Florida Restaurant

Having lived in Miami for the past 24 years and being a 1st generation California Cuban, I know ab things out 2 about this cuisine! I can honestly say that it was Delicious! Authentic flavors of the island cooked in traditional style, I would go eat there again.

We were excited for the reopening of this favorite local Cuban fare spot! We waited for 40 minutes, but it was worth the wait. Prices are reasonable for how large the plates are. Everything we ordered was packed with flavor and plated nicely. Every table and booth was filled with customers, and the waitresses and I imagine the kitchen staff were very busy; they definitely could use a hostess with organizing skills; our name was erased twice in error. A sign in sheet with a time would definitely be helpful. Of course, we had to order additional plates to bring home.

Honestly….. Will not be returning. The food is subpar. Not comparable at all to Tropicana or even Porto’s. Most of the food has no flavor. Portions are very small. We spent $80 for two entrees & 3 drinks. We shared a plate with my daughter of 8. We ordered 1 Lomo Saltado to try out a Cuban spin on a Peruvian Dish.. The lomo was served on a skillet and all the fries were burnt. I scrapped off the food from the skillet so it wouldn’t continue to burn my food. The meat was dry. Best part was the onions and tomatoes… that shouldn’t be the case. Very disappointed. Anytime my family & I want Cuban Food, we’ll go to Tropicana.

After 2 years I am really glad Florida Restaurant is back open. It has the same excellent service and very good Cuban food. It has a new and improved ambience and decors. And of course, one always ends one’s meal with a cup of Cortadito.

Traditional Cuban food. Ropa vieja is delicious, the plantains are perfect and the whole place is vibrant and very clean. A lil too saucy for me.

What a find! This was a random stop for me and the meal was great. Staff was very helpful with explaining the menu options and easy to ask questions. Felt homemade and down to earth. I had a chicken dish that was sort of a random pick as so many things Felt like a win and it was awesome. I will be coming back soon.

Very good steak sandwich very tasty and nice portion. Renovated restaurant, so everything is nice and new.

Today, Wednesday 03/12/25 at approximately 06:30pm. I visit the Florida restaurant after the new remodel. The food was good, the only thing that I found is a hair on my appetizer mariquitas. I notified the waitress and showed her the hair, she didn’t even say sorry. The food was ok, but at least it’s not like the past before the remodel that the food arrived cold. The only thing they really have to work on is the customer service. They did not greet me at time of arrival, and kind of ignore me. Also at time of checking out, I said good bye, and again, the workers ignored me and all three waitress female looked at me as don’t you dare come back. Staff really un-professional.

Florida is back!!! That creamy savory garlic mojo has returned and is dripping from all the delicious dishes. We ate there as part of the soft reopening the first weekend of march. The lechon and ropa vieja were juicy and all the normal sides--moros, maduros, tostines, empanadas-- were on point. The new interior is bright and beautiful and the family atmosphere never left. WARNING DO NOT PARK AT JACK IN THE BOX...we got towed :(

Finally!!! Came today for their soft opening and boy the food was delicious! The inside is beautiful and modern, very white and bright! I got Lechon Asado, flavorful tender meat paired well with the onions on top. The rice that came on the size had great flavor as well. Came with a side of black beans and 3 plantains. We tried a chicken and beef empanada and it was crispy On the outside with super tender shredded meat stuffed inside.

Yay the restaurant reopened!! Went on Tuesday with hubby to have some home cooking Cuban food. Decor is nice, clean and waitresses very friendly.

Best Cuban food!!! The restaurant is fully renovated now and due to open soon. Owner has updated social media pages with the announcement and the photo of the finished renovated establishment

I'm so excited that the renovation is looking good. I have no idea when it's going to re open but I'm excited.

Hands down this is the most authentic Cuban food compared to my Cuban Mom in laws cooking; she was born and raised there. We have tried most of the items on their menu and have thoroughly enjoyed every dish. The staff has been there for many years and is always so helpful and kind. Last night we enjoyed the croquetas, our usual. Their bread is buttery warm and delish! Maraquitas, plantain banana strips with garlic. Corner con papa is rich and savory, so much flavor along with the traditional white rice and black beans. I had the vaca frita, fantastic, so much flavor, and just crispy on the edges; so filling.

our favorite cuban restaurant is coming back guys!!! can't wait, hopefully they'll open soon

I've been to many Cuban restaurants and while some might be more pleasing to the eye than this spot they just don't compare in flavor. Aesthetics -4 stars -with every restaurant in these days they have outdoor dining which is really not the most ideal but that's expected with dinning during Covid Service-1star - this area is their weakness since there seems to have no sense of urgency. Our server never came by to ask if everything was okay he ignored us . Had to wave down another server to provide us with another drink . Which should not be the case. We also asked for a bread basket and they never brought it to us . Food-5 stars - this is what really matters and the most important part of dinning . We got Rabo encendido , vaca frita and ropa vieja . All three were full of flavor and just the way they'd Gould be you can taste the rich spices and tenderness of the meats in every bite. The Rabo is one of the best I've had . Recap- over all of they were to improve in service and probably update their decor once Covid is over Thai could be one of those wholes in the wall places that has long lines outside. The food is great just need service to be on par

Love the flavors! This is a great place to come for lunch. They have a good lunch menu. I got the pollo asado and it was delicious. The chicken was well marinated in kind of vinegar base which taste kind of like adobo. It's a decent amount of food and better than fast food for lunch. Service was quick.

5 stars for homemade style (comida casera) Cuban small business, a staple of the community in Downey. May not be fancy in presentation, but that's just how we like it. Favorite plates include arroz con pollo (served "caldo" style), ropa vieja, lengua, sándwich cubanos, and medianoche. They also serve batidos/smoothies that will melt away all your troubles

The best Cuban place in town! I'm been gone for three years and have missed this spot so much. Everything is delicious but my go to is the chicharron de pollo and a once cold materva, can't beat it

This used to be one of my favorite restraunts. I was a customer for more than 20 years. I discovered it when it was under a different name at a different location. My family and I are sad to read that it is now closed. I hope they post here if they reopen elsewhere.

The quality of fresh made dishes are always number one! They've got a great array of really great paired dishes served with fresh salads that compliment each meal. The empanadas are excellent! Specially if you order it fresh & are able to dine in. I love the fresh Cuban brew both hot & cold(upon request). The service is always great. The cook aims to please & so do the servers. I love this place bc it is both family & individual friendly. The dishes are great! Overall, if you are close by- It's a MUST TRY! You'll love & I'm sure you'll be happy & come back! My family & I love it! Thru the pandemic; they've managed but there are a few other local spots... This one serves you like you're at best friend's house. Great surroundings & hospitality!

Very authentic Cuban restaurant that serves up all the standards in top quality. I had the Masas de Puerco Fritas, it's fried chunks of pork. Comes with White rice black beans and plantains. $15.95. The place has the feel that's it's been there forever. Lots of Cuban posters and maps. Waitresses are old school efficient, great place to practice your Spanish. The staff is very friendly and inviting.

Omg que comida tan Rica La mejor Comida Cubana in Souther California Everything is good and Fresh I had the Carne con Papas the Best!! The Service excelent Prices are Good I recommend this place 100%

Can we start a Gofund me so they reopen????? Im devastated! Mt favorite Cuban food EVER!! Please come back!!!

Ido hope they reopen. I love the Morros, plátanos maduros, milk shakes de mamey, the pollo asado con cebolla, papas rellenas, and the Cuban sandwich. (Excuse my Spanglish). The service is a bit slow, but worth the wait! The food is excellent! The staff is kind. The place is always clean.

I had the Rabo Encendido it was delicious. The meat fell off the bone easily. Great service and atmosphere. Will definitely come back.

I love this place . It was my go to for lunch and for my son's and I favorite place to eat Cuban food. I passed by on Friday and saw that it was boarded up. Does anyone know what happened?

I would give a 4 or 5 but last Sunday service was terrible it's always slow but this time around much worse & also we where told our plate didn't come with black beans when it clearly says it does on the top portion. But we love the taste of food here which is why I am writing today I passed by and it's completely boarded up like it closed down...anyone know what happen?

This is a family oriented Cuban restaurant. Do not expect anything fancy, traditional dishes served home style. We shared a breaded steak with a Spanish tortilla (potato and diced ham omelette). For side dishes we got "moros y cristianos" (steamed white rice and black beans) and platanitos (fried ripe plantains). All good and very traditional. To finish we had 2 cortaditos (espresso coffee with steamed/frothy milk) Good service, good food and good price. We are coming back for sure.

Monday lunch special of red snapper was pretty good and for 6.50 it got tastier. Cortadito was really good 1.50 for a beautiful strong NOT bitter single shot. Bring cash! There is a minimum of 10 dollars to use credit card and my bill was 8.50. The have a kids menu so I think I'll bring the boy with me next time.

Been coming here for over 15 years , food is delicious. I would come here more often but the SERVICE IS TERRIBLE! Always has been, My mom has brought this up to the owner didn't give one care. She just stood quiet. Piece of advice order food and drinks at once , you will not see your server again.

By far this is one of my favorite spots for Cuban food....never fails I have been coming here for the past 10yrs and it continue to be on point. My favorite plate is always the bistec empanzado or the ropa vieja .

It's closed down. So depressing. Their food is ahhhhmazing!!!! I wish they would open somewhere else's.

Food is amazing !! Hope it opens another location . Lomo Asado is my favorite . Best Cuban food I ever had .

Being Puerto Rican from New York and the lack of Puerto Rican food in LA, Cuban food is the closest thing to Puerto Rican food. I had heard such great things about this restaurant and I was really excited to come and try what they had. I got here and ordered, customer service is good, but that's where it ends. Do yourself a favor and just go to Tropicana on paramount because this is not it. Food tasted like it had been sitting out all day then reheated. I ordered lechon and it tasted like a school lunch meat, no flavor, stiff and still pink inside. My boyfriend ordered Arroz con pollo and the rice was soggy and overcooked. Save yourself the time and money, look up Tropicana, so far the best Cuban food in the area!

I been to this restaurant a handful of times . Each time we decide to come back and eat , it's because of the food! The food is delicious with excellent flavor! Reason why they are getting 3 stars ! It's shame because it's so good but each time we decide to come here it turns into a debate because we know we will inevitably get horrible service ! The owner is nice and professional but always looks overwhelmed! She does look hardworking and seems as if she wants her restaurant to prosper ! However, it will not prosper with the waitresses she's hired. Upon entering , i didn't receive a greeting or an "I'll be right with you" from anyone , just stares like if their saying "oh no , more people ". They all look so overwhelmed and angry! I stood there waiting for someone to approach me. Finally I decided to approach the owner and she said "let me see if we have a table". Again she was nice about it . One waitress looked at me and gave me a dirty look . The other didn't even bother to look at me. Finally, I was seated. We didn't get menus right away but we did receive a bread basket . A lady and her daughter arrived long after we did . She was seated next to us and was given menus right away. Her waitress who by the way is the worse waitress I've ever encountered took her order right away while we still waited . When my husband asked her "excuse me do you know who our waitress is?" She said "yo no se " which means "I don't know ". My husband was so angry at the way she answered, that he wanted to leave. I was so hungry that I just keep thinking "suck it up because we knew we were going to get bad service " ha! This particular waitress has been so rude in the past that even of our family and friends know about her! I'm not sure if it's the same lady everyone on yelp talks about but I'm attaching a picture! I hope the owner sees this review . What do I expect? I'd like to come back to her restaurant and eat comfortably, not feeling sick to my stomach after a horrible experience. I think this is my longest review and I want to invest the time in writing it because I'm hopeful it will only become a better establishment. Oh I have to say that there is a young man who is a waiter there and is the very best! I forgot his name but he is super cool! We looked for him but he wasn't there on Saturday night . I truly wonder if we will ever go back to eat there?

Came to this mom n pop Cuban restaurant recently. Decor is a little old fashioned indoors but the parking lot does have some vibrant Cuban murals. The menu is big with all dishes under $15. The starter bread is tasty but their main dishes are a little salty. My son was a little bummed about the kids menu having only two selections. All in all, would come back again.

I had Masas de puerco fritas, it was one the the best meals I've had in a while. I didn't have the opportunity to take a pic cause it could not stop eating.

Second time coming here. I returned because I was blown away by the food the first time I went. The first time I went I got Ropa Vieja, it was packed with flavor and I really really enjoyed it. Came back for another favorite of mine, RaboEncendido and the flavor was there but not all the way. The three stars is because I also order papas rellenas and the meat inside was cold. The Rabo was also slightly cold and the beans actually tasted a little burned. I really loved this place when I first came and I thought I would be a loyal customer since I'm new to the area but I was really disappointed during my second visit. We may return some time down the line. Hopefully they will get better because they do know how to make good food.

As a whole we felt like the restaurant was accessible, Florida restaurant has enough parking, even during lunch rush hour. There was 2 handicap parking spaces doors, bathrooms, and dining area was large enough to accommodate handicap population. Noise level was high but understandable considering how busy they were. Members and staff felt like the quality of the food was excellent. The wait was not long and the food was cooked to perfection. members felt like they had a taste of cuba through this lunch experience. Service was prompt and in general the establishment was courteous and clean.

I have passed by this restaurant for who knows how long. I was in the mood for cuban food and after a week of thinking about it, I finally got some. Best decision ever! I started off with their cappuccino that is cinnamon flavored with some whipped cream. It was so tasty! Sweet but not too sweet. I ended up getting the arroz con pollo with a side of yucca frita. The chicken in the arroz con pollo was so juicy. This dish reminded me of a Pakistani and Indian dish called biryani. Loved flavorful the rice and chicken was. Also loved the garlic sauce with the yucca frita. It was perfectly crisp. I ended up getting a takeout order of the arroz con pollo for my parents. It was that good. Definitely planning to come back again. I do wish you had longer hours, but other than that, the food is amazing!

The food is very good . I ordered ropa vieja .The portions were very generous.We will continue coming .

First dine in meal for our family after restaurants opened up due to the covid-19 drama. Not much of a wait for any parties under 4. The food was fresh and loaded with flavor. Don't know if it's been a long time since we've dined in but it tasted like a home cooked meal. The yuca frita was very crispy with the mojo de ajo dip. Arroz frito had lots of flavor. Vaca frita is a must try, crispy beef but melts in your mouth when you eat it. First time trying eat probably not the last. My son liked the rabo encendido. I tried it soft fall of the bone and flavorful. My wife had the bistec empanizado tender thin piece of steak great too. My youngest son had the fajitas looked and smelled great. I had the shrimp it came with because he didn't notice it comes with it. All in all it was a great experience to be back dining in somewhere. Service was great by the two ladies working today. Would highly recommend this establishment if your in the mood for Cuban food like my family was.

love this restaurant! will you be opening again soon???? please update. we call every week and the same message plays.

Delicious food. Slow and average customer service. We only go back for pick up and call with ample time in order for food to be ready on time.

I absolutely love this place. Having grown up with a Cuban abuelo this place never disappoints. Everything is delicious and everyone in my family loves all of it. The prices are beyond reasonable and the flavors are authentic as they come. Customer service is amazing and everyone is always happy and smiling. Highly recommend!!

Piss poor customer service. I called at lunchtime and asked to place an order. I was told to "Hold on" and I held on for over 6 minutes while you hear the ladies laughing in the back ground and making jokes in Spanish. My best friend referred me to this place be aue he knows I love Cuban sandwiches. Was staying in Downey for a couple days on a work assignment, looks like I won't be eating here. There were 6 other people who wanted to order lunch, but considering they obviously don't care about having customers, I guess we'll find another Cuban restaurant after work, since now we just had to go to Subway because of time constraints.

The food is just ok, nothing special about it, but the service is awful these ladies should not be working anymore, all the waitresses have a bad attitude Specially this women We are never coming back

Probably the best Cuban food in the city. Great selection savory and well prepared. Not always consistent .....? but, still excellent.

Very good food at great prices, the appetizers are delicious, the bread and the butter were delicious, especially the butter, appetizers are bigger than most places, the people there were very nice and we will definitely be going back to this restaurant, I recommend it. We had the Pollo a la plancha , lots of flavor and very juicy, the flan was also very good. Good meal and ambience all the way around.

Chicken soup was amazing , but the workers are kinda dirty ... Lady dropped a french roll on the floor and picked it up . Tried to hide it t,hen cut it up to serve for seated guest But yea soup was good

The food was very good I've never been here. It's the first time I've tasted Cuban food but the server was the rudest lady I've ever encountered and because of her I will not be back.I was celebrating with my goddaughter and was totally disrespected it's a shame

Excellent services from the ladies! We had to sit outside because we had a dog, but it was still ok. I wish there was a fan or something though. The food was excellent. I love it. My family doesn't cook much so I crave home cooked meals, but the food here tastes like a home cooked meal. I can taste the love. It was delicious.

Very disappointed. They serve bread at the table. Bread was stale. Shrimp cocktail $10.95 was average in size for the price. Flavor was average. 7 seas soup $14.50. Flavor was lacking, well below average size. Crackers for cocktail were stale. My my how we have fallen. This was a great spot. Maybe it was an off day.

A small diner-looking place, you don't know what to expect when showing up. The mojito was weak, the sangria just all right. Service was good, but a little slow at times. The caldo gallego was alright but lacked salt. The moros also lacked salt. The empanadas were decent if not exceptional. The stand out was the chicharrones de pollo. The masas were also well seasoned with mojo, which is why I don't understand why the red beans and moros were so lacking in salt. The arroz con camarones were okay but nothing to write home about. If it's near you, you could do worse. However, compared to El Floridita, in Hollywood, this does not compare. I guess I'm gonna have to keep driving there for my Cuban food.

Honestly, don't waste your time or money here! This place is so filthy and disgusting. I'm surprised they haven't been shut down yet! I ordered arroz con pollo and the chicken was seriously cold and not cooked in the center. I didn't want to eat anything else, but since my family was all there I felt bad. I got the steak, rice, and beans and that was okay. Do yourself a favor and do NOT eat here. You've been warned. The place looks like it's from 1900. Menu's were disgusting, the floor was hideous and beyond dirty. The tables around us hadn't been cleaned or cleared off for atleast 25 minutes we were there and it was slow! When we first saT down on the booth each side we had to clean with a napkin there was crap all over it! Do not come here, food is not good, the presentation of it is embarrassing, they do not know how to cook and this place is so disgustingly dirty! Glad they ruined Cuban food for my family and I.

This is more of a diner setting. Also I am Cuban-American, first generation born here, I grew up on Cuban food. Let's start by it took 10 min for someone to come to our table. When she did, she only asked if we were ready to order, had not even taken our drink orders. When I told her our drink orders she seemed irritated and was like so you're not ready to order? I said yeah but we haven't got our drinks. We ordered right away as well since we knew what we wanted, good think we did. Got lemonade for my 2 boys, it's literally powdered lemonade, they came out different colors. Food: Free bread- can't complain. Except for being squished pieces. Mariquitas- hard to mess up. Only thing I prefer they had salt, mojo dipping sauce was good. Arroz con pollo- lots of rice, small chicken leg with what they called a thigh...barely any meat, showed it to waitress and she brought me an actual piece of thigh. Tasted okay. I was starving. Maduros- not full cooked...they were TOO mushy. You can see it wasn't flipped over in the pan. Ropa vieja - husband ate this. It's one of his faves. He said it was okay. Nothing special Service was terrible. Never checked on us. When I asked for more water when she happen to pass by, never brought it over. The only good part of the service was when she didn't hesitate to bring me another piece of chicken.