Azucar

If you are looking for great Cuban food in a fun atmosphere come here! We have followed Azucar since he was in Edgewater 15 years ago. This place is bigger and a lot busier. They have a separate room for parties and a nice small one upstairs. The food will never disappoint! It is loud on the weekends at night… it’s a fun place!

Love this place, I’m am saddened that they closed doors until they relocate… Had the best Cuban sandwiches in the area!

CLOSED…
I went to book a private party here for my team as everyone can usually find something they like and the food is very good.
The mojito are fabulous!
So sad to see that the restaurant is closed as of Sept. 8^th due to disputes with their landlord. Their website said they will reopen in another location and to check back.
So disappointed!

My fiancé has taken me here twice and I wish it was closer because the food is FANTASTIC. The lounge area is small so it gets packed very quickly but the lounge is only an added bonus to an amazing restaurant. Food is great!

After being attracted to the nice outdoor seating area on Washington Blvd, I decided to stop in with my mother after dinner for drinks and dessert.
We were quickly sat outside on the patio, however we had to wait more the fifteen minutes for our order to be taken.
After reviewing the limited dessert menu I was disappointed to find that they had run out of most of their desserts and decided to order flan and coffee instead.
After another 10 minutes of waiting our flan came out but no coffee. Even after inquiring with our waiter several times, it never arrived.
When my mother and I were so frusturated that we were about to complain at the maiter d stand (and frankly no longer thirsty); our coffee did finally showed up.
While I felt the my experience here left much to be desired, I feel that there is a lot of potential here based on the entrees I saw around me. Perhaps after waiting a few months I will try eating here again and the service will have hopefully improved!

Great service and food smelled great walking in. But shortly after leaving I got food poisoning. Maybe it was just my bad luck but food was great other than that. #proudcuban

Overpriced place for those who refuse to understand that Cuban food was never meant to be enjoyed in a «gourmet» atmosphere. For a better (and more filling) experience, pick a random spot in Union City.

My favorite spot in Northern NJ to unwind and celebrate a successful day at work.
Azucar is a multi-​purpose, bi-​level restuarant/​lounge/​night club that caters to many demographics depending on the day/​time and section of the restaurant. During the week day it caters to a business lunch and early dinner crowd. It’s not uncommon to encounter a room full of suits, drinking and dining on expense accounts. As the sun sets during the week, the atmosphere grows more laid back and from about 7PM until closing you get a mixed room of trendy locals and lingering business execs looking to drink at the bar, socialize and watch sports on the big screen TVs behind the bar. By Saturday night the place turns into a late night hot spot with a DJ spinning everything from latin to house to hip hop. Beautiful ladies and well groomed men dance and toast the night away. It’s the best.
Upstairs is a cigar lounge and that is for me where Azucar shines. It’s almost sound proof up there and you can «get away» from the party scene below with a big screen TV, plush leather sofas, and a cigar cabinet with such favorites as Arturo Fuente and Rocky Patel. My favorite thing to do is order a pour of Zacapa XO neat ($ 19) and smoke an Alec Bradley while lounging in one of their deep plush leather sofas. Most times its empty up there and I can watch what I want on the TV and sit their in peace.
The food from Azucar is hit or miss: the Cuban sandwich was dry and too salty. The fried chicken was a bit too overcooked and the Yuca was too. As a restaurant Azucar is decent. But the bar-​scene and cigar lounge is what really seperates this spot from the competition.
Keep it up!

Very good Cuban food. I had roast pork, rice with black beans, yucca and plantains. The food was very good and the portion was HUGE! It was more like Cuban fast food, I’m sure it was all prepared ahead but they brought it all out very fast. We were in and out in no time at all. I would go back but ask that they relax it a bit between the courses. Coconut flan for dessert was very good and that’s all they had left. The tres leche cake was gone and we were disappointed about that.

Went here for dinner on a Thursday night. Figured, «I’m in a Cuban restaurant, I’ll have the Cuban Sandwich». Blech. Inedible. Totally dry bread with a small amount of meat and cheese. Asked waitress for more pickles, to make it palatable, she cautioned me «they’ll charge you for them». The mayonaisse was free and allowed me to eat the sandwich.
I did like the Black Bean soup. Very flavorful.

I came here for a late dinner and drinks. The food was decent but not the best I ever had. What I really enjoyed was the drinks. The mojitos and martinis were excellent and I even got to try a shot called cinnamon twist which was delicious.
They had a DJ which was playing great music however there wasn’t that many people there.
I noticed a few people heading upstairs so I decided to go check it out and they had a cigar bar which I thought was great.

Food and drinks are pretty good and big for a small price… I love margaritas and they serve big and pretty strong ones for house tequila that is… Still not my favorite… Yet if you love dancing and eating/​drinking/​hanging out… This is the place!
Nothing special on food or drinks but great environment, really… I’ from Puerto Rico and I love the music here!

Came here with my friend and it was really good. I worked across the street so we just wanted to try it out. I got the lunch sandwich special and it was so good. The atmosphere is really good and the service is nice.

Azucar — ah, when I go by here I think of la Reina de Salsa — Celia Cruz. That’s also probably why I do go here because of the fact that I have such good memories of her and her music. Anyways, this place is right next to my hotel so it helps when I’m able to get out of work and walk right in as its on my way to the hotel. When you step in you’ll feel as if you’re in a little bar in Havana. It’s got great décor and friendly folks. I’ve spent a lot of time in there in the winter months and I must say — you should stay far away from the windows. The service has been great when I’m there — always friendly always refilling my drinks. The food has been great when I’ve got no complaints at all about that. This place does have great drink specials so if you have a chance make sure you drop in to get a few drinks. 3 stars

The food at the restaurant is ok. I’ve had lots of Cuban but I felt like this was a little watered down. Give me the authentic stuff ! I can handle it !!!
However, they have a cool little club. I don’t know why they insist on leaving you in the line in the cold but ok. When you don’t want to party in the city, this is a cool option. Upstairs they also have a cigar bar if you smoke cigars. I just keep it low profile, dance a little, and enjoy a light libation.

Unfortunately this place was not as good as advertised. The one star is for the sangria which is decent at best.
The place was ¹⁄₃ full yet the service was slow. The guacamole with chips was not very appetizing. The guacamole did not taste fresh and the plantain chips were way too salty. Same goes for the black bean soup which was so salty we had to return it. The beef empanadas were below average but the biggest disappointment of the night was the Cuban sandwich. It lacked the flavor of other great Cuban sandwiches available. No real kick from the pickle and the mayo was non-​existent. The ham was dry and tasted like deli meat.
Without naming names, there are better Cuban spots in JC at prices that are a lot more affordable. I will not be coming back here.

I give this place a more than generous review only because there really isn’t any place like this around Hoboken or Jersey City. Let’s start with what the place is:
1. A solid Cuban restaurant
2. A decent bar area
3. A reasonable outdoor smoking patio area
4. An acceptable dance floor between the smoking area and bar
5. A surprising yet ultra comfortable cigar lounge
Yes, Azucar has all of these features, and then some. If you’re in the mood for authentic Cuban food, the cooks know what they’re doing. But what really separates this place from being some average Cuban bar and grill is the fact that walking upstairs leads to a genuine cigar aficionado’s haven. You walk in and are blasted with just the right amount of cigar smoke in a carpeted, Cuban-​inspired room with very comfortable seating. Along with reading materials and a TV, this area is full service. You may have to wait a little longer for drinks and food vs. downstairs in the dining area, but believe me: it’s worth it.
For the full cigar-​smoking, Cuban food-​eating, and alcohol-​drinking experience, go upstairs to the smoking lounge. It’s probably not the best place to bring family, but it’s ideal for bringing your buddies to. It’s even better if you have a date who doesn’t mind smoke.
Why I give Azucar four stars. The service can improve as sometimes it takes a little longer than usual to get drinks upstairs. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to clean the cigar ash out of the trays once in a while. If you come here on a weekend, be forewarned. You will either love or hate the crowd. I once went here and there were multiple fights between customers outside. The cop that broke it up pulled me aside and said, «What do you expect? It’s a Cuban joint.» I am a white guy, yes. But I never thought of Azucar as a trashy ghetto spot before this happened. And it’s not a trashy ghetto spot. But sometimes you will go in here on a night that has trashy people.

The food was amazing but unsanitary. I was enjoying my rice and beans but unfortunately had a piece of plastic and didn’t notice until I was chewing it. After asking to speak to a manager we were told there wasn’t one or a supervisor. I didn’t know if I was more upset about finding plastic in my food or upset about how rude the waiter was about it. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone.

I used to eat here all the time… all throughout they had their ups and their downs. Finally I decided I’ve had enough.
The food is inconsistent. A few times I had some dealt good sandwiches, really juicy and delicious. But a lot of other times, the meat is too dry.
On my last visit, I ordered the El Grande, the huge piece of breaded, fried steak. It was dry and bland. But even worse, about a quarter of the way in, I bit into some kind of small piece of metal, which seriously grossed me out. I sent it back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, the waitress returned and asked me if it could’ve been my filling. What the???
The only thing I’d ever come back here for would be the mojitos.

Forget authenticity. This Cuban place is strictly for the white-​collar crowd swarming out of the Pavonia-​Newport PATH station. It’s not bad, but Fidel would be rolling over in his… wait, he’s not dead yet? Well, Ricky Ricardo would be rolling over in his grave waiting for Lucy to ‘splain. I came here with a local colleague on a business trip, and it’s that kind of an eatery. It’s comfortable with vibrant colors that wouldn’t look out of place at a Pier One half-​off sale.
I ordered the $ 8 Cuban Special, a pretty good deal as it was a grilled, pressed sandwich with roast pork, ham, cheese, mayo and pickles. It came with quite a few yucca fries and a cup of Cuban black bean soup (
). I’ll probably come back the next time I’m in Jersey City, although I’ve already been told by some Joisey boys I need to get to Zafra in Hoboken if I want the real thing in that neck of the woods.
FOOD — 3 stars… a not-​bad Cuban sandwich at lunch hour
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… a Havana hot spot as reimagined by Cost Plus
SERVICE — 3 stars… he came, he went… no big deal, gringo
TOTAL — 3 stars… works just fine as a work day option