Francisco’s Cuban Cafe

Cuban food in Rochester? Sign me up! I was so excited to try this place, but unfortunately it came in way below my expectations. I ordered a Cuban sandwich with rice, black beans, and plantains on my lunch break. Both were terribly under-​seasoned (the black beans tasted as though they had zero salt/​flavor/​anything) and the Cuban sandwich was dry and underwhelming. I doused my meal in hot sauce and salt and pepper which helped a little. My partner got the Cuban-​style shredded beef which also required a lot of extra seasoning to make it anything less than dry and bland. We paid about $ 20 for both. Especially with all of the great options around the Galleria area, we wished we would have picked something else that day.

We came after the lunch rush and were able to take our time perusing the menu and tasting some of the specials before landing on a customized version of the special, a pulled pork sandwich, and the soup of the day. It was all delicious, and very generously portioned. To boot, the chef and kind worker at the front were so friendly! We had a delightful experience.

We are from Florida, so we know Cuban food. Francicos does a solid job of bringing to the south to the north. It has a broad and extensive menu with traditional cuisine. It gets four out of five starts because the meals tend to be a bit greasy and the cuban bread is just not the same recipe as you usually find in south Florida. Still, it is the only Cuban place in town and it is nice to have a taste of home. I suggest the plantains and cuban sandwich!

So many great reviews for this place, but I was disappointed in the output. The picadillo beef special was ok. It was a huge amount of rice and a scoop of the beef. I didn’t care for the sweet plantains or the tostones. There was an incredibly pungent vinegar odor with both the tostones and the piece of bread served with the meal. The bread appeared as if someone had tightly squeezed it in their hand.
The menu said you could substitute the sweet plantains with tostones for $ 1, which I did, but I somehow ended up with sweet plantains, too.
I ordered the Thursday picadillo beef special, subbed tostones and ordered a fountain drink. It was a whopping $ 17. I definitely did not feel I received anywhere near that value.
Now that I’m writing the review, I looked up a photo of the menu board another Unilocaler posted and can see the special should have been $ 8.95 + $ 1.00 for the tostones swap-​out. Unless my Diet Coke was another $ 7.00, I was most definitely overcharged. The woman taking my order struggled with the register and finally had someone else come in from the kitchen to help her. I was obviously not paying attention, and I’m kicking myself now for purchasing such an expensive meal and throwing most of it away.

I love Cuban food and it’s so hard to find in this area. Would definitely go back here again and again. Tried the Cuban sandwich and Picadillo special today – both were excellent. Cuban coffee was incredible as well! I just wish they had a free-​standing store, rather than in the food court.

Awesome awesome awesome! The nicest staff and the best AUTHENTIC Cuban food in town. Café cubano and café con leche are really great! Pastillito de Guyaba is to die for. Prices are great.
Must try must try must try!!!

Absolutely LOVE Francisco’s!!!
Family owned Cuban restaurant, with the authentic Cuban atmosphere, even though it is located at a food court!
What I like the most is that they make only so much of the special of the day, if they run out of it, that’s it. It guarantees fresh food every day.
Their picadillo is amazing! The special of the day comes with rice, black beans and amarillos (fried plantains). You can replace the amarillos for tostones.
Love it, highly recommend it!

They always run out of some of the things by 12:30, but the grilled chicken is the most amazing chicken I’ve had in Rochester.

Francisco’s is truly authentic, delicious Cuban food – tastes just like Miami. The pastries are perfect, prices are very reasonable, and service was excellent. The owner mentioned they are opening a sit down restaurant across from Saint Mary’s… I. CANT. WAIT.

Amazing. Authentic Cuban food. Friendly people. Cuban coffee, Cuban sandwiches, I’m from Miami. I’m in heaven.

Really GREAT food and service. A bit hard to find, but worth the effort! I’m going back tomorrow…

Pretty good Cuban food. Got the daily special pork chunks, came with maduros, beans, rice. Ordered a side of tostones, jamon croqueta, and tasty materva drink. Got two orders and it was under $ 25. Good serving size for the price. Its not a full restaurant, rather a spot at the galleria cafeteria. Finished the meal with a tiny tiny tiny café con leche (why was it in a thimble cup? Probably won’t order that next time) and tostada (not enough butter!) All in all, I’m gonna have to come back on steak day!

Had the ham and cheese empanada — crust was flaky, light and filled to the brim with ham. Rather greasy as it was deep fried but yummy! Also had the meat puff pastry. Enjoyed those with a cuban sweetened espresso with a dash of milk– tasty and rich coffee. Went at 3:30 pm and they had essentially run out of everything. Will be back to try the entrees.

A new, hidden gem in the subway. Had a wonderful experience at Francisco’s– authentic and affordable Cuban food! Loved the Cuban breakfast and highly recommend it. I look forward to returning and trying their entrée and lunch options!

YES!!! I havent had pastelitos de guayaba (guava and cream cheese pastry) since moving from LA (the ones from the famous porto’s were a weekly tradition). When Francisco’s opened, I made sure to order one to see if it compared with the one I was used to! Thankfully, this did not disappoint. The pastry was perfectly flakey and the filling was sweet, a tad tart, and creamy!
I also got the cuban breakfast, which usually comes with cuban coffee, but I opted for tea. The cuban toast is homemade and delicious when paired with eggs over easy and bacon!
The prices for everything looked very reasonable. We spent around $ 6 for 2 large guava pastries, 2 eggs over easy, bacon, cuban toast, and hot tea! Definitely a great breakfast stop for those working in the area!!!
I can’t wait to come back to try the rest of the items. The owner is from Miami and seemed very passionate about her food!

Actual authentic Cuban food! I can’t wait to have my daily expresso fix and empanadas. I was so excited to finally get a taste of home, and it’s only going to get better especially once all my favorite batidos come in! :)