Guantanamera

Visiting and had a craving for Cuban sandwiches. Arrived with family and no reservation. The owner set us up at a table out front and we were not disappointed. Excellent Mojitos, Cubanos and empanadas. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and watching the gentleman in the window roll cigars. A few cigars for the trip home made the evening complete. Excellent meal and experience.

Great atmosphere. Food/​drink was great (don’t waste your time with the sangria get the mojito). Live band fantastic.

Decided to order in and relax at a friends house. Read the items I wanted from seamless with a total of 37.02 after I called and placed the same order, the woman on the phone quoted 42.04. Bad business practice. Lousy. No excuses. Wouldn’t give them my business. GREEDY!

Very nice ambience our server was very prompt and knowledgeable awesome service and food of course was absolutely delicious.

I had a great experience there… Warm place. food is so delicious… Didn’t take long time to wait for it… but the place is so busy…

Went with a Chinese friend visiting from SFO. She loves seafood, and wasn’t disappointed. We ordered the Empanadas for appetizer, and it is a bit over-​priced, with 2 pieces costing 10.5 $
The Paella Marinera was delicious and worth the trip. Restaurant is in a great area. Main floor was full, and we didn’t have a reservation. So, we were shown to a table downstairs, which was a much quieter area, with lesser people around. Service was friendly too.

Amazing service and the owner came to check us, this is a place to visit, love it! Come and join and have fun, live music at 9! Love it love it love it treated well. And come and see Nestor the bartender he will treat you well and like you are at home. Amazing live love love, I’m at home

Great place to have lunch. The staff were pleasant and very attentive. Had the lunch pre fixe «Vaca Frita» loved the presentation, however the steak was little bit chewy. Tried their Cubano sandwich ‚
Was pretty good.

Walked over to this place in need of a quick bite. My buddy and I wanted to sit by the bar. There were 2 single seats available away from eat other, we asked the hostess if we could put them together & kindly replies yes. Brought the chair over and placed it behind the other and walked away. We had to ask a couple ourselfs if they mind moving down so we can fit both chairs. No bueno.
We ordered the beef and chicken empanadas. The chicken was tasteless but the beef was pretty good. The tostones rellenos with shrimp were decent. The bartender was helpful in explaining how each flavor of mojito was depending their levels of sweetness and strength. I had a 2 Guava mojitos, exactly what I needed, a strong refreshing drink. The live band was a nice touch to hear in the background.

I have an affinity for Cuban food so I was happy to see there was a restaurant close to Columbus Circe with Cuban cuisine.
The place is quaint and looks like it can get pretty fun with a live band and music. We came in for dinner before a show at the Jazz Club.
The service was acceptable. Our main server came by once to take our orders but did not see him at all for the rest of the dinner. Throughout the remainder of our dinner, we had about 4 or 5 different employees assist us with clearing our table, bringing out drinks, providing the desert menu, and so on. This wasn’t terrible, but a little bit more consistency with our server would have been appreciated. Still, no points are lost for attentiveness as someone was present
to assist.
We ordered the Lechon Asado, the Ropa Vieja, and Arroz con Camarones. The Lechon Asado was a little dry but it mixed well the Black rice and beans. The Ropa Vieja was by far the best plate we tried. The meat was very tender and the sauce used was not overpowering. It even served in a cup of platanos maduros (although the platanos were a little green).
The desert’s were a close second to the Ropa Vieja. The flan was AMAZING! Not über sweet like some other flans which are all sugar.
Make sure you finish the meal off with a Cuban coffee, but fair warning. Don’t expect to sleep much afterwards.
Overall, the experience was a nice. The food was delicious, and the prices were reasonable, considering the area.

I am a true lover of authentic Cuban food. I spent years in Dade County, Florida eating in holes in the wall and getting the best peasant food I could find. There’s a big difference between Cuban food made for Americans and Cuban food made for Cubans. Viajante Segundo in Hialeah, Victor’s Café when it was on Columbus Avenue, and Mixto in Philly are what I’m talking about. Guantanamera is the real deal. From the Mojitos to dessert you will be more than satisfied. The place is lively and the staff is great. On weekends you get a complimentary hand rolled cigar. I’m still amazed at how great it smoked. The music on the last night I went started slowly but really smoked about 5 songs in. Every portion of my meal was great. I plan to be back soon.

After a concert my date and I came across this cute restaurant. It was almost 11pm so I was surprised to see that they still had their kitchen open.
Very nice food and atmosphere, nice crowd of happy people, dancing and enjoying them selves. There is a live band and the service was very nice.
We only tried the appetizers so I’ll definitely come back to try their main course.

I am not well versed in Cuban cuisine or much of a drinker so I can only speak from a limited view point.
One the margaritas I ordered were good and strong (gotta love a bartender who doesn’t mess around with the tequila).
My dish was absolutely delicious (spiced chopped pork with onions and garlic … forget the name of it). I cleaned my plate despite my full stomach.
Fried plantains for dessert (the non-​sweet verity). there were still very sweet and a perfect topper to the meal.
I would go back.

I’m a huge fan of Cuban food and I was really looking forward to dinner here. The food itself was decent, nothing that really stood out to me honestly. The food is definitely overpriced for what it is.
I’m giving Guantanamera this 1 star review because I just had sauce splattered ALL over my jacket by the unapologetic wait staff. Typically I wouldn’t be so upset about situations like this because I know accidents happen. We’re all human and sh_​t happens. I’m ticked off because they saw the sauce all over my jacket and didn’t even offer a napkin until I waved them down for one. Not one apology.
Needless to say I won’t be coming back. I’ve had much better Cuban food at better prices with far better service. To the manager of this establishment: Please train your staff better, service is equally as important as the food.

My wife gave a very brief «review» but I think I can provide a bit more detail that might help.
This is a very good Cuban restaurant. Similar to Cuba on Thompson. First, this is an upscale spot. My steak chimichurri was $ 35. However, it was very appropriately priced. Good portion size, included rice and black beans, and it was excellent. Second, the ambiance is very comfortable and authentic. This wasn’t our first time at all, we’ve been here a few times over the last 10 years. I recommend the paella in the winter, fantastic. Wife had the Pollo con coco, and liked it. Overall this is a really nice spot with great food, good portions and good service. We will be back, no doubt
Ok, we just went back. Excellent food and service as always. The Steak Chimichurri is just excellent. Wife had the seafood Paella and loved it. As proud locals, we will be back sooner, rather than later. And I can confirm I don’t even know the owners so I’m providing an unbiased recommendation.

What’s to tell? This place is just … Great! Don Mario «the owner» is an amazing person… We know him for years and he is always. Always on top of his game. Making sure everything is smooth and perfect! They make you feel good here… Food is so. So… Good and the drinks… Are fabulous ! Come in. Have dinner and enjoy your time here. I am extremely picky about places but this one got every single star «5» well deserved ! Mojitos are a most here!

Sehr empfehlenswert!
Sehr freundliche Bedienung. Die Vorspeisen waren sehr gut, Das Essen war gut vorallem die Paella. Die Steaks waren jedoch nicht mehr medium aber trotzdem sehr lecker.
Ab 22:00 Uhr tantzen die Gäste zur kubanischen Live Musik.
Der etwas hohe Preis war absolut gerechtfertigt.
Kann das Restaurant empfehlen jedoch sollte man unbedingt reservieren.

GREAT CUBAN FOOD!!! Went on a Saturday nite, very packed so we sat @ the bar got a pitcher of Red sangria amazing $ 45. Margaritas are great, not weak at all. Got a table sat in the middle where we were able to see the live band which starts st 9pm. Perfect view, as an appetizer we got the Ceviche Mixto comes with plantain chips it was wonderful they $ 15each. Churrasco $ 35amazing w/​, white rice &beans. The Pollo Guantanamera $ 25 incredible YES I literally tried everything on the table. I’m telling because every meal was great!!! Filetillo Salteado $ 27 it’s (Beef) sautéed very nice with lots onions, mix peppers, garlic in a light sauce. Lechon Asado $ 17 wow this was GREAT!!!
It’s in a garlic sauce;) if you like pork it’s a plate to try. Hope you enjoy the place @11pm tables get moved over and the dancing Starts:)
Have FUN! Meter parking & there’s parking lots.

As a local New Yorker, this place — like many in Times Square — is just too touristy for my tastes. Was it a bad experience? No – the food overall was tasty, and our server was very friendly and attentive. The live latin music was a bit of a distraction for our conversation, but I suppose some families may come here to enjoy the entertainment while dining. I chose the hangar steak with grilled onions and garlic, served over rice. I enjoyed the dish a great deal, but the price at $ 24 was much higher than this dish would be at other Cuban restaurants outside of Times Square.
The service, food and atmosphere here all were decent — there was just nothing too memorable or so great that it justifies the comparatively higher prices.

I’ve been to this establishment a few times before on a weekend, love that they have a live band from 9pm till midnight. The food did not disappoint but my Guava mojito did, plus it took a really long time for the drinks to come out.
A few tips for this restaurant:
Make a reservation — there are only two booths and a limited amount of tables for parties larger than 4 people to the side. Otherwise, they will seat you in the middle section where most tables are for two ppl or they will push the tables together and it will be hard to see the band play.
The waiter tries to push sparkling or flat bottled water for the table that costs about $ 7. If you are not interested be clear on that. They do offer cold tap water with ice that the bus boy refills all night for free.
Double check the final bill. There was an extra charge on our bill that had I not reviewed it we would of paid for that bottled water that we never drank or asked for.
All in all the place is nice. The hostess is super friendly, food is delicious, restrooms are clean. They even have someone in the front of the restaurant rolling hand made cigars.

Bought a Groupon for this place, and the Groupon specified I had to make a reservation. Made a reservation by phone for 9pm on a Monday night.
Short version: Service gets a 1. Food gets a 3. Atmosphere (live music, clean bathrooms) gets a 4. But even with decent food and venue, if the service is atrocious, the rating will never be high.
Longer version:
When we arrived, the hostess was on the phone. I am not exaggerating when we had to wait 5 entire minutes, of her on the phone, until she put the phone down and acknowledged us. I understand she may have been on a phone call she couldn’t end, but she could have either put them on hold, or called over any of the idle servers/​bartender to assist us. It was the first interaction with the restaurant, and it wasn’t positive.
We were seated, and a waiter came over and asked if we wanted sparkling or flat water. When we asked for tap, brought us 2 glasses and took our entire order (app & entrees). That was 1 of only 2 interactions we had with this person in 80 minutes. He was rude and constantly in a hurry, though we counted 8 tables eating in the entire place.
We ordered the calamari as an appetizer, and someone else brought it over. No one ever came over to see if we needed anything.
A sweet young boy working filled our waters faithfully the entire night, and his service was appreciated. I finally asked him for lemon (because no one else would come over) and he brought over a cute display of lemon wedges atop a wine glass. He made the dinner worth it.
A third person brought over our entrees and set the food down. Again, no one at this point (except the young waiter in training) had spoken to us at all. The food was good: Ordered a Cuban sandwich & Yellow rice with shredded chicken. The sandwich had delicious pork, but was a little dry. Could’ve used some sauce, avocado, or dressing. The rice & chicken entrée was great. Total bill was $ 60.
There was enchanting live music, and people celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. There were plenty of families, and little kids dancing to the music. It was a lovely ambiance. Also, the bathrooms are big & clean.
When the check came, we finally saw our waiter a second time.
Overall, the good food & cozy surroundings could not make up for the fact that the waitstaff were completely unprofessional.
Wouldn’t return here, unfortunately.