La Bodeguita del Medio

I was pretty ambivalent about Cuban food until I came to this place. I LOVE La Bodeguita. It’s a nice compromise of great food and great atmosphere — great decor, a huge bar area, and not totally yuppie like a lot of other Palo Alto restaurants. They even had someone playing live Spanish guitar one Friday night I was there, which I thought was a great touch.

My personal favorite dish here is the Tierra Y Mar – the Cuban surf and turf. The skirt steak is perfectly tender, the mashed potatoes are flavorful, and the coconut encrusted prawns are great. I am also a big fan of their yuca and plantain chips and croquettes. The oyster shooters are tasty – but be forewarned, they really are spicy! The rum marinated prawns were fantastic as well, though I was probably a bigger fan of the boniato mash and roasted corn that accompany the prawns than the prawns themselves.

The only negative thing I have to say about this restaurant is that both times I’ve gone, we’ve had reservations and still had to wait at least half an hour. However, the service was friendly and the bar area is so large, there’s usually enough room to take a seat and have a drink while you’re waiting for your table.

Overall, this is one of my favorite restaurants to go to for a night out with friends.

This is a fun fun place to go if you’re in a group. The food is pretty good, but like other spanish influenced places, can have a consistency problem (mainly with their paella). Most of the times I’ve gone it’s been pretty good. You should of course try out their mohitos since this is a Cuban restaurant.