Soul de Cuba Café

When I first heard about this place, I was excited.  You see, I haven't had any real Cuban food since my last visit to Miami in 1994.  All over the city, there were a number of tiny coffeeshops serving media noche and café con leche alongside plates of chuletas fritas, tostones and frijoles negros.  Delicioso, indeed!

Stepping inside, you'll notice the bar along the far wall.  The rich brown color and the photographs that line the walls, make this place feel homey and inviting.

Looking over the menu, the soul sampler (US$15.00) looked like a good place to begin.

On the plate you'll find deviled crab, a beef empanada, a veggie empanada and a small serving of the camarones bailando (dancing shrimp).  The empanadas were topped with a sauce that was a bit like Thousand Island dressing.  I've never eaten them this way, and the light, flaky pastry with its savory filling would have been much better without it.  The camarones bailando, were the stars of the plate.  Perfectly cooked, the tender shrimp were complimented by a smoky, black bean based "Cubano-chinois" sauce.  Last to be eaten was the deviled crab.  This deep fried cousin of the croquette, had a rock hard exterior that concealed a well seasoned and tasty interior filled crab.

On this visit, I also decided to try the pan con bistec (US$8.00).

According to the menu, this sandwich was "thin slices of pan fried Cuban palomilla steak and grilled onions served on pressed Cuban bread with mayo".  When the sandwich arrived, I discovered that it was filled with two thick slices of tough, dry beef and barely cooked onions.  Biting through the beef was a challenge from the very start and I was very disappointed.  The bread, however, was light and crispy, just like Cuban bread should be.

Giving the restaurant another chance, on a subsequent visit, I ordered the Cubano (US$7.00).

Traditionally, a Cubano sandwich is made by stuffing thin slices of pernil and ham, a slice of Swiss cheese and thinly sliced pickles between Cuban bread that is often slathered with mustard and sometimes butter.  It is then "pressed" in a fashion similar to a panini until the cheese barely melts and so that the pickles remain crunchy.  Here there was no mustard, or butter, to be found, instead there was quite a bit of mayonnaise.  In addition, there were small disks of a salami-like meat here too.  The combination of meats made this sandwich salty, and unlike a true Cubano, the pickles had lost their crunch.

Although I am appreciative that a Cuban restaurant has finally come to Hawaii, my only wish would be for the food to be more traditionally prepared with thoughtfulness and care.  The sandwiches were lackluster and uneven, and while the appetizers were good, only the camarones bailando really stood out.  The service is here is friendly and attentive, and if the food were to improve, even at these prices, I could see myself coming back.

Soul de Cuba Café
1121 Bethel Street
Telephone: 808.545.2822

Comments

[Anuhea]

I am dying to know how you felt since I have been eyeing that place since it opened...please, tell me what it was like so I can go see for myself!

The photos look good...but don't keep me in suspense!

[FatMan Seoul]

Wow ... those look good ... hope they tasted just as good as they look. Never had Cuban before ... that pita sandwich thingy in the last 2 pics look interesting.

Reid, any idea what happened to Oslo Foodie's blog. Been away for awhile and it's no longer there.

[Chubbypanda]

The food looks gorgeous as usual. I wanna buy a new camera!

[mr_me]

I'll be willing to place my bets that Reid is not going to give this place a glowing review. Almost every review I've read of this place has been mixed at best, and negative at worst.

[Reid]

Hi Anuhea,

Welcome! The review is finally up and I have to say that overall, I was really disappointed. I'm hoping that over time, the food improves, but I'm not holding my breath. Most of those that I've spoken to, didn't really enjoy their experience here.

Hey Fats,

The food here was just so-so. I really wanted to like it here, but I didn't.

Lisa stopped blogging a short time back due to personal reasons, I miss her blog almost as much as I do yours. Any plans for you to start blogging again?

Hi Chubby Panda,

Thanks! A new camera will do wonders. I'm enjoying my new 5D, but it's really hard to be inconspicuous. *sigh*

Hi mr_me,

Long time no hear and yes, you're right. I didn't really care much for the food here. The sandwiches were just so-so. For the price, I was expecting so much more.

[Valentine Guest]

Wonderful experience overall on Valentine's Day. As we walked in, my date and I were welcomed and seated quickly by staff (even though our reservation was set for a 1/2 hour later). I ordered a mojito and asked that it be less sweet and more strong, and it came out perfect. We tried the appetizer sampler and moved on to the soul de pollo (I think that's what it is called). Anyway, all so delicious! Great entertainment and beautiful art pieces on every wall. Perfect restaurant for the occasion.

[Amado Pedrosa]

I was so excited when I found out there was a Cuban restaurant on the island that I immediately made a reservation to go and eat there the nest day with my family. But oh how disappointed I was! Being Cuban and from Miami I can tell you that this is not typical Cuban food. We ordered empanadas, pan con bistec, bistec de palomilla, and ropa vieja. These are all pretty typical dishes you can find at any Cuban restaurant. The empanadas was actually only one empanada cut in half and the pastry shell it came in was not like the empanadas we get in Miami. There's nothing wrong with something different but it wasn't even good it was hard and had a weird taste to it. The filling of the empanada was flavorless ground beef. It didn't even have potatoes in it as empanadas usually do. The pan con bistec was also horrible. It did not come on pressed Cuban bread at all. it was some kind of hard baguette. and there was no thinly sliced steak marinated in mojo it was just cut up dry steak with a bit of onions through out. For what they charged for it ($8) it did not even come with lettuce and tomatoes as a pan con bistec usually does. The bistec de palomilla is one of me and my wife’s favorite dishes to get when dining in Miami at a Cuban restaurant but the dish my wife got yesterday was an absolute atrocity to our palates. The steak was just plain bad... it didn't taste good and I'll leave it at that. The ropa vieja was what I expected but to screw that dish up you really have to try. The rice was hard and the black beans where so so for both the ropa vieaja and bistec de palomilla. The menu says that both these dishes come with platanos but ours only came with one each. My wife made the mistake of asking for a plate of more before trying the ones that came with our food. They where dry hard and barely warm. This place was a HUGE disappointment on scale I can't describe. It is an insult to Cuban cuisine that this be called Cuban food because Cuban food is delicious and to put it nicely this food is not. stay away from this place. It is overhyped and way overpriced.