Rumba Bakery Cafe

I hope this place reopens. The food here is very delicious. I have ate at the famous versailles its suppose to be the best cuban food in los angeles and hands down i think this place has the potential to be better.

They are closed! :(
The sign on the window says they are looking for a new location. I hope it opens again soon and nearby. I miss them already.

Rumba is now closed. They have a sign on the door saying they are sad to say the closure of Rumba has begun and that they are looking for a new home, but they are still stilling taking holiday catering orders.

Unfortunately, this place wasn’t as great as I had expected it to be but then again that’s what I get for having high expectations.
Parking: The place is in a plaza and has parking so don’t worry about that.
I walked into the restaurant and I loved the atmosphere. Clean and cute. Their dining room was clean so that’s was good enough for me.
Anyways…the ladies that work there aren’t that friendly.
I ordered my food and she told me that that the lady at the register was going to ring me up. The lady was counting money and the other lady who took my order told me to sit down. Okay… couldn’t she be just a tad nicer?
It takes about 10 minutes to receive my order which was 4 Potato Balls, 2 croquetas, 2 pastries, and 1 flan.
I expected that they would get my order right since they were not busy at all… I get home and they didn’t give me my flan :(
The croquetas were delicious which is why I gave them 2 stars. I wasn’t a fan of the potato balls, no flavor. and as for the flan… well I didn’t get to try it since they forgot about it.
I don’t think I will be back. I’d rather go to Porto’s and wait in line for hours than come here.

Delicious food! It’s hidden but so worth finding. We always buy the empanadas for work, yummy

Free Papa Rellena with check-​in! Wooohoo!
This little hole in the wall is a must-​try if you ever find yourself in the wonderful city of Whittier (no sarcasm in that statement…) and craving comida Cubana. It’s hidden in a run-​down shopping center in random ass Lambert Road but make no mistake: this place is super clean and the customer service is superb.
I always get the same thing: Ropa Vieja and Papa Rellenas which are the size of a small child’s head. The portions are awesome and the dinner plates come with rice, beans, and plantains. Both my sister and my mom had the Bistec de Palmillo and both claimed it was delish (judging from their empty plates, I will take their word.)
This last time we came the papas were cold inside but the server did tell us that might happen and she was quick to exchange them when we confirm the fact. They also ran out of Bistec Empanizado which is how my mom ended up with the Bistec de Palmillo. Even though that kinda sucked, the server was very gracious and apologetic and quick to make it right. My mom ended loving her new dish and all was well in Arleene’s World.
This place has that homey taste and feel, like Grandma Celia (azucar!) prepared the food just for you. The customer service is on-​point which makes me a very happy camper. Stop by and get them balls (papa balls that is!) You can thank me later.

First Visit:
Ordered take-​out here one night for dinner. My husband ordered the Pan con Bistec sandwich and I ordered the Ropa Vieja. The meat was tender and nicely sauced. I really liked the plantains and moro rice. My husband enjoyed his sandwich. Look forward to trying more of the entrees.
Second Visit:
Ordered pastries to go one day for a gathering. They were tasty and a hit with everyone. The cheesecake was nicely dense and sweet. The lemon bar was tart and lemony. The napoleans were creamy with flaky pastry. You get the idea. Everything was just how it should be. I’ll definitely order pastries from here in the future.
Third Visit: We came here after seeing the movie Chef. We were very hungry for Cuban food. I ordered the Cubano sandwich and my husband ordered the Ropa Vieja sandwich. Both were tasty. Loved the plantain chips. I’m so glad we have this hidden gem in our city.

Absolutly love this place! I am half costa rican and this is the closet thing i can get to costa rican food. I love their ox tail dish, sooo good. Their sandwiches are great and have to have a papa rellena and pastalito de carne. I come pretty much i am in the area visiting my parents. Coming here is a must.

Located in a somewhat rundown shopping plaza, I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped into this restaurant. The Cuban décor and music made the place more warm and inviting. Regardless of whether you’re dining in or ordering take-​out, you place your order at the cashier. I was disappointed that they ran out of their potato balls when I visited. I ended up getting their popular Cubano sandwich and a tamale.
First of all, the tamale was very different from any tamales I’ve ever had. It was served without the corn husk and had a sauce (chimichurri?) on top with some grilled onions. It was absolutely delicious! Secondly, the Cubano sandwich was as good as other Unilocalers have promised it to be. The pork was pretty tender and it was definitely one of the better Cuban sandwiches I have had. This initially looked like a lot of food but it was so good that I devoured it all.
I absolutely looking forward to going back and (cross my fingers!) hopefully get to try their potato balls. I would also order the tamale again and try another dish!

Checked out this little hole in the wall today and founded to be very pleasant.
I ordered the Cubano sand which and was very delightful. I also ordered the potato balls stuffed with ground beef.
In a nut shell the food & price were very good and the pastries looked fantastic!
They also have a coffee bar to go with bakery.
Environment is pretty chill with great Cuban artwork and music playing in the background.
A must if your in the Whittier area!

Food was excellent! Had the Cubana, Ropa Vieja sandwhich, patelito de carne and papa rellena. The food was fresh, perfectly cooked. The service was warm and friendly. The walls are covered with period Cuban prints — nice touch that paired well with Cuban music I haven’t heard in years!
We will definitively be back!

This café has been around for two years, but I just recently found it. Thanks to my cravings for Cuban food I was able to find and bookmark this place.
Food: They have a pretty average sized menu, but they have the good and basic foods listed. They’re also a bakery and have a variety of baked goods, including cakes, for example a Red Velvet Cake. I called in my order beforehand, already having the Media Noche sandwich in mind. I checked in on Unilocal to receive the free Papa Rellena. The Papa Rellena was actually very good. I’m not a huge fan of them, but this one was the exception. It had a balanced amount of meat and the mashed potato complimented the flavor. The Media Noche was very good as well, but I felt like the portion was pretty small. The sandwich was cooked very well and the bread was sweet and had just the right amount of crispiness.
Environment/​Ambiance: The café is located in a small and crowded plaza, so the space itself isn’t very large. It looks fairly new and is very clean. There’s a few tables, but it didn’t look very busy even during the lunch hour. There were a few take out orders that came by, so even though there weren’t very many dine in customers I’m sure they get a lot of traffic.
Service: Since it’s not a very busy café there was only one person working at the front. She seemed pretty busy but nonetheless she was very nice and helpful. Even though I called in my order and waited the appropriate amount of time I still had to wait for awhile for my order. Thankfully I had the time to wait, but for a small order I expected for my order to be ready by the time I arrived.
Tips: Definitely try this place out if you’re in the mood for Cuban food. If you’re in a hurry, call in your order.

Just walked in:
1) They were out of my free papa check item but they gave me a pastelito de carne and taste very good.
2) There is a nice vibe but lonely never-​less, I’m the only one here and I’ve been here for about 20 minutes.
3) Good prices and nice portions
4) Drinking a cappuccino and being the coffee guru that I am I’m actually pleased.
WOULD I COME BACK, yes. Unfortunately this place has been here for almost 2 years and I’ve lived in Whittier all my life and have never heard of it!!! With more marketing and advertising I’m sure this place will be around for a long time…

Very friendly service!!! Cubano sandwich was good and their flan is delicious. Agree with fellow Unilocalers, don’t go there for their cupcakes or American desserts. My husband ordered a chocolate cupcake, it was average. Would recommend this place. Again, lady at the register who is also the server gives great customer service!

Let me first say the food is still fab!
I only downgraded my rating because they no longer have table service… at least for a weekday lunch hour. They also do not serve the awesome bread and mojo sauce as a free starter during this time either.
Other than that, I am still a huge fan :)

So happy I found this place! I was cruising Whittier Blvd, as I sometimes do, lurking the Unilocal app for a good check-​in offer and dinner inspo. When I came across «1 free papa rellena with check-​in,» that was that, I was sold and we got off Whittier and headed for Lambert Road, straight for Rumba Bakery Café. I’ve been wanting a good cuban sandwich and this place has em! We got the Media Noche, The Croqueta Preparada, and of course the Papa Rellena.
The Papa Rellena is one of the best I’ve had. This thing is massive, golden, and crunchy on the outside. the papas are perfect and smooth, the ground meat inside seasoned and flavorful. A meal in itself, really.
The Media Noche is a stack of ham, slow cooked, tender pork, cheese, pickles, and mustard between some slightly sweet egg bread. This sandwich was salty and a little sweet in a all the right places. The portion seemed small when the plate hit the table, but I had trouble finishing it because while it’s a smaller portion than I’m used, the sandwich is very filling!
The Croqueta Preparada has ham, grilled onions, croquetas, mustard — this sandwich was also very filling and a larger portion than the Media Noche. The roll used on this one is soft and buttery and the potato croqueta inside, tho smashed when the whole thing gets flattened in the sandwich press, maintains a bit of crunch. I LOVE potato inside sandwiches and this version is creamy and seasoned nicely.
Two perfect sandwiches for a chilly night in Whittier!
Each sandwich comes with a few plantain chips and a garlic and olive oil mixture that is addictive! The garlic is tangy with a ton of bite and the oil is smooth and rich. This dressing settles quickly so stir often. This stuff was so complimentary on all the food and left us with some stank breath for the rest of the night. So good.
I’ll be back to try their coffee and pastries!

Last week, I had a day off and decided to stop off and try this place. Unfortunately, we got there and found out that this place is closed on Mondays. Booooooooo!!! Okay, but I realized that it was my fault since I hadn’t verified what days they were open.
This week, hubs and I decided to give it another shot. I called to check if they were open. No one answered. I tried a few minutes later. No answer. I checked their website and saw that they should be open. I give hubs the warning and we come up with Option #2.
We pull up and the place is open… but dead. Not a single person. This worries us, but Unilocalers have said, for the most part, that we need to try it. So we do.
With my check-​in we got a free Papa Rellena. It was very, very good. Honestly, the best I’ve ever had. And yes, I have been to Porto’s. I’m not a huge fan of that place. I think it’s overrated. Anyhow, I also ordered a Beef Empanada which was chock full of meat and great flavor.
I ordered the Lechon Asado because that is always my favorite when I have Cuban. I have to say that I was not impressed. What I love about lechon is the citrus and the garlic. This, didn’t have much of either. I did really like their moros and their platanos. And the bread was soft and buttery.
Hubby had the Chicharron de Pollo. He thought it was good but it had too much breading.
The staff was friendly and the place clean. It’s in the strip mall next to Lascari’s and the meat market.

I decided to take advantage of their proximity and place an order for take-​out. Very pleased with the outcome!
The food was ready quickly and was neatly packed and tucked away in a clear and organized way. Extra kudos for the extra napkins AND the napkin wrapped utensils set! How cute is that?! NICE touch! Thank you!
Sadly, I took one star away because they were out of Materva. I know, it happens, I understand, but it’s not like I can pop over to the corner store here and pick up some up. They don’t carry Jupiña either :(just Ironbeer (yuck) and Malta (ehhh).
Oh, the Havana Club is a MUST-​try! It’s a big one (enough to share if you’re going to munch on other goodies like croquettas and papa rellenas), but oh-​SO-​tasty! Nom nom nom!

My husband and I wanted to try this place for a few weeks now and we finally went in yesterday to try it.
The décor of the place is not bad. It’s neat and clean. The staff is very friendly.
I have to say that the starters were delicious. We had papa rellena (beef stuffed mashed potato), pastelito de carne (puff pastry w/​beef), and and empanada. These were actually delicious. My husband and I were both impressed with the taste of the starters. I have to say that I will save gas money in going to Rumba Bakery instead of portos for some papa rellena.
Unfortunately, I dont think we can say the same of the sandwiches. My husband ordered pan con bistec (steak sandwich) and I ordered the ropa vieja sandwich (shredded beef). I know food isn’t ALL about aesthetics, but the sandwiches looked average. What caught our eye immediately was that the sandwich had been flattened when the bread was warmed. My husband was not too please with his pan con bistec. The steak meat was very chewy, dry and overpowered with lemon.
The ropa vieja sandwich was average. I have had ropa vieja from many restaurants and I definitely think that this one is missing something.
The guava & guava/​cheese pastries were delicious. We will definitely come back for the appetizers and pastries. I dont think we’ll come back for a full meal.

I was craving a cuban sandwich so bad and had been eyeballing this place for weeks. And after noticing tons of people popping in while I was next door at my Kali class, I was compelled to pop in (I think it was even after hours). The staff was very welcoming. I ordered a cuban sandwich and got a free papa rellena with my Unilocal check-​in.
The sandwich was d-​lish, and the papa rellena (creamy mashed potato ball filled with tender ground beef in a sweet gravy, deep fried in a crispy shell) was even better than Portos.
The décor, though Cuban themed, could have been a little better (they stopped at the walls), but the food and the service get an A+.
They also have a fridge of amazing-​looking cakes, some sold by the slice. Definitely stopping into this gem again next time I get that Cuban-​food itch.