Mi Bandera

Based on the reviews I expected it to be a lot better. A couple of factors could be in place why it didn’t meet my expectations. 1. It was almost closing time and 2. I am from miami and when I order Cuban food i expect some flavor resembling Cuban food. Black beans tasted like right out of a can, meat was dry and hard and the bread was like French bread. Another thing they served it with a plate of old lettuce and an olive? Just not authentic and I think they were 30 minutes from closing. The waiter was nice and the few people still there were all very nice.

I’ve been going to this place for years now. I moved away from UC; however, whenever I come to visit my first stop is here. The wait staff are always pleasant and the food remains good. However, my last visit was kinda upsetting because I noticed the place was looking rundown and they were playing Spanish rap music in the dining area (very low class for the type of resturant).

If you’re an enthusiastic steak lover, Mi Bandera will guaranteed become your go to spot.
Besides the over priced dinner menus including weekends, if you end up going on a early afternoon weekday you’ll find some great lunch specials you can’t turn down. The portions they serve are enough for two adults, YES! they’re huge! I have been coming to this restaurant with my family ever since I can remember, way before this restaurant had a big renovation years ago (born and raised in Union City, NJ) and they have never disappointed us.
What are my favorite dishes you may ask? Well I’m not a big meat eater but this place has the best Skirt Steak ever & I can’t resist not ordering it while here, so yes I recommend the Skirt Steak (your choice of medium rare, well done, etc.) with a side of rice, beans, maduros (fried plantain) and an avocado salad on the side to compliment. Oh. Let’s not forget their tasty sangria… Heaven!
Not a big meat eater? No worries, they have a few seafood entrees available. During my most recent visit here I had to switch it up for a change and went with the Seafood Paella. It ended up being a big portion which was divided between my father and I. We both agreed it was good paella but I felt like it was missing something so we asked the waitress for a few slices of lime and voila, a great seafood paella in deed!

The absolute best churrasco and sangria… been here a few times and it never disappoints.

I’ve Been coming to this place since I was a teenager. They have the most amazing red sangria. I usually order the churrasco (skirt steak) with rice, platanos maduro and the avocado salad. Very spacious and the waitstaff is very friendly and professional. They have a nice little bar/​lounge area where you can throw it down and the dance floor. They cook the steak and chicken right in front of you on this huge grill. Very clean.You won’t be disappointed.

Pros: Meat flavorful and overall food was good. Garlic and shrimp app was delicious. Flan was excellent and very creamy.
Cons: No pitcher of sangria is worth 25 dollars! So overpriced along with some of the prices for food. Service is slow.

With food inflation where it’s been at over the past few years, I had had to downgrade to McDonald’s until I found this place. Come in on weekdays before 4 and get a HUGE, SAVORY steak for 12.50. I’m not kidding it’s good quality. Order the small «pequeño churasco» portion, it’s big enough trust me you’ll have left overs for dinner. ONLY GET THE PEQUEÑO CHURASCO IT’S BY FAR THE BEST DEAL/​MEAL IN GENERAL. Although if you got some extra change in your pocket black beans with rice go nice with it.

This is an excellent spot for great Cuban food. My parents have been coming here for like 20 years, and it really never disappoints. I like to start out with the plantain chips, avocado, and Chicharrón. My favorite is the Chicharrón, little cubes of fried pork perfection. I like to take the avocado and put it on the fried plaintain like a sandwich with a pinch a salt, delicious. My got to main course is the skirt steak, medium rare, always cooked to perfection, juicy and seasoned with some amazing spices. Dessert, you have to go with the tres leches cake, spongy, soft, melt in your mouth amazingness.

This place is the epitome of tacky, in a good way! If there’s such a thing as «good tacky,» that is. My initial reaction walking in: «where the hell am I?» You have to brave the huge staircase before making it to the actual restaurant. Kind of odd. If you make it up the steps (for some people the struggle was real) or wimp out & take the elevator, you’ll finally reach the massive second floor restaurant. Dark & dingy on one side (in a weird underground bar in Cartagena, Colombia kind of way), and well lit and sterile on the other side (a throwback nod to Sizzlers).
Needless to say my lover and I opted for the dungeon basement ambiance.
The host greeted with a smile and the waitresses served without urgency. I order the pork. HUGE portion of pork with little flavor besides sodium. My sides? They were forgettable.
My date liked his food, the rice being good but the beans being watery and simply not great. You can’t fool two Caribbean people with bad beans. We know beans (& rice!)
Would we return? Despite the fact that we were entertained by the fake Boulder wall, live DJ spinning reggaeton, and multi-​colored blinking lights, don’t think so. The food was as tacky as the décor, but not in a good way.

I’ve been here a few times over the years. Food is ok. But they overcharge when possible. $ 7.95 for a Cuban sandwich? Ridiculous.

We had the churrasco skirt steak with the chimichurri sauce, maduros (sweet plantains) and rice with black beans for lunch. Delicious and perfectly cooked. I was surprised to see the restaurant was almost empty though. Just us and another couple. Try for lunch, the prices are much better than dinner which in my opinion is overpriced ($ 30 for skirt steak).

The Pros: Food was deliciously authentic! We ordered churrasco (skirt steak) and ropa Vieja (shredded steak). Both dishes were cooked and flavored perfectly. Also, the salads come with a heap of fresh avocado. Money well spent on food.
The cons: the environment is a little bland. They didn’t even play any music and when I requested them to put some on (it was my mom’s birthday).the waiter said they never play music in that room. The waiters accidentally took my plate of avocado that I was saving and when I mentioned it, the waiter just wanted to ORDER me another salad. I ordered a cappuccino after i was done and it was basically just a regular coffee with milk, whip cream and NO foam. My dad said his coffee sucked too.
Conclusion: I would rather go somewhere else before I go back to Mi Bandera.

The portions here are so incredibly generous, I feel like that reason alone is enough to come back! I used to visit here with an old boyfriend and his family (who were all Cuban) and they loved it too, so I feel that if actual Cubans who cook Cuban food love it, they must be doing something right here! The sangria is actually the real reason I wanted to make the most recent trip here (I visited last week with a group of people) and I was definitely not let down. I remembered it being very tasty and we all raved about it on this visit as well. It was very strong, too, which made us happy! Both of the guys in our party ordered the large skirt steak and were each able to bring about half of the steak home to have a second meal with. It was very good steak too, perfectly done. I had the Paella which served as my meal that night plus fed both my boyfriend and I the next night. It was cooked very nicely too, I’ve noticed that often times paella has a tendency to dry out but this stayed very moist for my first dinner and even reheated! Wonderful dinner with very attentive waitstaff!

We don’t normally like Cuban food because it is usually loaded with tons of GOYA seasoning… Synonym for GOYA = MSG. This place is different. I had the grouper which was very fresh and seasoned perfectly. The skirt steak was tender and not fatty. Their plantains were to die for. They also made a nice red sangria.
Also, I have to add that it’s great value for money.
This will be our «go to» place when the craving for Cuban strikes.

Good portions, churrasco can be really good or just okay. I usually dine earlier with kids, so seating hasn’t been an issue. After 7pm on weekends, the bar area can get really crowded and noisy.

Once again Mi Bandera satisfies this hungry steak eater with a grande steak that was cooked to perfection. You can get the small or the large steak (I show both in the pictures) cooked to order. Pair that with a side of rice and beans and you will be in heaven. Trust me, you will leave here stuffed!

Came here with some friends since it was his last night in NY before heading back to DR. First time i was here and the food was pretty good.
Place is huge. We were a party of 8 w/​no reservations & we were promptly seated. How many places can seat a party of 8 in a few minutes?
For appetizers we had the stuffed tostones, shrimp w/​garlic oil & chicarrones. The appetizers alone with some beer we would have been happy!
Everything was flavorful w/​o being salty or over spiced.
For the main course we shared the meat platter (skirt steak, blood sausage, short ribs, pork chop, sausage & chicken breast which was cooked to perfection.
I can’t wait to go back!

I have been coming here for a while and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever walked out dissatisfied or have had anything negative to say. Their Churrasco is definitely the best like everyone says and how it is rated by Zagat and their sangria is to die for. The arroz moro and maduros are great sides.
I’ve also came here before for big dinner parties and the services was always on point, making sure our drinks were filled, that our plates were taken away as soon as everything was done and there is never a rush to leave unlike some places that basically throw you out once you get the bill. There is also a small bar in the far end that has a dj and has somewhat of a club feel.
Overall this place is great and I love bringing friends that have never been here before because they also fall in love with it.

My boyfriend and I love this place. It is a little bit sketchy downstairs but the food is worth coming for. We love the Chimmi sauce and that it is unlimited.
The décor is very so average or maybe a bit below average but it is a clean restaurant. Usually there is parking available around there making it convenient.

Learn to know what to order. The white rice is hit or miss sometimes, which is surprising. I take care of my waiter, hence I’m well-​taken care of every time.
After 3 years… still good: o)