Sabor A Cuba Restaurant

This restaurant closed without any notice to patrons or even (from what I heard) their employees? Very upset that they are gone, and never got a chance to say goodbye. Think it was very unprofessional how they closed up shop. Anyway, FYI this place is CLOSED. I am waiting for Unilocal to update the listing. But yes, they are no longer there. :(

Um, we showed up and it had closed down I guess.. . used to love this place!

Wish I could write a real review of this restaurant, but since they were closed (on Friday night and we had reservations), I guess not. Very disappointing.

Eating here was like watching «Y tu mamá tambien»: Lots of hype, but not enough delivery. That was the same with Sabor a Cuba. We did our due diligence and looked it up before walking in. The reviews were good. The time was right and we were in the neighborhood. So we decided to come in. On a Thursday night.
We expected a huge crowd since the other restaurants in the area appeared to be busy. We even made reservations. But when we finally got there, were the only ones. We were sat at the table closest to the kitchen (to speed service no doubt). But that didn’t help in the least. The service was slow slow slow. I can understand because, well, there’s really only one person in the front of the house and seemingly one person in the kitchen. But when you don’t’ have customers, that makes sense. Reading the reviews, it doesn’t.
Back to the food. I started with the plantains and then entreed the ropa vieja. They were both very good. The beef was tender and flavorful. The plantains were done well and just like mom makes them. The proportions were right, too: not too much, not too little. It even left us room for dessert (we didn’t have any here).
The biggest challenge I had was the bill. It was $ 60 for an entrée, a salad and an appetizer for the two of us. No alcohol (nor did we bring any because we didn’t know it was BYO). That just seems like WAY too much for the food we got. I have a feeling that it’s the prices and the service that bring this place down. I don’t know what the rents are in the neighborhood, but out of business shouldn’t be an option for this place. The food is really good. Just high priced for what it is.

Love the cuba sandwiches here and the Palomialla. Service is alway great and the food in consistence.

I walk by this place every day. It always smells phenomenal. There aren’t always a lot of people dining there, but don’t let that fool you.
Pros: The food here is very delicious, and the main reason it’s worth coming. Everything is made fresh, and fresh food takes longer to cook than microwaving frozen stuff. There is a second dining room that I’ve seen several large groups at, so they can accommodate groups. There’s no need for a reservation. BYOB and no corking fee.
Cons: The servers can be pushy or seem lazy. Sounds like they signed up for groupons and
coupons but then had a change of heart.

We had a wait, though I think not as bad as some other people. After order our food, a friend and I popped out and walked down to the liquor store on Montrose, maturely discussed what beer to select, bought it and walked back. We still had a longish wait for the food, even with that time waster built in. Other than that, the food was actually very good. Everyone enjoyed everything except my future-​SIL who thought her chicken was overly oily.
I would certainly go again because the food was good — I just wouldn’t do it if I had other things to do that night.

I really wanted to like this place. It’s in the neighborhood and the staff is extremely welcoming and friendly. It’s BYOB with no corkage fee. And it’s reasonably priced. All really great characteristics. Alas, I found my recent dinner experience there disappointing.
We arrived around seven on a Saturday night. The place was empty, but filled quickly during our stay. The service was attentive. Our water glasses were never allowed to become empty. The food came out of the kitchen promptly.
There is a single option for the vegetarians — the Plato Vegetariano, mixed vegetables sautéed in garlic oil, so that is what I ordered. It is served with black bean soup, white rice, and sweet plantains. It was pretty good, but it didn’t strike me as terribly Cuban. I know, I know, Cuban is not a particularly vegetarian-​friendly culture. What can I expect? Hmmm… Black beans and rice? Yucca? Mashed plantains? Something! Yes, my veggies were tasty, but they were the standard «mixed veggie» mix of cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, peppers… Sigh… The sweet plantains, however, were delightful, but with only four small pieces on the plate, I was left wanting more.
Hubby had the Lechon Asado — marinated pork with sautéed onions, which he also found unremarkable. He did enjoy the yuca frita appetizer with the garlic dipping sauce and though the black bean soup was well above average.
He is willing to give them another chance. Chalk his disappointment up to poor ordering. I’d be willing to try again, too. They weren’t bad, they just weren’t great. But with so many other restaurants to try in the city, I doubt this second chance will happen anytime soon.

Food is great! I recommend the Yuca for an appetizer. Their steaks are amazing and it’s BYOB. Service was good, people are nice. Very cozy environment. Great for date night!
Highly recommend if you’re in the area and in the mood for some sabor latino. Buen provecho!

I’ve had my eye on you for some time, Sabor A Cuba.
I wondered, are you going to compete with some of the better known Cuban establishments (i.e. Café 28) in the area? You look a little more humble and a lot more mom and pop — hey, there ain’t anything wrong with that.
Well, well, well… we meet at last. Must say, you lived up to my expectations all the way! Such friendly service. I do believe my server was also the chef and possibly the owner, very charming. Décor is less than impressive, but it adds to the charm. A Cuban sandwich, Jibarito, and 2 grilled chicken sandwiches with one side of plantains for $ 30. Terrifically affordable! The wait, a little longer than I tend to like but BYOB so bring on the wine and conversation while appropriately waiting for my Latin feast.
I eyed the other table’s dessert. Something to look forward to in the future.

Boo. I’m so disappointed. I really wanted to take my Cuban-​food-​loving friends here because I thought it would be really good. Not.
First, we were the only ones in the restaurant around dinner time. Bad sign. One more group stammered in about a half hour later. We thought we’d at least be served quickly and courteously because they clearly weren’t busy – wrong.
The appetizer plate was good. It’s fried food and when you fry anything, chances are it’ll probably be good. Half way through our appetizers, finally our canned sodas arrived.
My cuban sandwich was drier than the Sahara dessert and didn’t seem fresh. My husband though the same thing about his. The rice and beans he added to the sandwich (on the side) were just «alright.» The beans were so-​so and rather flavorless and the rice was mediocre, at best.
One of our dinner guests ordered the fried steak and he thought it was too heavily breaded and not that well seasoned. The other ordered a pork and onions dish with some plantains on the side. Sadly, she couldn’t finish her food. The pork was dry and tasteless. The plantains were thin and looked old.
The other point of irritation was that the waitress let the dirty dishes, including those from our appetizers, sit on our table all throughout dinner and didn’t bother to clear them. She took her precious time to clear our dinner plates and even left one on the table the entire time we were there.
Inexpensive but really not worth it for old, bland food and bad service.

This past Saturday night, we decided to try Sabor A Cuba for dinner. We had never been there before, and both of us had very little experience with Cuban food — though both of us have quite adventurous palates that include everything from Turkish and Ethiopian, to Indian, Vietnamese and Spanish Tapas.
Sabor is on a quiet street and has maybe 20 tables or so. The atmosphere, while not hugely memorable, is pleasant. The menu is fairly extensive — not huge like a Cheesecake factory, but with enough choices to please any palate. It is also small enough for the kitchen to reasonably be able to pull off good execution and not have every menu item tasting same as the item below it.
We were seated immediately and I was happy to see an 8 top table of women celebrating a friend’s birthday. People don’t generally have birthday parties at places they don’t like.
After about 5 minutes, a basket of bread came — it was French-​like, but perhaps it was the famous Cuban bread? I don’t have enough experience to be able to say for sure. The bread was sliced and each piece was pre-​buttered — not a problem, but something I have never seen before. Stale bread I have seen before and immediately recognized this bread as having sat around for a while, in its pre-​buttered state. No problem, it was edible but forgettable. Mildly disappointing because I have always heard so much about how awesome Cuban bread is.
A few minutes after the bread arrived (almost 10 minutes total); the waiter came over and asked if we were ready to order. We started with appetizers — croquettes, empanadas and some sort of meat filled, deep fried potato ball. The waiter began to leave and I asked if it was possible to order drinks.
«Drinks?! What do you mean?» he said in a genuinely confused tone «Do you mean like… wine or something? We’re BYOB!» He pointed vaguely out the window and said «Stores across the street!» and turned to leave, until my girlfriend said «How about a soft drink or something???» The waiter quelled his rising annoyance and reluctantly took our order for two diet cokes.
My girlfriend then proceeded to order a fried chicken dish, though she may as well have been ordering lobster at McDonalds.
«Oh wow!» the waiter said «That’s going to take a REEEEAAAALLLLLYYYYY long time! Like a REALLY long time!!!»
The menu did say to allow 30 minutes for this dish, which seemed fine, so she questioned him further «Will it take more than 30 minutes?»
«Oh yeah… it is going to take a REALLY long time… I can’t even tell you how long it will take… it’s frozen you see?» We were both taken aback by the waiters dramatic reaction… not only would it take infinitely longer than 30 minutes to deep fry chicken, but it was also frozen? We didn’t ask if it was frozen — why would a restaurant voluntarily advertise that their chicken was frozen???
The waiter recommended another chicken dish — apparently not frozen — because this one could be prepared and delivered instantaneously… My girlfriend, clearly at a loss for words requested more time to consider her options. It was very clear that even if she had told the waiter she was prepared to wait till doomsday, the fried chicken would take longer.
So, even before we had placed our full order, I was made to feel like an asshole for not knowing it was a BYOB place and my girlfriend almost got thrown out of the restaurant for having the audacity to order chicken.
The appetizers came and looked quite good. The chicken empanadas were crisp, light and non-​greasy. The filling was subtle. The croquettes were quite interesting… they were filled with cheese — but a cheese I have never had before. They were good, with a texture akin to Indian paneer and a flavor to match.
The deep fried potato ball looked amazing… while I am sure it was well prepared, the meat stuffed mashed potato ball was a texture challenge that neither of us did well with.
When we were done with the appetizers, the soft drinks arrived… this was approx 30 minutes after we arrived and 20 minutes since I was lambasted for my idiocy of not knowing it was a BYOB establishment.
The main courses arrived — a roasted chicken dish for the girlfriend and a pork dish for me. She was happy with the chicken, but I could tell was still annoyed by the waiter’s dramatic song and dance denying her the chicken dish she had wanted. I was a little nervous at first because when the food arrived, my hand brushed the ceramic plate and it was ice cold… and ice cold plate is a death sentence to hot food. Fortunately, my meal was still warm… not hot, but warm.
In short — great prices, decent atmosphere, mediocre food at best and a wait staff that treats you like your a total idiot who isn’t worth their time.

This little gem kicks out some very very tasty Cuban fare.
It’s BYOB, and everything on the menu (with the exception of the paella — which I haven’t tried) is under $ 20, and typically closer to $ 10 than $ 20. The Ropa Vieja is awesome, as are the Jibaritos and Cubanos, but my favorite is the Rabo Ensendido. What the heck is a Rabo Ensendido? It is Ox Tail. And it falls off the bone in delicious flakes of scrumptiousness.
Oh yeah, the black bean soup: unreal. Soooooo good. On a cold Chicago day, this little dish could suffice to get you through the day.
The only thing holding the place back is its unpredictable service. Usually, only one server works the whole dining room, and this can slow down the meal. Just be wary of this if you have something to do after dinner that starts at a specific time.
One more thing: you cannot drink in the sidewalk seating. Something about licensing. Thanks, Chicago!

My sister and I had dinner Friday night, the food was delicious.
I appreciate BYOB hospitality. We had yucca for an appetizer, served with warm melted garlic butter. That was a nice beginner. I ordered the slow roasted Lechon w/​grilled onions, served with black bean soup and white rice… mmm.mmm.good! Oh, the sweet soft plantains were good too. The chef/​owner came out to make sure customers were enjoying the food. That’s always a treat:) I will be back.

Last night a group of us had reservations at 8pm. We were seated right away but despite the fact that we tried to flag down a server several times, he didn’t take our order until close to 9pm. Totally ridiculous. Yes, they were busy, I will give them that, but come on, you knew you would be busy based on all the reservations… why were you so understaffed? I will say our server was very sweet and fun, but it was obvious he was overworked and had too many tables to take care of.
I ordered the swordfish and it was just ok. It was a large portion, so for the cost it was a good deal, but it really had no flavor what so ever. I was pretty disappointed. I know a few people in my group really liked their entrees, so maybe I just got unlucky.
It was after 10pm when by the time we all finished our food. We were in a hurry to go to a bar where we had a package deal set up. Once again we had to flag down our server even though at this point in the evening the restaurant was close to empty. We didn’t get out until 1030pm once it was all said and done. I realize that it does take a while to run 5 CCs, but really we were pretty angry that it took almost 30 min.
I really don’t think I would go here again, as it is out of my way and things were just so-​so.

Once again the pretentious and arrogant Unilocal masses fails to impress me. Why does everyone think they are a credible critic and downrate very favorable restaurants for simply nitpicky excuses?
This is a very good restaurant. Good ambiance, good food, good staff, cozy location, ’nuff said. I’d definitely go again, I recommend it to anybody who is tired of the bra/​pubs in this neighborhood and looking for some good Cuban food.
I’ve come to learn not to even bother reading reviews under 3 stars… people just don’t know what they are talking about.

As soon as they told me «the chef will pound your meat flat» my eyes lit up.
It was right then I decided I’d have the Ropa Vieja. And it was just as wonderful as the waitress suggested it would be.
I admit, I ended up going here because the establishment next door had a wait that I wasn’t willing to make.
There were four of us. We were promptly seated — and while it wasn’t super busy — it was humming rather nicely. Our waitress was funny, and brought us out the menus.
The atmosphere isn’t amazing, but rather homey. The waitress was keen to give suggestions of her favorites off the menu. Our orders were placed. I was just waiting for the chef to pound my meat.
While waiting for dinner, we were served our appetizers. We opted for the platter that had a little of everything. This was a good idea. Lots of new flavors, and some that were familiar. Overall, a great way to start this meal.
This place is BYOB, which was also a perk.
Dinner was served, and I enjoyed my dinner very much. Conversation flowed — wine flowed — and the service was very attentive.
Again, I’m not a huge fan of drop tile ceilings — or framed posters, but they were workin’ with what they had. The place was clean, and the service was friendly.
I’d like to go back and try a few more things off their menu!
If you are on the Northside, and want to try some good home style Cuban food, I’d suggest trying this place!

We came here on a cold, snowy day, and it completely hit the spot.
Atmosphere is cute and cozy. Service was fine.
I finally tried a jibarito. I can’t believe I’ve never had one. I loved it! Maybe it’s my inexperience, but I can’t wait to have another. I was so full and only wanted to eat half, but my hands seemed to be literally taking on a life of their own and shoving the second half in to my mouth.
For our «appetizer» we got these little fried chip things. They came with garlic dipping sauce, and we attacked that plate.
Prices are not bad at all.
I felt really guilty when I left, because I would guess I consumed about 2500 calories. But still, I’ll be back soon after a day of fasting.

When will I learn? Seriously? I go on Unilocal to check out a new place and then become apprehensive after reading the poor reviews.
When will I learn that those people are a buncha crybabies???
Poor service? No evidence of that. Our waiter tonight (Steve) was friendly and helpful. He made some great recommendations. We had a full pitcher of water at all times. Our food came out quickly and all at once.
Ah. The food. Wow. I have been to my fair share of Cuban places and this one is right on up there. We had an appetizer combination platter that was delicious. Nothing was dry or flavorless… they were all perfect.
I had the breaded fried steak (forgive the fact that I can’t recall the name) and it was excellent. I tried the entrees my husband and our friend ordered and they were both delicious.
I was not wild about the sweet plantains… but it’s such a minor thing, I didn’t care.
Would I go back? Absolutely, and next time I’m going to partake in the BYOB.

Another chapter in «Colleen C’s Jibarito Chronicles.»
My friend and I wandered in here Sunday evening in search of warm food… he had never had a jibarito?! Blasphemous, I needed to teach him the ways of the world.
So, we settled in to this cozy little corner restaurant…
Empanadas: Not good. I’d skip them altogether. They were so dry on the inside I had to put olive oil on them. At $ 2 each, they were well sized… but I’d NEVER order those again. Beef and chicken, both dry.
Jibaritos: Not the best I’ve had… but still adequate. $ 9.25 for the dinner plate (J-​love with beans/​rice, instead of just the sandwich for $ 5.50). The plantains were a little squishy (supposed to be crispy), and the onions were a little soggy. It was fine, but definitely experienced better…
Atmosphere: Really nice, BYOB… cozy, cute, great place for a date (this was not a date, I don’t really think I could swing an entire date devoted to jibaritos), or a dinner with gal pals… BYOB! perfect.
Service: VERY good, the woman was a total sweetheart. Very attentive (even though she was the only one serving the entire place). Super friendly and accommodating… The extra star is really for her.
I’d go back and try something else… I think it has potential, but they gotta work on those empanadas. They are hot pockets for chrissakes… just make ‘em oooooey goooey and people are happy :)
BYOB, street parking is so/​so.