Ive been here twice with a friend and his wife. The nicest thing about the place is the “rebellious” decor. Otherwise, I found the food middling at best.

On one visit, I had the “Worlds Best Pork Sandwich” and found it to be quite the opposite of its namesake. The bread is ok (toasted and pressed nice and flat like “cubano-style” sandwiches are supposed to be), but the pork is not seasoned especially well, while the other ingredients combine into nothing very special. Overall, it just tasted like the “Worlds Most Overhyped Pork Sandwich”. Not bad, but certainly not deserving of the worlds best title.

On another visit, I had “The Fidel” which is another “Worlds best” type cuban sandwich with black beans and rice. The sandwich was pretty much the same as above, but the black beans and rice were pretty flat and lacked distinctive seasoning. Overall, it did not capture what I come to expect from a Cuban style rice and bean flavor presentation (rich, seductive savory flavors, littered with notes of cilantro, slightly sweet calabaza\pumpkin, and cooking ham smokiness were nowhere to be found).

For drinks, I ordered a traditional Mojito on the first occasion and a Raspberry flavored one on the second. The traditional tasted of watered down, slightly sweetened lime juice with a vague taste of mint and the Raspberry was oddly less sweet than the Traditional, tasting of the earthy flavor of the berry but not even a hint of sweetness. Very dissapointing and the mixologist behind the bar counter should think about revising their recipe.

If you are not familiar with true Cuban food and its appropriate flavor spectrum, then this place will do the trick. Its flavors are average and the menu is serviceable and gimmicky enough to take your mind off of the cuisine. Otherwise, if you’re looking for an authentic Cuban cuisine experience, this place will leave you wanting.

We’ve wanted to eat at Cuban Revolution since the first time we walked by the original location years ago, so perhaps our expectations grew disproportionately with the time it took us to finally get there, but . . .

Sorry. We, like all of you out there, are looking for places that deliver the goods, and Cuban Revolution was 2nd class mail. To be fair, we liked the room well enough – Large bold graphic images on the walls, each with some clever pun-like caption, as in “Monroe Doctrine 1823” on a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. You get the idea. The place is loud, with hard surfaces and loud music. The grill cook in the open kitchen chops away rhythmically and percussively on his steel “piano”. Not interested, thank you.

But the restaurant’s greatest shortfalls are the components which can make a restaurant great or not – Food and Service.

We arrived before the place filled up. Half the tables were empty at 7:00 on Saturday night. It took 10 minutes for a server to approach and another ten for our drinks to arrive. Our server was friendly enough, but not professional. The Vodka Tonic was all about the Tonic.

We ordered Tostones, twice fried green plantains, listed under the Tapas section of the menu at $4.50. They were better than okay, but certainly not Mami Blanco’s. But,there were only four silver dollar sized items on the plate. The equivalent of 8 – 10 French Fries. That’s $1.13 per slice of banana! Tapas size portion, maybe. Good value, no.

The Cubano sandwich, was pretty good, but certainly not in the league of “The World’s Best” as billed. Steak Jibarito – mini meat sandwiches, also on the Tapas Menu, was short on taste, and we’ve eaten the equal of the Half Moon cookie from a cellophane package.

If I were trying to put a good spin on this review to wrap up, I might say something like, " Not the place for real Cuban Food, but a fun place to go with friends for a few laughs and some drinks." If only the drinks had some alcohol in them.

If the owners of the Cuban Revolution restaurant would like a true revolutionary feel to their establishment, here are a few suggestions:
1. Require their customers to stand in line for a few hours for their meal.
2. They must ensure that there isn’t enough food for everyone, so the customers must be prepared to share or trade food; one must sacrifice for the revolution.
3. There should be no need for a menu
because the customers must eat what they are given. Having a choice is truly un-revolutionary; only capitalist slime believes that they have a right to choose.
4. As entertainment the restaurant should simulate a government raid of the establishment for operating an
unauthorized place of business. Patrons can then be arrested for eating there and detained in a backroom. For a complete effect the room should contain pictures of a jubilant Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. After a few minutes all patrons should thrown out the backdoor as a conclusion to their dining experience. Now that would
be a truly “revolutionary” Cuban restaurant.

Dont listen to the other reviewers. This place has been a mainstay in Providence for the last decade. Ive been going there since it was a small hole in the wall years ago. Great pressed sandwices and wraps (try the maduro wrap… vegan and yummie)(or the cheese and pepper sandwich… veggie and yummie).

cool vibe and free wifi

Do you love Cuban food? This funky, hip restaurant in downtown Providence offers one of the best Cubano sandwichs in the Northeast. The right mix of meat, pickle and most importantly – spreads. (Most places have too much mustard or may. They key is only a light application of both, with an emphasis on the mustard). Not too expensive with a great atmosphere this place is worth a trip to Providence.