El Cubanito

Best steak sandwich I’ve had thus far! The meat was seasoned perfectly and was so tender. I love it! Their fries taste like McDonald’s fries and customer service is mediocre, it was my first time there so I was asking a lot of questions. The gentlemen didn’t seem too helpful. But will definitely come back.

I am probably being partial because this place is directly behind my house, but I love this place. Always perfect for a quick bite. My favorite sandwich is the tripleta. Its extremely messy, but delicious. Contains steak, chicken, and pork. The cheese empanadas are giant crab ragoons. The Cubans is great, fries are delicious. The Hawaiian coffee is outstanding, and other Cuban style coffees are a great change to the normal caffeinated beverages.

When this was a walk-​up, the place was constantly packed with people coming to get something to eat. With it being down the street, I checked it out and was immediately addicted to the Cuban sandwiches.
Then they expanded. All the better. I’m a huge fan of the ropa vieja and even the side dishes are good. I’ll go there for the café con leche before I go to any other coffeehouse in the Logan Square.

The food is decent, but the guy that took our order had a cold, garbage, jerk-​like attitude. We ordered sandwiches and coffee and he gave us the large coffees w/​o asking what size we wanted, that’s a dirtbag move and he was a dirtbag for doing it.
If it wasn’t for the guy that took our order with that garbage attitude, I would’ve rated this place higher, at a 4 or even 5. By the way, my wife also felt the exact same way about the guy. That really left a sour taste in our mouth about this place.
The Cuban sandwich was good and the ropa vieja (side order) was pretty good too. Nice ambiance

Starbucks who ?
I’m a sucker for Cuban Coffee spots and this place is a must try if you love it too. So glad they bought the place next door I hated waiting in a long line out the door of the old shack. The new location has expanded their coffee menu to include a delicious Hawaiino (coffee with Coconut milk) and El Arabe (Coffee with cinnamon and cardamon) pair this with any of their delicious breakfast sandwiches or loaded empanadas and your in for a treat !
I only wish I had one of these in my neighborhood because it really is a steal at under 3 dollars a cup.

The café con lech was hands down the most amazing thing in the world. My husband and I drank 4. The empanadas (we got chicken and steak) were killer too. I got the steak sandwich and my husband got the ham egg and cheese. I preferred the ham. 100% will return for that coffee though.

The sandwich is out of control. I ordered the Steak Sandwich and a Latte. First time to Cuban food and it was worth the walk. Thinly sliced steak was properly seasoned, though I found it bit overcooked. Again this is how they do in Cuba, fully cook the steak. The bread was toasted and crusty on the outside and chewy inside, just the way I like any sandwich breads. Warning, the sandwich is messy to eat, but the deliciousness trumps. The coffee was good, but bit too sweat for my taste.

I was just there yesterday I ordered coffee and milk a and the steak empanadas very good!

Being a coffee guru i stumbled into this place on a visit to logan square. All i have to say is amazing tje cooffe is at its best and what makes it even better is that its a local business the rustic decore is amazing the food outstanding and service is incredible. Having worked with different kinds of blends and cultivations of coffee from costa rican to ethiopian blends this is one of the best. The café arabe is aromatic and delicious. So if you happen to be in logan square around wrightwood and pulaski give el cubanito a try you will love it

This new place is awesome! A whole lot more seating area with the same awesome food! I love their Cuban steak sandwich and their café con leche OR «café arabe» if you like cinnamon and cardamom in your coffee.
This place is so good that I keep coming back even if it’s just for their coffee! The menu includes different sandwiches such as the cuban, ham and cheese, ropa vieja, tripelata and a few other. Def stop by if you are in the area and want a good sandwich!

I don’t even love Cuban food that much (yes, you can throw stones at me), but I was really impressed with their Cubanito Steak. Large portion for the price. One piece of the sandwich bread is slightly soggy and the other one is perfectly crunchy. And the meat, matchstick fries, cheese, etc. combination is heavenly. I’m a big condiment person, but I didn’t add anything. I’m sad their ajiaco is only served in the winter, so I will have to come back for that.

This is one of the best sandwich joints I’ve been to so far. I had the Ropa vieja and it was off the hook. The only thing I can complain about was the menu board it didn’t look that clear to me. I think just a hard written board would of been just fine. The tv’s look out of place to me didn’t fit the theme of the restaurant.

Cortadito was awesome! The place is soooo clean. The kitchen looked like an operating room it is so clean. I only had a coffee after my morning run, but I will be going back to try out the menu. So glad they are here, and I wish they would be open late for salsa club!

Great place. I’ve been going there on and off for the last couple of years. I am a big fan of the shoestring fries that come in their cubanito sandwich.
So here are my pros and cons about El Cubanito.
Pro:
— Sandwiches are all great, still haven’t found one I dislike. My favorite is still the cubantio. It’s a steak sandwich with the meat that has a great vinegar marinade on it. It’s served with the basics lettuce and tomatoe, but the shoestring fries, (as previously mentioned) inside of the sandwich take it to a whole new level.
— Great new location (Right next door to the old spot,) bigger, brighter, and my favorite… way more room.
— Empanadas are home made and very flaky with a nice selection of fillings. You need to grab at least one before you leave.
— Very moderate pricing
Cons:
— As much as I love their coffee I was disappointed on two of visits their. My café con leche had a burnt taste to it, which can only mean that the coffee had been sitting too long in a hot pot. I know this because it took almost 20 minutes before I could properly take a sip.
That’s it…
So to round up, I gave it 4 stars. This place is a definite 5 star place if it wasn’t for the coffee.
I hope you all enjoy this little taste of Cuba without having to leave the states.

Places like this make Chicago, Chicago!
Was actually a hole in the wall for years. And now they have a bigger location next door!
The food is amazing, really great tasting food. It’s not crazy over priced. I always go for the ham egg and cheese sandwich with a chicken empanadas! Everything tastes great here. I will be back, & than some, of course!

For my first lengthy visit to the Windy City, I perused Unilocal for solid places to eat. El Cubanito seemed to be lauded as a «can’t miss» place, especially for the price, and it was conveniently located where we were staying for the weekend. Overall, the restaurant had solid food with large portion sizes. Perhaps due to the overwhelmingly positive reviews however, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. The steak cubanito was the best thing – with lots of meat and crunchy frites – it was a hit. My cubanito was a little less satisfying and while good, it seemed like a standard panini. I did enjoy the fried plantain chips that came with my order.
When we arrived around 6 pm on a Friday night, the restaurant was pretty much empty. Also, it smells a bit weird. Glad we decided to try this place, but it probably won’t be a must visit next time I come back to town.

El Cubanito located @ 2555 N Pulaski Ave in Chicago. What an awesome place. Great food, great prices and large portions. You come in to the Chevy counter order & find a seat. They bring the food to you.
Another great find on Unilocal.4 ½ Stars & 1 $. I ordered the Cubanito sandwich it huge and delicious. I got it with everything, the steak is nicely seasoned with shoe sting potatoes, lettuce tomato (even better w/​the hot sauce). The guy working the cash register tossed in a beef Empanada with shredded beef, rice perfectly seasoned (another winner). What a great find definitely worth book marking for you foodies that love great food with great prices and large portions. If you haven’t been here you need to check it out. Sorry I need to eat now.

AYYYY AYYY SO DELICIOSO!
I tried convincing my mother and sister to go out to brunch with me on Sunday, but they didn’t want to leave the house (I guess Brunch is very much a Milwaukee thing!). My sister recommended I stop by El Cubanito and get some stuff to go, which turned out to be a wonderful plan.
I got the hot chocolate, whereas the rest of the family got café con leche. We had tried another Cuban place in Chicago the day before for café con leche and were not impressed. El Cubanito on the other hand, completely met the expectation of what «Cuban Coffee» should taste like.
My sister was shocked that they were no longer the small shack on the corner and now gracefully occupied the nice restaurant space next door. Based on our conversation, they didn’t really have a menu before, but now have TV screens with all of their items and the prices listed. I was a little disappointed because the menu (only available on the TV) did not describe what the items were. Luckily, I knew what I wanted based on past experiences and was pleased with what I ordered. Another semi-​disappointing thing was the fact that they charged more (like .50-​$ 1 more) than what they were displaying their prices to be on the menu.
I ordered the guava and cheese empanada and the Timba. Swiss cheese and Guava are so wonderful mixed together, if only they had plantains/​maduros!!! My sister had the steak sandwich which was huge, delicious, and definitely more bang for your buck than what I got.
All in all, a great experience and I plan on coming back!

It’s been about a year since I first visited and man was I surprised how this place has changed! Before it was just a tiny counter service kinda joint and now they have expanded next door to an open and airy seat-​yourself-​after-​you-​order restaurant.
The space isn’t overly decorated and it doesn’t have to be; exposed brick coupled with dark wood table and chairs is sleek in its own right. I wonder if they let you host parties here because I would definitely host a party here in a heartbeat.
I planned my recent visit for take-​out only… like I said I was so surprised to see the dine-​in option and next time I will plan accordingly. The menu is still the same – kind of small – but the options are delicious.
I ordered the steak sandwich and the chicken empanada and one of my favorite sodas Materva, a yerba mate soda drink. The food is made to order so there is a short wait. Everything was delicious. The chopped steak is tender and flavorful. The steak is topped with queso suizo, lettuce and shoe string potatoes. I added some of their delicious red sauce for an extra kick. All that on a toasty crispy soft bun. Yum-​Yum.
The chicken empanada was very flavorful and full of well-​seasoned chicken. My only gripe was one little corner of the empanada wasn’t cooked very well so it was super doughy. I have a feeling that little corner was probably sitting above the hot oil when they whipped it up. No matter, I am sure (and hope) it was an anomaly because my other visit the empanadas were perfect.
Friendly service, clean digs. And prices so reasonable (cheap!). The tiny parking lot is still riddled with pot holes, street parking might be the way to go.

The
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OH EM GEE! Steak & Egg sandwich please and thank you!
Cheap, high quality food, with great service.
Hidden Gem. Get your food here after you leave the gym haha
Love this place! Great staff too!