What is on a Cuban sandwich?

A Cuban sandwich has roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard, pressed on Cuban bread until the crust crackles. In Orlando it is the usual first order at a Cuban cafe, and it is often served beside a small cup of strong, sweet coffee.

What is the difference between a cafecito and a cafe con leche?

A cafecito is a small, strong, sweet espresso, served in a thimble-sized cup. A cafe con leche is the same coffee with hot milk, usually served at breakfast with buttered toasted Cuban bread. Both are standard at Orlando's Cuban cafes and bakeries.

What is mofongo made of?

Mofongo is made of fried green plantains mashed with garlic and pork cracklings, then served with broth and a filling such as shrimp or pork. It is a Puerto Rican staple found at Orlando's Puerto Rican restaurants and is heavy, so it is a dish to share.

Which app can I use to keep a list of the Cuban cafes I find in Orlando?

Mosey is a food app for keeping track of where you have eaten, rating it by the dish and sharing the good places with friends. Rate each Orlando Cuban cafe by the dish, add a tag such as Bakery, and share a list. Follow friends to see what they rate.

Are Cuban and Puerto Rican restaurants the same in Orlando?

No, but many Orlando menus mix them. Cuban food is known for the pressed sandwich and black beans, and Puerto Rican food for mofongo and pasteles. Both communities have lived in Central Florida for decades, which is why a single menu often carries dishes from each.

Dish guide

Best Cuban Food in Orlando, With Puerto Rican Favorites

Mosey · November 11, 2026 · 4 min read

The best Cuban food in Orlando is not at the theme parks. It is in small cafes, bakeries and sit-down restaurants in neighborhoods where Orlando's Cuban and Puerto Rican communities have lived for decades. Order the pressed Cuban sandwich, pork roasted with garlic and citrus, rice and beans, and mofongo.

Central Florida has a large Puerto Rican community, and its restaurants show it. Drive to Mills 50, Winter Park or east Orlando for local cafes if you are staying near the parks.

What is the best Cuban food in Orlando to order?

Start with the Cuban sandwich: roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on Cuban bread, pressed flat until the crust crackles. After that, the Cuban menu is built around roast pork (lechon), ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), picadillo (seasoned ground beef) and black beans over white rice. Fried plantains, either sweet maduros or crisp tostones, are the side.

Cuban coffee is the other essential. It is served in a small cup, strong and sweet, and a cafecito at the window of a bakery is a good way to wake up. If you want something lighter, a cafe con leche with buttered toast is a classic breakfast.

Where to find an Orlando Cuban sandwich

Cuban delis around Mills 50 and Winter Park are the places to start, with cafes in the suburbs such as Casselberry close behind. International Drive is more of a tourist road than a neighborhood, so for a sandwich pressed on proper Cuban bread, head for the neighborhoods. Order it pressed and hot, and rate it by the dish.

A good sandwich has a thin, crisp crust, melted cheese and enough pork that you can taste it. If the bread is limp or the meat is cold, move on. Ask for it pressed, and eat it while it is hot.

Is there a good Orlando Latin bakery?

One listing recommends a Latin bakery for breakfast, and bakeries like it sell pastries filled with guava and cheese, croquetas, empanadas and sandwiches. The morning is the best time to visit, when the pastries are fresh and the coffee is strong.

Order one savory item and one sweet one, and a coffee. A pastelito de guayaba, a flaky pastry with guava, is a good starter if you do not know where to begin. These bakeries often have counters where locals stop for a quick bite before work.

Where can you eat Puerto Rican food in Orlando?

East Orlando has restaurants that blend Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican touches on one menu, and Kissimmee has kitchens that list mofongo as a specialty. Small places keep their own hours, so check that each is open before you drive.

Call before you drive across town. Puerto Rican restaurants often have a short menu of daily specials that does not match what is posted online.

What is Orlando mofongo?

Mofongo is a Puerto Rican dish made by mashing fried green plantains with garlic and pork cracklings, then shaping the mash into a mound or a bowl. It is served with a broth on the side and topped or stuffed with shrimp, chicken, pork or beef. The texture is dense and savory, closer to a stuffing than a mashed potato.

Ask for the broth, called caldo, if it does not arrive on its own, because it softens the mash. Mofongo is filling, and many people share one between two with a side of salad.

How is Cuban food different from Puerto Rican food?

The two cuisines share a lot: rice and beans, roast pork, plantains and sofrito, a base of onion, pepper and garlic. Cuban cooking leans on cumin, citrus and black beans, while Puerto Rican cooking uses adobo and sofrito, red beans and pigeon peas (gandules) in rice. The sandwich is Cuban, and mofongo and pasteles are Puerto Rican.

Many Orlando restaurants mix the two, which is why a menu may list both. If you are curious, order a dish from each and compare.

How to eat well away from the tourist roads

Stay out of the largest chains and drive ten or fifteen minutes. Neighborhoods such as Mills 50, Winter Park, east Orlando and the Kissimmee area have the cafes that locals use. Look for a counter with a line of regulars and a menu on the wall.

Plan to go at lunch, when the daily special is fresh and the prices are friendliest. Small places may close early in the afternoon, so check hours before you set out.

Which Florida guides pair well with this one?

The Orlando guide connects to a few others. For the rest of the state read Florida food worth a drive. The Tampa Cuban tradition is covered in the Ybor City restaurants guide, and you can compare Atlantic seafood in the Jacksonville seafood guide. More cities are on the US guides page.

If you eat your way through Orlando's Latin kitchens, keep track. In the Mosey app you can rate each sandwich or plate of mofongo, write what you liked about the bread or the broth and build an Orlando list for the next visitor.

Questions

Common questions

What is on a Cuban sandwich?
A Cuban sandwich has roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard, pressed on Cuban bread until the crust crackles. In Orlando it is the usual first order at a Cuban cafe, and it is often served beside a small cup of strong, sweet coffee.
What is the difference between a cafecito and a cafe con leche?
A cafecito is a small, strong, sweet espresso, served in a thimble-sized cup. A cafe con leche is the same coffee with hot milk, usually served at breakfast with buttered toasted Cuban bread. Both are standard at Orlando's Cuban cafes and bakeries.
What is mofongo made of?
Mofongo is made of fried green plantains mashed with garlic and pork cracklings, then served with broth and a filling such as shrimp or pork. It is a Puerto Rican staple found at Orlando's Puerto Rican restaurants and is heavy, so it is a dish to share.
Which app can I use to keep a list of the Cuban cafes I find in Orlando?
Mosey is a food app for keeping track of where you have eaten, rating it by the dish and sharing the good places with friends. Rate each Orlando Cuban cafe by the dish, add a tag such as Bakery, and share a list. Follow friends to see what they rate.
Are Cuban and Puerto Rican restaurants the same in Orlando?
No, but many Orlando menus mix them. Cuban food is known for the pressed sandwich and black beans, and Puerto Rican food for mofongo and pasteles. Both communities have lived in Central Florida for decades, which is why a single menu often carries dishes from each.