Soul de Cuba Cafe

Awesome. Everyone loved what they ordered. Guava empanadas were amazing. Kind of place that makes their own whipped cream. I’ve had too much mediocre food in Honolulu, nice to fnd a gem. Anyone comparing this place to what they’ve had in Miami should remember that they’re not in Miami.

My cousin posted food pics on FB and was making me jealous. Fortunately, SdC is one of the few restaurants that stays open passed 2 pm in Chinatown. Friendly greeting when we walked in. Good AC! We ordered a bottle of wine to start…
She: We might not have that one, let me see
At first I thought that might not be a good sign, but come to find out, they’re more known for their fun rum drinks. She came out with two bottle to choose from… and then I told her about some restaurants in Italy, «We have white or red» and that’s was the only choices… LOL!
We ordered the empanadas, chicken, beef, and vegetable. They cut them all in half so it was easy for us to share. All were delicious and each had a distinctive flavor! I ordered the fricase de pollo and the partner had the pollo de ajo y naranja. My chicken was moist and tender and came with a delicious sauce. The other chicken dish, was a grilled breast and was a little on the dry side. Loved the grilled plantains! I ordered the flan cause I needed something sweet… really good!
This place has been open for quite some time and I must’ve walked by it at least once or twice when I’ve been out here. I’ll definitely be back! Must come back for the Cubano!

Another one off my bookmarked list. Came here for a late lunch. The place was nice and empty, I enjoy getting ALL the attention and service. So of course, the food came out fairly quick.
I can’t remember the name of the stuff we ordered… All I remembered it waS the staff favorite and the top of the menu… The marinated chicken… It came with some fried banana thingy… Beans and rice… I was sooooo full! It was delicious!
The atmosphere and décor was beautiful… It’s lien stepping out of Chinatown… Into a small little Cuban restaurant.
Parking: street parking, although there are a few garages in the area that are fairly cheap. I paid $ 1.50 for 1 hour parking on Maunakea. Luckily the restaurant was empty because we didn’t have to wait for anything.
Food: it was delicious and flavorful. Come here with an appetite because the plate was filling!
Service: of course it was empty so service was quick. We didn’t feel rushed and our server was super friendly. She gave great recommendations.
I’ll definitely visit this place again, I only gave it 4 starts because… Something was missing… I don’t know what it is… But I’ll update this once I figure it out ;)

Yummy! We lunched here a few months back while biking around downtown. The food was outstanding, as was the deal on a pitcher of sangria. Sadly, the sangria, while tasty, was not very high-​octane. However, for the price it was fine.

Soo. I’m on my lunch break & while I have a few minutes to spare at Soul de Cuba Café; decided to begin my review (since I always procrastinate on them). 4 out of 5 stars!
Service: 5 for 5 stars!
*moment I walked in they greeted me & asked if I was taking out or dining in.
*they automatically gave me water w/​o asking.
*a server asked if I wanted something else to drink besides water (btw, yes. I did want something other than water.)
*waitress took the initiative to ask if the food/​I was okay. Also asked politely to take my empty plate in a very timely matter.
*asked for my tab & my waiter was on it! had my tab in less than a minute.
*both bartender & waitress told me thank you & to have a good day.
^ honestly, it’s the little things like that that make up a great service vending business. & I will gladly give 5 stars for their service. My total wait time from entering the little café, to being seated, to ordering & receiving my food, to eating & paying for my bill took less than 30 minutes. Good job! Also, the little restaurant in itself has a cozy, chill, authentic vibe. I can dig it (;
Food quality; I’d give it a 4 star rating. I ordered the pan con bistec sandwich, which is made up of thinly sliced mojo marinated steak with grilled onions, & served on a pressed Cuban bread with mayo. It was rather good! & quite filling too (: It came with a little (& I do mean little) side salad with a sweet balsamic vinaigrette. The sandwich & salad was $ 10. On top of my sandwich I ordered a Pacifico beer ($ 6) to wash down my grub, & it was a great choice for me.
Pricing; 4 stars. I’d like to see beer & pupu’s for a little cheaper, but so far the food quality matches the prices. & I guess there’s always happy hour, right? (:
Overall a 4 star experience. I will definitely be back again to try their platters!

This was an unexpected gem for Sunday Brunch. I’ve been to Soul de Cuba for dinner when it first opened and loved it. The ONLY reason it took me a few years to return is due to the parking (Street parking on Crown Street after 7PM and all day Sundays). However, I think it’s worth the kerfufule to enjoy their unique version of sangria (sooo good!) and… oh dear, it’s amazing:
Tortilla de papa ($ 14): Spanish-​style potato and onion frittata, roasted garlic aioli mojo, seared shrimp and crispy bruschetta. Sorry I didn’t post any photos, I was inundated by the sheer pleasure of stuffing my face with pure magic.
Sunday brunch: 11:30am — 3pm.

Oye! Papis and Mamis of Honolulu, get down to Chinatown and have a taste of Cuba. I’m guilty of passing Soul de Cuba too many times so we finally popped in there for dinner. First of all it’s nice and cozy inside and you feel like you’re in a café in Calle Ocho in Miami. The staff are very friendly and can help you navigate the dishes if you’re not too familiar with Cuban food. I love Empanadas so I had them along with Cuban Lumpias. The mango habanero dip that came with the Empanadas was creamy, sweet, and spicy at the same time and I had to get an extra one to dip my Lumpias in. We also ordered the Lechon Asado and I was beginning to think I was in some sort of Cuban Heaven because the dishes were all so tasty and perfect. Had too many sojus the night before so I’m going to have to come back to try their Mojitos.

I guess I thought that Cuban food would be a little more exciting. The menu seems like a mix of Mexican, Filipino and Italian-​ish dishes — all things that I love — but the flavors fell a bit short. The mojitos were so-​so. I would have given it more of a chance if it wasn’t so cramped. I get that they want to get as many people as possible in the smaller space, but worrying about bumping people at the next table with my butt and moving tables/​chairs out of the way in order to leave is too much. The place was so cramped that it felt like we were on the same first date that the couple at the next table was on. Awkward.

I heard on the radio that soul de Cuba was having a little Las Vegas giveaway, in which you can win a trip to Vegas if you fill up a Mojito stamp card by trying the ten different flavored mojitos. I like mojitos so I thought I’d give it a shot. Except mojitos are $ 10 each. With a 20% tip, that’s a $ 120 entry ticket… For something you probably won’t win. Good marketing strategy!
Soul de Cuba is located right across from the hawaii theater. They are the only place on the island that I can think of tht offers Cuban cuisine. Who knew Cuban food could be so expensive! Entrees will run you $ 20 and a couple appetizers and mojitos on top of that makes it a pretty expensive dinner.
I tried the appetizer sampler and don’t recommend it. The crab cakes tasted like they were reheated and the empanadas were just ehhhh. The home made citrus chili pepper water definitely made it a little better though. The deep fried potato ball things were the only thing I would possibly get again.
As an entrée, I got the chicken. There were nice flavors and I liked the sweet bananas that came with it. The chicken itself was a little on the salty side though, and the next time I go, I’d want to try another of their offerings. I also liked that they happily subbed a side salad for beans.
The waitstaff is pleasant and friendly, these or is nice, but they really need to refinish their tables. They feel sticky and it makes me think they weren’t cleaned.
At this rate, I don’t think I’ll get to try all the mojitos and fill up my vegas card. I wonder how many people have given up too haha.

Came here for dinner, and was pretty much just looking forward to eating a good Cubano…(Watch the film «Chef» and you’ll know why)
Open the menu, BOOM «Soul Cubano» staring back at me… ready to place my order. «I’ll have a Cuban…*server interrupts* «Oh I’m sorry we stopped serving that at 5pm… omggahsfasdfljwhatt.
I look at the menu again, doesn’t say anywhere that they stop serving at that time… Didn’t make a fuss about it, but it would be a little helpful to list it there. Just saying.
Ordered the: Milanesa De Pollo
marinated chicken breast lightly breaded then fried served under smoked ham, grated parmesan and tomato sauce over arroz blanco with frijoles negros and platanos maduros
Pretty much made up for the Cubano :) Will come back, this time BEFORE 5. With an updated review.

The best cuban sandwich i’ve ever eaten before. It was so fresh and crisp tasting and also very affordable. Only $ 10 with chips or a salad. I would definitely go here to eat the cuban sandwich.

Best discovery on a Sunday evening!
Popped in to find a Cuban Jewel here in China Town!
Matthew the Bartender made me feel welcome an quickly made me feel at home with a Sunday Special glass of house made Sangria $ 5.00!
Pitchers for $ 18.00 Sangria Sunday!
The food was awesome! Only disappointment was they were sold out of Calamari!
Tuesday’s they have live music! Can’t wait to check them out again then!

We look forward to trying all kinds of foods for date night and were really excited to try Cuban food for the first time.
We made reservations (we learned to do this after several rejections from other restaurants) but ended up arriving a half hour early. We were welcomed and seated promptly.
The atmosphere was nice. The walls were dotted with Cuban art and the music was low. There apparently is a section that they can open up to accommodate more patrons, where I assume they also set up for live music, but that was closed this Thursday night.
The waitstaff were friendly and offered suggestions for our drinks. We had a DELICIOUS guava mojito and Dos Equis.
Our appetizer was the papa rellenas. I was surprised at how small they were! I guess the pictures make them look bigger? They were nicely crisp on the outside, but had very little meat on the inside, and it needed SALT.
I ordered the lechon (pulled pork) entrée. It was served with white rice and black beans. I didn’t eat the rice because I gave it up for lent. The pork needed salt as well. Our waitress brought out their habanero sauce. I practically drowned my food in it, wishing it to enhance my pork. Not spicy. No taste.
My husband ordered the chicken fricase. He loved it. He said it was very flavorful. The dishes seemed small to me. And that is another reason for a lost star.
We waited a long time for our dessert: Guava and cheese empanadas. We were told they were ‘making them fresh’ for us. When it came out, there was 1 empanada cut in half. It was served with fresh whipped cream and a strawberry. I loved the filling but the crust was doughy and limp.
Let us review:
— food needed salt
— too small a serving for the price
— took too long with dessert
— would have liked louder music… oozing Cuban passion!
We always go to a restaurant with a 5 star expectation. And are often saddened when they don’t live up to our expectation. Soul de Cuba, here are some suggestions:
— use more salt
— drop the price of each dish by $ 3
— turn up the Cuban music to transport us out of Hawaii for the duration of our meal
Would we return? Sure. Do we suggest you try it? Meh.

Stumbled on this place on the way to redbox and thought a good Cuban would go well with the movie,
I read a lot of the reviews so my review because of the day and time my view might be different.
Saturday just after lunch.
Place as a few customers.
Waitress very nice, told her it was my first time she recommended a few things. Very prompt with food and return of check. 5 star
Menu looked good and though there is only one mojito I commend any bar to make their own spin. They had ten, many I would like to try.
Prices slightly high but their happy hour cuts it by ½ on about 8 drinks and one appetizer. Seems like a good deal for happy hour.
¹⁰⁄₁₄ a little pricey for Cubans but this is Hawaii and coming from Southern California mexican food is really cheap, really cheap and you can’t get the same quality or price on an island in the pacific. So I will give that to them, it might be hard to get fresh ingredients for Cuban food too. ONLY complaint is the pork was dry on my cuban thus three stars.

Never disappointed with the food… some of my favorites: Rabo Encendido (oxtail) and the Salmon en Mojo y Miel dish. The oxtail dish comes with a side of rice, and the salmon comes with this side of interesting (and delicious!) orange mashed potatoes.
They also have tasty sandwiches which are only available for lunch. They come with side salad. My favorite sandwich is the Soul Cubano which comes with ham, roast pork, and salami.
They have a Filipino-​ish dish on the menu as well — the lumpia (which I love). They even have this great hot sauce they make themselves — I wanna drench all my food in it for days! It may not be strictly Cuban food in the traditional sense, but I think their style of fusion is just right!
I tried their empanadas once and really liked it. Though it does get sweet after a while, so it’s good to share.
Service can be hit or miss, but honestly — their food is worth it to me. I often CRAVE Soul de Cuba, so I just need to eat there sometimes. Plus, cute bartender.
Late night stuff: try some of their house drinks. Some of my favorites are the Caipirinha and the Dark & Stormy. Their mojitos can be ordered by pitchers, but those tend to be a little sweet for me. I would definitely recommend this place!

My high hopes for this unique place were dashed by the terrible service and mediocre food. Two stars for the Cuban atmosphere and drinks.
I tried ordering a sandwich off the menu they gave us at dinner. They said they did not serve sandwiches for dinner (though the menu did not indicate that). I had the waitress skip over me so I could scramble to find sow thing else on the menu. She forgot, which is partially understandable given the large party, so I had to go up to the register and ask that my order be added to the group.
Sadly, the empanadas were not good. True empanadas should have a light flaky crust. These were the constancy of one of the crusts from a frozen pot pie — dry, hard, dense, and tasteless.
Note: They do not split the check.

I had heard a lot of good things about this place. I had Cuban food one other time and it was in another state. When I came here, I had really high expectations. I enjoyed the initial service that I got for ordering but they were a little slow with getting me the check.
I ordered the Soul Sampler for an appetizer and then had the lechon asado and fricase de pollo. The sampler was okay. It was actually very filling. I think this is the reason why I wasn’t too impressed overall (I didn’t have much appetite for the other two). I really enjoyed the sweet bananas and that was what really stood out. I ate whatever I had left of the two entrees the next day and thought that it was pretty good. I’m a small eater but my date insisted on ordering a lot of food. If I had it my way, I probably would have only ordered one entrée for us to share and would have been better satisfied. This is what I will do next time and I may change my rating.

You don’t have a whole lot of choices on Oahu for Caribbean food much less Cuban food. So after finishing a meeting downtown today, I decided to get some take out from Soul de Cuba which had been sitting on my list for the past year.
Located on Bethel across from the theater, this place has a decent amount of seating and a strange vibe to it. On the one hand, it has a fitting casual atmosphere with specials handwritten in on a chalkboard and a rather sad little half stocked bar. On the other hand they have a menu that seems to be more apt for an upscale restaurant with detailed exotic options and extremely high prices. Maybe the owners just couldn’t decide which direction to take it.
The oxtail dish I ordered was average. Braised in red wine, it didn’t stand out much to me and personally I know I’ve made better braised oxtail than that. The appetizer empanadas were lackluster, although I suppose that was partially made up for with the aioli it came with. I did like the guava empanada somewhat. It could have used a bit more sweetness, maybe some powdered sugar or something but it was good nonetheless.
Overall, the food was passable, but I wasn’t overly impressed. If it had come at a reasonable price point I think it might have been a good fit, but unfortunately you simply do not get what you’re paying for here.

Got lucky today! They had an incredible $ 10 special during lunch. A ropa vieja + lechon asado plate! For $ 10! I asked the waitress if it was a regular special and she said it wasn’t and that specials come out on random days (good sign? bad sign? you be the judge). She also mentioned the special may have been because today was the last day of the living social deal – which we had, yay! – so my friend and I both ordered that.
Plates are all served with white rice, black beans and fried banana. Most plates are in the $ 15-​$ 20 range and come with only one meat option. Super lucky today, amirite???
With an additional $ 10 to spend from the voucher, we also opted for the lumpia cubano (a cuban version of filipino crispy spring roll filled with cured ham, swiss cheese and cuban roast pork) because they were out of the croquetas de jaiba. VERY GOOD ALTERNATIVE. They came with a chili mustard that was also very good.
Though I had basically the same dish both times I was here, I’d highly recommend the plates over the sandwiches. Didn’t get around to dessert but I’ve heard their drinks are good. Can’t remember if I got one the first time I came but we passed on them today. I think they have happy hour and dancing in the eve too. If you’re into that. which I’m not really.
Only thing, parking absolutely sucks. I hate going to downtown just because parking is so awful. We got lucky and found an open meter but I never count on being able to find street parking. Unfortunately, the municiple lot I usually park at was closed today.

Sangrias that go down waaaaaaaay too easily and food so good, I’m surprised I took the second to snap a photo before demolishing my entire plate of Ropa Vieja. :)
I’ve come here several times and have never been disappointed. Some servers are better and more knowledgeable than others, but hey, where is that not the case?
And if you’re in the mood to put on your boogie shoes, there’s latin dancing every Wednesday night, usually with Son Caribe playing live. Tons of fun!