Pepe's Cuban Cafe

Great atmosphere and good food too! Incredible atmosphere combined with great food makes this a hard place to share... only because I like my hidden gems! The staff is friendly and personable and the service was prompt. The fettuccine alfredo was good (not stellar, but what do you expect from a Cuban restaurant serving Italian?). The side salad was huge, crisp, fresh, and highlighted by the most big, beautiful tomatoes I have seen in a while. The Cuban sandwich is one of the best I've ever had. Much of the staff was new which made it a little shaky, but I would definitely dine here again... multiple times. Thanks for a good experience.

The absolute worst Cuban food that I’ve ever had, but the sangria was decent. If you want Cuban food in Tampa go to La Teresita, which has absolutely tasty and well prepared food. Additionally, the salsa music on Friday includes English and isn’t very young or upbeat. Here at Pepe’s the food is as follows: The chicken croquetas had a very over processed mushy center. The Moro rice wasn’t completely cooked and tasted dry. The garlic dipping sauce was very liquid and didn’t have much flavor nor any cilantro. The tostones where full of oil; perhaps the fryer wasn’t high enough. The yuca in mojo was very sour; not a good mojo.

Ordered two take out meals. 1. Roast pork, white rice, yuca. 2.Rope Vieja, yuca, plantains. The roast pork was chopped (?) and didn't have much flavor other than salt. White rice was good (this gave one star). The Ropa Vieja was so salty, I could only eat a few bites. The yuca was almost mushy and also very salty. The two pieces of cuban bread were sitting on top of the ropa vieja, and were soaked half way thru. My "side serving" of plantains consisted of three pieces. These were "okay (2nd star)." It's pretty bad when you're trying to think of a way to salvage the salty meat dishes vs throwing them away. Very disappointed. Maybe this is why there were only three or four people in the restaurant during lunch time.

Wow!! A genuine, pressed Cuban! Crunchy and hot and gooey-melty with just the right amount of meat and-I swear!- real pickles!! I have only eaten a whole Cuban sandwich in a single sitting twice-both times at Pepe’s. It’s that good; you can’t make yourself resist just one more bite! The platanos are caramelized perfection-sweet enough to be dessert (why waste them on a side dish? That’s what the chips are for.) Cafe con lèche is also perfect. So good! The place is a little hard to find so plug in the address and don’t despair when you can’t spot it from SR 54; it’s tucked back behind the first strip of Florida’s ubiquitous strip malls. Once you walk through the front door you’ll forget the journey!