Flaco's

Just tried their nachos and Scarface sandwich. Everything was really good. They have a nice outdoor space.

Has Flaco’s quality gone down over the years, or was I just a drunk college student when I used to like it? We were driving up north and craving Cuban food, so we decided to quickly stop at Flaco’s for a bite. The parking was horrendous, but that’s expected of downtown Gainesville. Just as bad as the parking was their selection and quality of bakery snacks. The guava and cheese pastelitos were horrible; stale dough and barely any cheese. After my first bite I even thought they gave me the guava-only pastelitos… you couldn’t taste the cheese. The empanadas were dry, and the dough was terrible as well, but the flavor of the filling saved them. The quesitos were the best of the bunch. If you’re expecting South Florida quality Cuban dulces… you’re in for a treat. Maybe I just had too high of expectations?

I ordered online with 352 delivery. My fault I didn't immediately check that the order was all there when I picked it up, but my mango habanero and pineapple chipotle sauces were both missing, $1 each. The Sunshine Sandwich had broccoli, corn, and carrots in it. "Veggie and tempeh mix" was advertised so it's not false advertising or anything, but I guess I was expecting more of a vegetarian version of a Cubano, not frozen mixed veggies on a sandwich. I agree with other recent reviews that the guava and cheese pastry was stale with barely any cheese and super gummy processed guava filling, very disappointing :( the cheese arepa was great!

I was hungry and tired. It was late. Flaco’s burrito was there for me when nobody else was. It was delicious. I sometimes go out just so I can get to this point again, and chow down on some Flaco’s. The dancing, the friends, the music…it’s all just to relive this moment.

Flacos was some of the best Cuban food I’ve ever had and probably the best Cuban food in Gainesville. On top of that the prices were very reasonable, good portion size, quick service, and good atmosphere. They are also open really late so it’s nice to go there after a night out. My favorite item on the menu is definitely the chicken and plantain arepa it was amazing. I recently tried the cheese and plantain sandwich which was also super good and huge. I also absolutely love the ropa vieja sandwhich. My boyfriend recently ordered the nachos with Ropa vieja and buffalo; that’s now my favorite thing on the menu. The only complaint is there wasn’t enough chips but they kindly gave us some when we asked for more

I think it is more like a takeout restaurant. Small and cute restaurant. But there is a feel a bit of sketchy or something . The bathroom has broken flush and broken vandalized walls. The food was delicious. Tacos were delicious, and bread was fresh. Service was okay. The price was good. Parking is free 5am to 5pm. After that, $5. We enjoyed our visit. ...

Fan-freaking-tastic. Relatively small hole-in-the-wall type joint and it's open until 2:30 a.m.! No other place can satisfy midnight craving like this one. Their burrito with the pink sauce was amazing, will be going back again and find any excuse to go with my friends, A good burrito is hard to find and I haven't tried the whole menu here but their pastries are also freshly made and very good. And hey, it's a Cuban restaurant can't really go wrong! Just be aware this place gets extremely busy especially late at night on weekends, but it's busy for a reason. It's because the food is fantastic.

The best simple Cuban food you're going to get in Gainesville. It can't compare to Miami or Cuba (obviously), but the Cuban Gator sandwich and the beef pastry puff were legit. Love that it's open super late compared to other restaurants in Gainesville. Will come again to try their ropa vieja. There was a fair wait for our food on a busy Fri night, but staff were friendly and prices are extremely reasonable.

I absolutely adore Flaco's I visit Gainesville annually for The Fest and I MUST eat at Flaco's while I am there. The portions and the prices are fantastic. All of the food comes out tasty and filling. The staff is always friendly and I love the touch screen ordering system.

Had a few meals from here while I was in GNV for Fest. Cuban, Ropa Vieja, pastries. I love Cuban food and could have eaten here multiple times a day over the weekend. Service seemed slow but I guess that is to be expected with how packed the shop was. If I'm ever in town not during Fest I'd love to come and have a real sit down meal.

Absolute worse customer service waited over hour to be told we shouldn't have order from Kiosk then after inquiring about the food which was only suppose to take 45 mins this place has went way down hill!!!!

Flaco's has some of the best Cuban food in Gainesville, and it's one of the only restaurants downtown open really late at night. I stopped by around 10:30pm for a super late dinner, and they still had plenty of delicious food cooking and a line to the door. I tried the ropa arepas and the chicken plantain arepas, which were both cooked to perfection. The chicken plantain one had a unique sweetness to it. I also got the cheese pastry for dessert because a friend said I just had to try it. I liked it for sure, but I can't say that it really wowed me. It may have been sitting out a little bit. The only real negative thing I have to say is that it was a bit dirty with all the open tables having a little bit of old food left on them and the occasional fly, but it is summer in Florida. Overall, I think this place is worth a try. Thanks, Flaco's!

A great place to get a bowl or tacos. The pastries are also fresh and served with love. Highly recommend!

This is my favorite Cuban sandwich restaurant. However the last time I was there I ordered two sandwiches, got charged for two and only got one. I have left over 3 messages on the answering machine wanted a refund for the missing sandwich and it's been over two months now. Maybe this will get their attention?? I love this place and their food but that kind of customer service is a major turn off.

Very good sandwiches if you like meat. My favorite is one called the Scarface (if they still have it) . Great place to go after a night at the clubs. Only complaint is that they got rid of the Ciders :(

Dank Cuban, would recommend you eat it. They sell alcohol too, so why wouldn't you go?

Best Cuban sandwich in town. We get this every time we visit. The sandwiches are fresh and the protocol is interesting

The sandwiches and the tostada with cheese is SO DELICIOUS highly recommend. Also I love the Cuban Gator and Media Noche sandwiches :D

My husband and I ordered delivery from here for the first time and really enjoyed the food. We recommend the Cuban sandwich and Pulled Pork Bowl. The bowl included black beans, white rice and plantains.

Absolutely phenomenal. I'm in town for a three day music festival and have been checking out all sort of spots in the downtown area. Got the Cuban (I would have called it a Cubano in california) and it was top notch. I'm a medium food snob. I'll eat whatever, but I have some strong preference for places that are standout delicious. This place is standout delicious. My second time here, got the chicken burrito and I love it. Grilled outside and more rectangle than cylinder, it's got a nice heavy black bean and cheese element but still plenty meaty. Strongly recommend this place if youre in the area.

This bakery is the GO TO spot after going out on the weekends! The food is always piping hot and it smells delicious. I recommend getting the ropa vieja arepa! That's my absolute favorite thing to get and it hits different after a long night out.

They say hunger is the best sauce, so that helped my experience at Flaco's. Food was good and satisfying but , their hygiene standards were a little lacking behind the counter. When I was waiting to order, one worker was braiding the other one's hair in the kitchen area. Another worker was counting the tip cash and preparing food without gloves. I know people don't come here for an impeccable white tablecloth dining experience, but since we are not completely out the pandemic, it's not worth taking risks with hygiene.

Owned by Joe Flaco, the QB of the Ravens. The best thing about this Cuban bakery is that it's open until the middle of the night, which is absolutely awesome and great for late-night snacks. I like their stuff but I'll have to try more so I can award them that ever-elusive five-star rating. But the Cuban food in Florida and general is amazing, so I recommend trying as many of these types of places as you can when you're down here.

Flaco's is one of my favorite food places downtown! The food is always delicious and a great price. Since they're open late, I love coming here to end my night whenever I have a night out. My go-to dish is the ropa arepa. It is the best arepa I've ever had! The arepa can get pretty greasy, so make sure you grab extra napkins before you eat it. Although the ropa arepa is my favorite, their other dishes are just as amazing. I love their pastries like their quesitos. The ambiance of the place isn't anything fancy. The restaurant can get pretty smoky, and I usually leave smelling like fried/ smoky food, but it's worth it for the great food! I would suggest checking their hours before visiting as they are closed on Sunday's and Monday's. Overall, Flaco's is an amazing Cuban bakery that everyone should try!

Went out drinking and ended up here. Forgot my wallet on the bench, and some kind soul in the kitchelooked me up on Facebook and left a message. Came over in the morning, anf my money and credit cards were still there! I am a customer for life now!! THANK YOU FLACO STAFF!! See you soon...

Flaco's is what I miss most about Gainesville! There's very few places to eat late at night and Flaco's was always amazing, whether it's 1pm or 1am. They really did amazingly with the cards they were dealt with COVID. I loved their outdoor seating when I came back to visit. It's at the top of my list every time I come back to Gainesville!

Gainesville lacks a great Cuban restaurant but Flaco's offers some small options. The Cuban sandwich is very good. Bread is fresh, soft on the inside, crispy on the outside. The tacos come in soft flour shells. We ordered the ground beef. They weren't bad for Cuban tacos. We bought a couple meat empanadas, again pretty good and prices are very reasonable. Service was quite slow but luckily we weren't in a hurry. Overall it's okay.

Solid four for this highly recommended good eats. What a fun eclectic bohemian vibe and good food. Veggie bowl was interesting enough to be good with its very small menagerie of hardly discernable roasted veggie bits rounded out with a hearty portion of rice and beans. Pork arepa was generously sized with a fair bit of pork and these wonderful sauteed onions. Was a touch greasy but delicious for it. Also went in for the chicken empanada which was really rather nice.

Only had the Cuban and it was wonderful. I am always on the hunt for a good Cuban and this one did not disappoint. It was hot on the outside and cool in the center, as it should be. Mustard only, no mayo, as it should be. Good roast pork, as is required. Made to order, friendly folks, hip vibe inside. I'll go back when in town.

This was a favorite of mine in college. Their sandwiches were life at 1am. Lol Today I stopped by for lunch when in town for a long weekend and was happy to find it's as amazing as I remember. The Cuban bread is perfect. Sunshine sandwich was delicious. The plantains were caramelized heaven. And the quesito was to die for.

I've always heard of Flaco's and finally came during my final year of undergrad, and I'll say that I wish I came out earlier! I see why this place is THE go-to spot for those coming from a night out, and even though the lines can get terribly long, it doesn't feel that way and the food comes out so quick. I'd recommend the ropa vieja arepa, and it definitely hits different late at night after a night out.

Flaco's is such a nice lunch or dinner spot for when you're craving burritos or rice bowls but with the best sauce. I always get the ropa burrito or the ropa vieja, and they make it so juicy every time. The pineapple chipotle and mango habanero sauces are the BEST. I'd recommend mango habanero if you like a little kick of spice. There's not much seating inside, but there's an outside area with pretty lights if you choose to go. I always crave Flaco's you have to try it.

Walked in to get a late dinner with friends, the music was so loud we could not hear each other or the cashier. To add to the difficulty of not being able to hear, the cashier repeatedly stopped taking our order to text on his phone. Part of our order was two vegetarian items, the sunshine sandwich and sunshine arepa. The arepa was missing the tempeh completely. The sandwich had minimal tempeh and was poorly mad. The ingredients only covered half the bread. Overall, the quality of the food wasn't bad, but nothing extraordinary or unique. Had the service been better, might had returned to try the few other items on the menu we didn't get.

The food was yummy and great for late eats. Don't expect the most stellar service because this is a quick eat and loud drunks will make the environment strange. The folks working are doing their best to churn out meals as quickly as possible: but it gets busy. So good though!

This place is never a let down! Always friendly and a nostalgic cool atmosphere. I'll def spread the word!

I had the opportunity to try some of the items off of the Flacos menu recently. I think that the best description for Flacos is truly "Dive". And I mean that in the best of ways. This is the kind of place that you will find to be very popular late at night and in the wee hours of the morning, when the college crowd has flooded the downtown bars and other night life and they are looking for a quick bite to eat. If the sign stating that there is a limit to the number of tacos you can purchase after a certain time of night doesn't convince you of this, nothing will. I got in there earlier in the evening, so there wasn't really a line. I went for a taco and a burrito, because that is what you do. There were a number of other things on the menu, but these seemed to be some of their specialties. The taco? 'Twas excellent! I would definitely go back for more of those! The burrito wasn't bad either, though I found the taco to be significantly tastier. The burrito did remind me a bit of the burritos we used to get from Burrito Bros. Not exactly the same, mind you, but reminiscent. I don't get into the downtown area all that often, so I probably won't get here very often, but it is definitely on my list of places to go to for food when I am down there!

Still great. I've introduced my fiancé to Flaco's and this is now his go-to place when we visit Gainesville.

The food, the people, and the vibes are incredible! I eat here weekly! *chef's kiss*!!!

Amazing food and good vibe after shooting pool. Would recommend after going to silver q

The girl at the window, adorable as ever! Bowls and Nacho's, what a life saver! This is the one and only spot that's open late ...That you won't hate. Drinks, yummy yes please. Queso? Say more cheese. Arepa, You betchya! Yummy. Indeed. In my tummy! Gluten free options are available. Grab some grub and a table!

So delicious! I was craving Cuban food at 10pm and Flaco's was open! And it was quite busy! The Media Noche was so delicious! Question and guava cheese pastries are to die for! So flaky and love that sweet cream cheese. I also got the beef and chicken empanadas. Good crust but the filling wasn't super flavorful. A bit disappointing, but the rest of the food was so good!

Flaco's Cuban Bakery is located right in the heart of downtown Gainesville and is open late to satisfy any late night craving. FOOD (4/5): The food here is pretty good! My recommendations are listed below: - Cuban Gator ($9) - Any of their pastries (these are my favorite. They have vegetarian options, beef, and chicken options). - The Guava pastry is very good if you want something sweet. SERVICE (4/5): Most of the time the service here is great. You order at the counter and then can either take your food to a table or take it to go. LOCATION/HOURS (5/5): Easy walk from downtown or midtown bars. Stays open late

I never turn down a Cuban bakery! This Flaco's location is downtown and very popular with the late night crowd coming out of clubs. The line can be out the door after 1am. Its near Andaz Indian restaurant and has parking in the back of the building, but most people just walk here. There are two entrances, the back is for tacos with cash only. The front has the full menu including pastries and sweets (flan, tres leche cake). And of course your full range of Cuban coffee- cortadito, cafe con leche..so on. My favorite sandwich is the Medianoche which is similar to your standard Cuban sandwich. But medianoche is made with sweet bread. Yum!! I also really enjoy their Quesitos- cheese pastry. The arepas are good too. They have another location closer to Uf campus next to Study Edge.

Real deal- fast and easy. Sandwiches are pretty massive so you can share or have a late snack after crushing some beers.

I usually love them but this worker was fucking dumb, I ordered a media noche and they didn't have sweet bread so I asked for a Cuban and she said that was a completely different order. So now I pay the same more for what she fucking gave me, a Cuban.

A little Cuban lunch in the swamp! Media Noche was just like growing up near Calle Ocho, the pork was cooked and shredded perfectly, the yellow mustard, ham, swiss cheese and pickle combo was right in the money. My tres leches was a little dry but the flavor was there.

A great Thursday night comedy show. Amazing staff, a nice drink selection and a great menu. A must. Definitely a hole in the wall but definitely worth it.

Rude staff members. Tried to order an egg and plantain arepa (which I've ordered several times via Uber eats) and they told me they don't sell that. Told them I ordered it 2 weeks ago and the cashier lied and said they stopped selling it. The cashier with the pink hair and nose tattoos looked disgusted because we were there but was happy go lucky for the white couple ahead of us. Never coming back.

Flaco's is my favorite restaurant in Gainesville because of how delicious and cheap their meals are. Love this place to death. They even have vegan and vegetarian options, and if you're health oriented they have meals that are pretty lean. Easily 5/5

This spot is a dive with pretty good food, but a really great vibe. It's also the only place that I've seen in this town that stays open past 10 p.m. I stopped by for lunch and got a bowl bowl with black beans, lentils, rice, ropa vieja and diced chicken. The meat could use a bit more seasoning, but overall it was filling and pretty good. I also ordered beef and chicken mini empanadas to enjoy later.. I forgot to order arepas, but my best friend told me that they were awesome. I'll have to check them out on my next visit. Apparently they also make really good tacos in the back of the restaurant. Might have to check those out next time, as well. The service here was surprisingly friendly. The guy behind the counter was really cool, very patient and happily answered all of our questions. I definitely plan to come back and try the arepas...and the tacos.

Whoaaaaa buddy!!! You can never go wrong with a good Cuban and Flaco's has it!!! Well at least the best I have had in Gainesville. As a Cuban should be enough for two and they nailed that part. I also tried the quesito abs that was note worthy as well. I would recommend you call ahead of time to eliminate the wait. But either way it's well worth it!

Flaco's has THE best cubano in Gainesville. That's right the only one worth trying and take this from someone who has tried them all in basically every part of the US and Carribean. This is my all time favorite sandwich and Flaco's is where I go in Gainesville. Flaco's has two small locations both on University Ave, one in midtown and one downtown. Disclaimer: I have only been here after a night out. The midtown location is usually packed with college students but they do have a walk up window to order from. The downtown location is bigger and their front counter is sandwiches and pastries while the back counter is their burritos. Outside of the cubano I like the quesito (sweet pastry with cream cheese) and their burrito with the siracha sauce! They also have a lot of other sandwiches and the Cuban bread is pressed to perfection.

I came here specifically for the quesitos [cream cheese pastries]. The counter lady recommended the guava pastry as well so I grabbed one of those. For just under $2 each, you can have Heaven in your mouth. They are made with the traditional puff pastry baked and sprinkled with sugar. They were very fresh and go great with a hot cup of coffee. I absolutely love Cuban food, but it was a little too early for lunch. I went straight for the pastry case and ended up buying one each of their flaky beef and chicken empanadas. The filling was very flavorful with perfect spices and although they are not enough for a meal, they definitely made a great snack. Make sure to eat them on a plate or have a napkin handy because you will have crumbs all over your shirt. :) So many goodies - I just wish I had more time.... Overall, it can be a bit of a hassle parking since it's located right on University. However, they do have a private lot in the back. Flaco's offers a variety of delicious options for breakfast and lunch. I look forward to going back to try the tacos and Cubans. Solid food.

I literally just got back from Flacos when I open my meal it was warm to cold cuban sandwich. I have been to this place multiple times and it is a hit or miss. You can tell right away when the sandwich comes out fresh and hot or warm and cold. In addition the people in the front saw me for 5 minutes didn't attend to me and my meal was ready to go. I have tried their sandwiches fresh and I know they stay hot at the very least for 30 minutes it makes me wonder how long they had it sitting there and then recooking the bread again as it tasted hard to chew. I am pretty disappointed I only give it 3 stars because half time it is amazing but other times just NO. Sadly my Cuban Sandwich is going back into the oven. Having worked in the food industry, these are the things that make or break businesses.

Have only gotten takeout thus far, but I love it. I'm obsessed with good maduros (fried sweet plantains) and can't find them in my other hometown in north Georgia. So I was delighted to find Flaco's serves chicken and maduro arepas. They're just want I wanted--decadent, cheesy, a perfect blend of sweet and savory. One doesn't look like much but will do for a meal! And with a side of extra maduros, I was in heaven. I'm definitely going to come in and check out the vibe, but the food already gets my vote.

Great hole in the wall that's open late. Been a few times and I've always enjoyed it. Definitely recommend!

Jill rectified this super quickly and was very helpful we really appreciate that! Thank you very much!