Andrea M.
Yelp
I went here with a gf, and I'm glad she picked this spot. Man, this place has been on the bookmarked list for the longest time so it was high time I went.
We ventured here around 5:30 PM on a Thursday night, and the place had a few folks dining in already. Though service was fine, we did think them rushing the bill to us and getting us our to-go box mid-way through our meal was sort of strange. It's not like they were booming busy.
Anyway, the food experience...
The coffee con leche was good. It looked like a crafted latte from a coffee spot. It wasn't as sweet as a latte nor as strong as a Cuban coffee. It was good though and hit the (sleepy) spot.
We shared the empanada sampler: 2 beef and 2 chicken. I ate the beef in the restaurant so it was hot and crispy. The leftover chicken was consumed the next day so it was a tad dry. The green and white sauce that came with it really helped add additional flavors.
Papi's sandwich was a really good pick as the sandwich was large, meaty, and moist. The main meat was pork with a slice of ham. It's sort of like the Cuban but more liberal with Papi's sauce making it moister. It's basically like the Cuban (as I just re-read the menu) with lettuce, tomatoes, and onions.
The pictured sides come with rice and beans, but you could substitute it for yuka fries, plantains, or a 3rd choice I can't remember. The rice was good mixed with the black beans, but they weren't anything special. They're a standard at any Hispanic spot -- maybe refried beans versus black.
And lastly, Papi's is to the left of Publix so parking was pretty plentiful at this end corner.