Cafe Havana

This is legit Cuban food in Temple, which is amazing. Owner/​staff are super friendly and the Media Noche sandwich is 100% authentic. Highly recommend. I look forward to trying other items, but it’s going to be tough to not just order this damn sandwich every time I come in.

Solid! Good stop for lunch. Thanks Unilocalers.
Nice staff and good lunch. Place isn’t fancy but it’s super clean.
I had the cubaniche – seasoned beef sandwich topped with cheese and French fries. Tasty!
He had the Media Noche and can’t wait to come back for another one.
Dessert-​guava and queso empanada. Flaky and sweet.
This place is A-​OK!
Verdict – We will be back!

I’ve been eating Cuban food for 40 years and this media niche sandwich is the best I’ve ever had wish they had one in California I’d be there almost daily

Omg. Amazing food! Friendly service! I recently moved to the area for work and this was my first stop for local food. The owners were accomodating and explained the menu. I ended up getting the cubaniche and the potato ball. Both were great choices. The sandwich was grilled to perfection, tasty, and the bread was fresh and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The steak inside was flavorful. The potato ball was very good and the sauce that came with it was delicious. I even dipped my sandwich in it. I’ve had other potato balls from other cuban restaurants and this one wasn’t the best (Porto’s in Cali is on point), but it was still very good and I wpuld definitely get it again. Overall great first experience.

Great Cuban sandwiches. We had the Cuban, the Midnight and the Pavo. All were delicious. Don’t let the strip mall exterior stop you. Inside is immaculate. We will be back soon.

They were very nice and explained the menu since it was my first visit. The Ham Croqueta was great and so was my café con leche. It looks a little dinky on outside but very clean and inviting on the inside.

We went here the other day and it was good! It doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food is great! And the restaurant is clean. Looks like they take very good care of the place. The guy that help us was very informative and polite! He gave us a military discount because my husband is a marine so that was very nice. We ate two midnight sandwhich a with chips and we ordered a side of French fries for our little one and it was all amazing! The sauce they give you is good! We will return again to try more from this place!

Food was amazing, tasted just like I was back in Miami. The décor and environment are authentic and the customer service is excellent. The owner is very friendly and stands behind his food. His son is the executive chef and is an amazing cook. My husband and I will be back as often as possible!

The last two times were bad! So I am giving it a 1 before I gave it a 5.

A huge surprise.
Absolutely excellent food. Very impressed. Had the media noche, it came with chips and a garlic aioli secret sauce that was amazing.
The rest of the menu looks great. For sure will be back. Hoping to get this place to cater for office events.

Friendly service and GREAT Cuban food. Their sandwiches and empanadas are authentic and the taste is the bomb. Try the Midnight sandwich with their Mojo sauce or the chicken croqueta for a real treat!

Had the midnight sandwich (pulled pork with ham, cheese & pickles) which was huge sandwich that came with chips & a mojo sauce. Mojo sauce was sweet & spicy, very unique to me, but good. They treated me to a guava y queso empanada which is guava & cream cheese in deep fried pastry shell, really good. Definitely will be back again to try other things. Staff very friendly & helpful. Definitely worth giving than a try

Customer service is just as great as the food is here.
Having never been here before nor tasting authentic Cuban food, the owner’s son, who is also the cook, took the time to explain to us what each item on the menu was. I was fairly familiar to certain dishes because I’m Hispanic, he did say however that the difference between Cuban food and Mexican food is the spice factor. But assured me that the flavor was there. And boy was it!
I had decided on the Media Noche (Midnight sandwich $ 7.99). At that time, a helpful customer said to try the special Mojo sauce they make, too. The cook wouldn’t go into details as to what was in the sauce, but did say it had garlic and olive oil in it. My spouse decided on the Cuban Burger ($ 5.99 Thursday special). Both came with basic potato chips, since they did not have tostones (fried plantain slices). We also ordered the Guava & Queso empanada (small lightly fried pie shell, filled and folded in half $ 2.89). He had a fountain drink ($ 1.49) and I had an imported soda (Sangría $ 1.89)
Let’s start… So the cook said that the food was going to be flavorful. Which was an understatement. Not only was it full of flavor (WITHOUT THE SALTINESS that comes with pork), it was so tender. The pulled pork and the ham alone, was so succulent in my Midnight Sandwich. That it married so perfectly with the swiss cheese and sliced pickles in it. The bread was just perfection. Soft on the inside and a slight crunch on the outside, that can only be obtained by pressing a sandwich to perfection. After the second bite, I decided to put a little of that secret Mojo sauce that he added to the side in my sandwich. WOW would be the only word I can find to describe after that. The sweet garlicky taste along with the pulled pork was just awesome!
My husband said that his burger was good. Although, it did have pulled pork and fried onions on top of the meat patty, he said that it was not greasy, at all. He also said that the pulled pork was his favorite, too. Not salty, but with lots of flavor and very tender.
I traded with him after he had about two bites left to finish his burger and I still had half of my sandwich left. I have to say, that burger was amazing! I really liked the fried onions in it! He said that he enjoyed my sandwich more, but both were good, too. He did like the Mojo sauce, but not as much as I did (he’s not really a fan of things with too much garlic).
After we were done, we shared an empanada. We agreed that it reminded us of fried wontons stuffed with cream cheese and with that sweet dipping sauce on the side. I mentioned that I think it would go well paired with a scoop of orange sherbet vs. vanilla (I think the crème cheese would over power the vanilla flavor). But, I digress… Either way it was very good!
As I was about to pay, the cook was telling me that they also make Cuban coffee (café con leche/​milk $ 2.99), espresso ($ 1.29) and Cortadito (espresso with milk and sugar added to it $ 1.79). I’ve heard great things about both Turkish and Cuban coffee, so I decided to get a the Coradito since I figured I need to stay up and get some homework done tonight.
He showed me the type of coffee they use and said that his family who live in New Jersey, would often send him this because he sells out of it quickly while he prepared it for me and explained that he also used condensed milk (which I love in my coffee, BTW). All steamed and prepared to perfection! Even my husband liked it!
Our total came out to $ 17.37 w/​tax (HEB has a coupon behind your receipts that gives you a free sandwich with the purchase of one sandwich and two drinks). We also left a $ 5.00 tip.
Let me also add, that throughout our meal, we were asked if everything was OK and as well as after. The cook and the owner (who BTW has an awesome moustache) really cared about the customer’s feedback rather than just treat us like another dollar sign. The ambiance was also very genuine. Although, I’ve never been to Cuba, the pictures and the flag on the ceiling really did display their pride for Cuba. And not in a generic «Casa Olé» type of chain way, but in a «I just want to sincerely share with you all the goodness I grew up with back home» type of way.
I really do hope this place stats around for a long time because we definitely will be going back.

Media noche was wonderful. Their salsa is good, and adds a great taste to the sandwich. Friendly service. Will definitely go back!

Had our first taste of Havana today. both sandwiches we’re amazing. I’m gonna tell everyone to try this wonderful place

Hands down, best medianoche I’ve ever had. Muy autentica! The staff will be sure to treat you right too!

A little restaurant that is hitting it’s stride. Initially selling a variety of Cuban sandwiches, empenadas, burgers, café con Leche and expresso, Café Havana is developing into one that has several entrees and breakfast choices as well. Sarge’s son has joined him fresh from culinary school and is adding to the diversity of menu items.
The Cubaniche and Media Noche are solid sandwich choices. Give their entrees a try as well.
Staff is friendly and attentive and the restaurant is always clean.

I heard about this place from a guy that works down the road from me. I’m always looking for something new, and this was right up my alley. It’s small and easy to miss, but once inside the restaurant is very clean and presentable. They told me they have been open just a little less than a year. I bought two sandwiches (I like to have options), and both were fantastic! I like that their menu is small, so they can focus on what they cook well. Temple needs places like this. I will be eating here often!