Steve L.
Yelp
Great looking bakery/restaurant but feels like focus is not in the right place.
Heard about Bored Cuban via social media influencers. There is a Yelp vs Influencer rant here that I will not indulge in this review but I feel like that it is a factor. So from the minute you walk in you can see how every corner seems like a potential selfie opportunity. There is a full wall of shirts, stickers, mugs just so many things to promote. It all looks wonderful and playful but here is where things start getting murky. I went really looking for pastries and tostada with Cafe con leche and see what else looked tempting. We were greeted upon entering but then waited for quite awhile until we were able to order. Although they had many people working, it seemed like half of them didn't know what was going on. They seemed lost or timid. When we were able to order it wasn't friendly at all. I didn't understand how they had a guava and cheese pop tart but nothing with guava alone. When asking questions, as it was our first time, it seemed to baffle them. But nonetheless food triumphs in the end so was still hopeful. We completed our order and grabbed a seat. Noticed that our food was ready at the counter but no one was calling us. It was just sitting there getting cold. So I walked over to ask and they let me know that our tostadas were getting done. It took a bit but when they came out I asked which was which because we had ordered one with extra butter and extra toasted. Of which the response was "they both have butter"....?!? At that exact time the person that took my order walked by and let them know she wrote the special request on the order. I was then asked if I wanted a cup of melted butter to dip my tostada in. I had to pause for a second just to comprehend that. They ended up taking back the tostada to redo it. I could tell there was confusion and uncertainty within staff. Not sure if many of them were new. But it definitely didn't seem like they had their $hit together. Either way we finally started on our food. We ordered a couple of tostadas, a Cafe con leche, a guava lemonade, Cuban pop tart, croquettas, pan de bono, empanada de polla and another de ropa vieja. The guava lemonade was nice and fresh but seemed for 3.99 it was a little small. The Cuban pop tart was a great idea and the guava was really good. Their croquettas were ok. It wasn't until later that we realized that they provide you with dipping sauce. As we asked someone next to us with it. Why wasn't it offered from the beginning? Again staff issues. The Pan de bono was also good but the empanadas were both very bland. The tostadas were ok, I mean it's pressed cuban bread with butter. How do you mess that up, other than serving it not cut in half which kinda didnt make sense either. But it did feel like we waited more than we should have for them. Especially when there were more people working than sitting down to eat. We did notice many people coming in and being so excited about taking pictures of the place. Also seemed that their Flatbread "Pixas", bowls and wraps looked pretty good. Which made me think well....What are you first...a bakery or a restaurant? And if you are a restaurant first, then why are the bakery items the first thing you see when you come in. Overall I wasn't thrilled with the food, at least what I had. I might come back to try their bowls or wraps but I feel that a lot more focus is placed on the marketing, ambiance and feel and less on the food and service. Which in the end is what makes people go back over and over again instead of a one shot and done.