Rummmm! MORE RUM!
We popped in here randomly one night to celebrate my best friend’s birthday. It’s an entire restaurant based on RUM and Cuban food. Hell, yes!
On this night, we only had Cuba Libres and a few pork appetizers. Empanadas, and the appetizer selection. Everything was GREAT, and we’re going back. Exactly what we ate, is slightly fuzzy, but I remember thinking everything was DELICIOUS.
So, I’ll definitely be back.

Check please! did not disappoint! Came here with a large group of friends for a pre-​Thanksgiving gathering. We started out with the coconut mojito, so delicious and so smooth we couldn’t stop chugging these down!
We shared the appetizer plate and supplemented with a few extra orders of empanadas. I’m not a huge fan of fried food generally because grease doesn’t agree with my stomach but all of these were excellent and not a drop of grease in sight! The guava cheese empanada is a must!
My entrée was the ropa vieja, the beef was a tad stringy but the dish was very flavorful. Best of the night goes to both the fried whole snapper and oxtail. The former was again not greasy at all with crispy skin and juicy flesh. The oxtail was melt-​in-​mouth tender. We skipped on dessert as we brought our own cake for a birthday celebration. Service was not the smoothest — server forgot to bring knife for cake until we requested and took a while to find one. But at least they were friendly and attentive throughout the meal.
Highly recommended and I’ll certainly return!

Amazing! This was my first experience with Cuban food and I definitely was not disappointed. Everything was delicious. We had the Flavors of Cuba Platter for an appetizer, and I had the Fricase de Pollo for my entrée, everything was super good. Everyone enjoyed their meals, drinks, and desserts. Will absolutely be back!

After seeing Paladar on Chicago’s best we came here on a Tuesday evening for apps, drinks, and the live music. As first time patrons we asked for suggestions and decided to try the Croquetas ham and cheese as well as a beef empanadas (complimentary with Unilocal check-​in). They came with a side of three delicious sauces Cuban bbq, avocado, and habanero– guessing?) The Spicy Avocado salad with grilled chicken (pretty spicy) was great. We decided to split the «El Capitan» (pulled pork Cuban sandwich formally known as «the Fidel» which was one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I have had in a long time. Everything was delicious and if we weren’t so stuffed we would have tried more! After reading other Unilocal reviews we will definitely have to come back the stuffed shrimp.

I saw a segment on the news featuring Paladar recently and filed it on my list of places to try. When my Dad’s birthday rolled around, latin food and rum enthusiast that he is, it seemed like a win-​win.
Our experience at Paladar was great. The place had a decent crowd for a Sunday night, with choice of indoor or outdoor seating options. We opted for indoors to avoid the traffic noise and while it was initially stuffy, they opened a couple windows and we had the best of both worlds. The décor and music are great; inviting, comfortable, just perfect. Never too loud or crowded, either.
The rum selection is extensive, and well represented on their menu. My Dad enjoyed a rum flight while we indulged in a pitcher of pineapple mojitos that were some of the best I have ever had.
Food-​wise, we did quite a bit of damage… tried a chicken empanada (big ups to Unilocal for the freebie w/​check-​in), stuffed shrimp, tostones, croquettas, and a papa relleno… just to start. As for main dishes we shared some paella, cuban pork, and a steak sandwich. While the steak sandwich was forgettable (and in hindsight probably a poor ordering choice) everything else was fantastic, truly. It was all well seasoned, fresh, and delicious. Their paella, which I am not even normally a fan of wasn’t overly fishy or crunchy like others I have had. Their yuca was crispy and wonderful. Sweet plantains were caramelized, awesome.
To cap it off, our wonderful server brought some birthday flan (complete with candle and song) for my Dad, and we also sampled the bread pudding and the bomba. What a great birthday meal and experience all around. I look forward to returning and encourage others to try it out as well.

I came here with my son that loves to eat at all the restaurant recommended by Unilocalers, check please and Other TV review shows. I did not want to go here but since I needed to de stress my self from s very rough day earlier we pick this Cuban restaurant Paladar. I gave it a five star because the food was home made and comfort food that I had no regrets driving here. I order the Chivo accompanied with plantain rice and potatoes in a tomato sauce it was so delicious and tender. Chivo is goat meat which I love. My mom had ox tails also very delicious. She order a coconut mojito wow it was delightful and trust me do not care for mojito but this coconut mojito was the bomb, delicious. My son order the chicken I did not try his dish because I was just enjoying my food that I actually finished it.
I did checked in so I had a choi e of a free empanada. I picked the meat empanada wow it was delicious I was speechless. My son order stuffed shrimps with jamon and queso wrapped in bacon muy Bueno.
The reason I loved this cozy restaurant is because they where playing Cuban music of course in the back ground but it brought back memories because my dad being Mexican would play MAMBO MUSIC Perez Prado we still have all his Lp’s from back than. I did not hesitate to get my month all grand daughter out off her car seat and I stated dancing with her. I had so much fun and enjoyed good food

Came here after we got rained out at another Cuban restaurant and I gotta say I was impressed with everything I tried here. I’d definitely come back here again.
* Piña colada was the best I’ve ever had. Must try.
* Beef empanada was good and worth the $ 3.50.
* Oxtail was delicious! The meat was tender, flavorful and went perfectly with the rice.

I finally made it to Paladar after constantly driving by it for one year. The dining seats outside are great on a warm afternoon. Dinner started off with bread with two different buttercream spreads. The bread was underwhelming but the spreads were both fantastic — one is savory and the other is sweet. After trying to decide which appetizer to get, we ended with the flavors of cuba platter as it had a bit of everything to taste (and with a Unilocal check-​in, you get 1 free empanada too!).
My favorites from the platter: guava and cheese empanada (delicious filling but the outside empanada was quite average), the cheese croquettas (fried soooo delicately!) and the tostones.
Entrees: I recommend the roasted pork if you want something less watery. I wasn’t particularly able to really taste the dry rub but the pork was super tender and juicy. Black beans and the sweet plantains were delicious. Not much of a fan of the yucca by itself but it was okay when combined with the other more flavorful items on the plate. The Fricase de Pollo is recommended for a savory, watery, juicy chicken dish. The tomato based sauce provided a really good light soup for the chicken.
Drinks: Both the guava and the sugarcane mojito were really refreshing!

Even with the largest Cuban population in U.S., Miami doesn’t have a sit-​down restaurant that serves both terrific Cuban-​style sandwiches as well as full dinners. Same thing here in Chi-​Town. Calle Ocho has «Versailles» for a solid «sit down» meal or carryout service, but if you want the best variety of Cuban sandwiches, you need to head down SW 8^th St to «Tinta y Café» or further away to «Enriqueta’s Sandwich Shop».
«Paladar» here in Chicago does exactly what its’ namesake does in Cuba. They serve typical Cuban meals consisting of the staples of the Cuban diet (meat, fish, beans, rice, plantains & sugar). We began with a deep fried selection of croquetas and papa rellena, followed by ropa vieja, fried red snapper, and chivo (goat stew). All were delicious. The sandwiches we sampled were just OK. Neither here, nor there. The same goes for the side dishes at Paladar. The congri we ordered was from the bottom of the pot (with that crispy stuff we all love that crunches in your mouth). Congri should be moist, not crunchy, OK? If its a Cuban-​style sandwich you are craving, don’t go to Paladar. Instead, head over to «90 Miles Cuban Café», or «El Cubanito».
Easy parking in the bank building across the street, and authentic flavor. Save for the terse/​curt welcome we received from the chubby host at the front door, service was attentive and friendly.

Cuban comfort food plus a huge rum bar! Seriously, what’s not to like? We’ve eaten here a couple of times now & there’s no question it will continue to happen.
The Ropa Vieja tastes like a family recipe that’s been passed down for generations. The beef melts in your mouth and the onion, pepper and tomato flavors are infused in that ‘braise all day’ kind of way. Served with a scoop of rice & roasted plantains, it’s really amazing. My husband loves their Cuban Sandwich and the Palomlla with tender sirloin smothered in onions is also outstanding.
The empanadas and other appetizers are served with some delightful dipping sauces: barbecue, avocado & habanero. All very tasty! Also love the fufu — a side dish of mashed plantains.
We tried the Mojito and Hemingway Special cocktails last night. Good, not great. The rum flights looked like more fun. Next time!

I really liked this place! What a great find! I didn’t really know what to expect even having looked at the menu online before the 4 of us decided to give it a try. Very nice atmosphere inside and the menu has a lot of choices — all of which look delectable! We didn’t try the rum bar and hope to do that next time when we have more leisure time to enjoy all that Paladar has to offer. The rum flights look like something I could really get into!
Service was good and the food was absolutely terrific! Checking in on Unilocal got us a free empanada — a great way to start. Coupled with the order of tostones with their homemade garlic sauce, it was a great way to start what turned out to be a delicious meal. We tried 4 different entrees including the Cuban sandwich — and man, was THAT good! But I think, having tasted each of them, the winner is the Ropa Vieja — tender shredded beef sautéed with green onions, red peppers and tomatoes… yum. How could that NOT be good? It was better than good. The palomilla had the most incredible onions smothering tender sirloin that makes my mouth water just thinking about it! The picadillo had a wonderful mix of beef, raisins, capers, onions and green peppers that was a joy to eat. For the more adventurous eater there’s oxtail and goat stew on the menu as well.
Highly recommended. And the plantains? So good!!!

We wanted to meet our son Ian for a late lunch in Chicago and were looking for a place that none of us has been to. We gave Ian three choices, he picked Palador and off we went!
When we got there, it was… oops! He’d been there before. So we decided that he could pretend to be a first timer. that worked just fine. I think maybe he went there in it’s previous incarnation as Café Bolero.
The place was empty at 2:30 on a Saturday (good timing!) but started to fill as we sat and enjoyed a very leisurely meal. The space is very nice. clean, upscale, cozy and comfortable. The service was very good.
Ian and Lisa both had the Mojito’s (people rave about them) and both thought they were good but don’t know enough to compare them to any others. My Diet Coke was quite excellent. ;-)
We started with The Flavors of Cuba (sampler) this was very good and I could make a meal out of just this. However, it doesn’t divide well among people (it’s only downfall) We got a mixture of the Ham/​Cheese Croquettas, Beef Empanada and Shrimp Sope, Tostones, Cuban Slider and a Papa Rellena. with four sauces. Seriously, if we weren’t sharing I could have stopped right there. The Cuban Slider and the Papa Relleno (wow! that was really good!) in particular, didn’t split well.
Lisa and Ian both ordered the Ropa Vieja (which is what I would have ordered. but I knew that I could snarf some of Lisa’s) which was delicious. I enjoyed the Carne Al Carbon (Skirt Steak) which was very tender and delicious. I gave Ian a taste of the skirt steak and he said «wow, that melts in your mouth!» it was eerie. like he’d read the same review that I had.
Their black beans have a distinct smoky flavor and are delicious.
I had more variations of fried/​crispy green plantains than I am used to and was pleased to discover how much I enjoyed them.
Our bill was very reasonable, Paladar is a winner.