Ruben’s Cubans

Took 45 minutes to get 2 egg sandwiches out when received they were cold… Won’t be coming here again

Never knew this place existed till I decided to get on Unilocal and find a new spot for lunch. First time here and was simply amazed by the food. The café con leche was probably the best I’ve had in a long time. Many restaurants and diners offer café con leche but very few know how to make it like Rubens. A definite new favorite for lunch during the week and even maybe on the weekends! Worth every penny and the drive if you’re close by. I had ordered a simple grilled chicken sandwich on Cuban bread and the chicken was well cooked and flavorful. I will definitely try a traditional Cuban on my next visit.

i went to ruebens cubans this morning for breakfast, as i was getting ready to get up from my table a roach crawled across my table. .of course i jumped up and screamed there’s a roach on my table… the manager actually had the audacity to insinuate i brought the roach in!!! poor management along with a disgusting disgusting disgusting place! do not eat there!

Absolutely outstanding. They have been a family Tradition for us. I’ve brought my kids when they were little and very soon I’ll be bringing my grandson to this place. The food is always right or they make it right. The owner is very involved and shows he cares for his diners and his staff. Always friendly always positive.
Thank you. I can’t wait to try your new location and I know you’ll continue to be blessed with more business I also will appreciate bringing the newest member in our family to further our families traditions THANK YOU ALL.

A couple of colleagues and I visited Ruben’s Cubans about a week ago and were pleasantly surprised. The Cuban sandwich that I ordered was absolutely delicious. It had the perfect amount of tender meat, toppings, sauce, etc. Also, I like how they ask you how much of a press you would like so those who do not like an extremely pressed sandwich can get thicker, non-​toasted bread. The area is kind of sketchy but just do not make eye contact and keep walking. The prices are comparable to other places in the area. Overall, I would have to say that these sandwiches are much better than the ones down in Ybor City!
I hope to be back soon.

Took my kids out for lunch to Reuben’s Cubans and was amazed! The server Ashley immediately made us feel at home, giving the kids something to color and asking if I wanted a cold cup of ice for my bottle of green tea. It’s the little hospitable acts of kindness that make a difference! The Cubans were awesome! Best in town as far as I’m concerned! Keep it up guys!!!

Great food & service loved it! The price was fair too. Does look like a whole in the wall but it not.

I must say that restaurant owners must realize that in order to have a thriving successful business they must have satisfied customers wanting to come back. This was my first time eating in at this restaurant. I ordered a burrito and named specifically what I wanted in my burrito. Of course it came to me made wrong. I told the waitress about it. As usual they have to make excuses instead redoing the order to make it correct. The waitress tried to explain her error away and put the blame on me. I refused to receive that blame. She finally said that she would get it made over. While I waited for my burrito to come out I overheard the owner ssying…‘I don’t like nobody wasting my food, who ordered that? Since I overheard him I went up to him and said. ‘I ordrrrd it but I specifically told the witress how I wanted it made.’ Then he said well we don’t make it that way. ‘, Then I said well you don’t have to make anything for me. She could have told me that when I was ordering.’ That was one of the worst burritoes tht I have tasted. The sauce given to me for it was mild, hot wing sauce. I do not recommend the beef burritos. It’s nothing like homemade.

Cubans are awesome. Breakfast is great, lots of food for little money. I just wish they were open later at night.

It was a cute hole in the wall near Busch Gardens, and I love Cuban food so we gave it a try. I wanted Picadillo but everyone makes that differently and they had ingredients I don’t prefer and I like mine with fried potatoes in the meat. So my husband and I ordered various other things I can tell you about. The shredded pork was a little dry, black beans were too liquidy, yellow rice had no taste, tostones also had no taste, and the Cuban sandwich was all ham and almost no pork! They also put salami in their Cuban sandwich which I ordered without because I’m not trying to Italianize my Cuban. But the bread was good. I have had Cuban sandwiches from Key West to all over florida, but for some reason the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had still comes from a food truck in Austin TX called the Texas Cuban. They are from Miami though, I think.
I’m not trying to hate on this place, I’m just picky about my Cuban food. Their service was good and food came out quickly. They’ve been in business for over 28 years, so apparently some people must like it!

Great food; great service! It’s been in the same location since 1987, that speaks volumes… known as «the best pressed Cuban in town»!!! Worth the wait at lunchtime :)

Being from Virginia, we don’t get real Cuban sandwiches with sweet ham. So we decided to try this place to get a real Cuban sandwich.
We were delighted to find this local restaurant so close to both of the theme parks we were visiting today.
We were served by a friendly young woman. Our boys ordered Cubans and our picky girl eater ordered pancakes. We had Lechon Asado with a small café con leche. The boys devoured their Cubans. My oldest said it was the best he had ever had, even better than the ones he has had in Puerto Rico. Our black beans had perfect pot liquor, the yellow rice was fluffy and the shredded pork was not too greasy. The fried plantains were some of the best I have ever had.
If we lived here, we would eat there regularly.

I went inside to order a Cuban on 4−4−15 at 12:28pm until I seen roaches on top of the garbage can inside also too picture of roach.

We are in town on vacation from Maine to escape the snow. I really wanted an authentic Cuban while I was down here. This place was highly regarded on Unilocal and just down the street from Busch Gardens. It’s a hole in the wall local place and everyone was super nice. I had a Cuban and my wife had a chicken burrito. The food was amazing. My wife was especially impressed that her burrito was pressed in the plancha as well. I hadn’t been to Florida in nine years and I’m so glad we stopped here for lunch.

I was born and raised in South Florida where we have authentic family cuban restaurants on every corner and am cuban myself so when I moved to Tampa the biggest struggle was finding some decent cuban food. So far, Ruben’s the closest I’ve come to comparing what I grew up eating. I ordered the Picadillo and a café con leche. Café con leche was good, nothing to complain about there! The picadillo tasted how it should, very flavorful (but not as good as mi madres of course ;)) haha. The rice wass overcooked a little, not necessarily mushy but not «Al dente» like us Cubans like it. The black beans are kinda bland there was something missing (the most common disappointment I experience at cuban cafes around the area), but nothing a little salt couldn’t help. I usually get plantains but they didn’t have them on the menu, only fried plantanos which I found strange, so I got boiled yuca. The Garlic and oil was great! Didn’t even have to put salt on the yuca like I usually do, buttt the yuca was veryyy dry and not boiled completely so kinda hard. This is my first time having theirs so it could just be a one time thing and happened to get the not as cooked pieces in the pot kinda situation.
Yes I’m being picky but I’m only pointing specifics out to help my fellow Cubans that were/​are frustrated like me in finding a good cuban café around Tampa! We don’t mess around when it comes to our food! Lol All I ever see in reviews are ppl excited about Cuban sandwiches, bc white ppl love cuban sandwiches, rarely do I see someone who knows what to compare the authenticity to. So here you go :)
Overall, like I said I enjoyed the meal! Will definitely be back to try the ropa vieja

I love a good hole in the wall local place! Got a huge cuban and a café con leche for $ 9. I’m not sure which one of them was better, both were fantastic! I’ll definitely be eating here again!

I found this place years ago while looking for a good sandwich spot and have gone back regularly ever since. The staff are always super friendly and the owner can often be found behind the counter or chatting with patrons. Love, love, love the grilled grouper sandwich!

***I’ve only taken Cuban sandwiches to go
As a New Yorker with a Floridian boyfriend, I’ve discovered some local Tampa gems. The area around the restaurant isn’t the nicest, but it is worth it when you get a Cuban sandwich.
I told Ken (the owner) that I was taking some Cuban sandwiches to go (for my family in NYC) and if he could make them survive the three hour flight. He was super accomodating; he even put some mojo on the side! if you like coffee, get some Café Bustelo while you wait!
It looks really blue collar and unassuming, but it is worth the trip (and flight). I’d do anything for one of those sandwiches right now!

I Was invited for lunch to this place by a coworker. The place was packed but they were able to find a table immediately. It is not fancy and kind of wore down. The servers are quick and energetic. Some of them speak Spanish. They have a big menu with lots of sandwiches including the Cuban of course, pastrami, turkey etc. I order the pastrami with Cuban bread, mayo, lettuce tomato and cheddar cheese. If you want it hot you need to tell them. The tostones were tasty and crunchy served with a mayo/​ketchup sauce, yummy! Being there two times and is always good. My coworker ordered the yellow rice with an omelet. He said it was delicious too.

Locals know this is the place to go for good inexpensive Cuban food. Haven’t been there for dinner but breakfast and lunch are great!