1928 Cuban Bistro - Ortega

My morning visit was wonderful ordered 5 cheese pastries which I call Casitas and shredded beef empanada. Ruby was wonderful again in the area manager was also in the store today what a wonderful surprise as I was walking out I offered one of my cheese pastries Casita pastry to a person standing in the DMV line he said ooh that tastes so good

Was greeted by Irvin this morning always a pleasant dude at the cafe.. love the pastries and got my dad a coconut coffee latte and his guava coconut pastry for Father's Day.. ofcourse I also have my Casitas which are cheese pastries

Mediocre service. This was my first time visiting this location. I genuinely love the franchise overall, especially the coffee and empanadas, but unfortunately the experience here was terrible. There was basically no customer service from the moment I walked in, no greeting, no menu offered, and it honestly felt like customers were being ignored. The employee at the counter (a young man) took my order in a very unfriendly and borderline rude way. He also seemed to be training another employee, and the entire interaction felt uncomfortable. I realized she was new because I asked about the ingredients in one of the empanadas and she had no idea, which is understandable, but he seemed visibly irritated and spoke to her in a very impatient tone. I waited almost 20 minutes for freshly prepared empanadas, only to end the visit extremely disappointed. Just look at the “ropa vieja” empanada I was given. Tbh it felt almost insulting to call this a ropa vieja empanada when it was basically all peppers and onions with barely any meat. The only redeeming part of the experience was the coffee. Unfortunately, after this visit, I don’t see myself returning to this location.

I usually go to the 210 & Original location on Baymeadows Rd, but this was my first visit to this one, and it certainly won’t be the last! Everything we tried was delicious. My favorite empanada, the “1928” (beef & plantain), was as good as always. The rice plate is a great potion and perfect for lunch or dinnerThe coffee and food were great! They are open until 6 PM (except on Sundays & Mondays), and the staff was friendly, even the ladies in the kitchen. It’s conveniently located right next to Target in Ortega on 17, so you should definitely stop by for some good coffee. Plus, many of my Latin friends love this place, so it's very authentic Cuban!