Florida Guide > Dining
Bongo's Cuban Cafe
Bongos Cuban Café is a blend of authentic Cuban cuisine with the culture of old Havana, with a bit of South Beach glamour. The two story pineapple design fills the skyline of Downtown Disney.
No detail was spared by the designer from the dazzling mosaic of hand-painted murals of the old world Cuba of the 1940' s and 50' s, to the conga drum shaped bar stools.
We had been warned by friends that we would have a hard time finding the entrance into the restaurant and we did. We saw the walk up stand when we came up, and the gift shop, but not the entrance. We ended up going around the whole building twice before we actually found where we were supposed to go!
When we arrived the restaurant was not very busy and we were seated immediately. Our waiter was very attentive and soon brought us the drinks we had ordered. We had not had Cuban food before so it took us some time to go through the menu.
Although friends of ours had said we would enjoy the food we had decided not to take the girls with us on this occasion as we did not know if they would also appreciate the food. However when we got to the restaurant we found there were some of the traditional children’s favourites like Hamburger and Chicken Nuggets. We really should have known that in Orlando children are always well catered for!
For starters I had Tamal de Carne de Cerdo - polenta (which was corn meal) laced with pork and wrapped in a corn husk. I must admit I had trouble pronouncing it but it was quite delicious.
My Mother opted for Papa Rellena – which was round breaded mashed potato stuffed with their spicy beef and she enjoyed this.
My father chose Combinacion de Mariscos, this was scallops, shrimp, and calamari with a cocktail sauce and I must admit when it came I wished I had ordered it although it was quite pricey at around $17.
On this occasion my Mother decided on the vegetarian option for her main course, Plato Vegetariano comprising sauteed red potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and mixed greens served with white rice and fried sweet plantains. I ordered Arroz Frito con Pollo Chino, a special vegetable fried rice with fried sweet plantains topped with fried boneless chicken chunks and I also had a side order of extra sweet plantains because I love them.
Dad had Mar y Tierra, a12 oz top sirloin which he had medium rare plus an 8 oz. saltwater lobster tail served with a melted butter, yellow rice, and fried sweet plantains. He said it was fantastic but again I thought quite pricey at around $33.
I did not have room left for a dessert but Dad as always managed one, Pudin de Pan which was a bread pudding served with caramel topping while Mother had Coconut Flan a Cuban style custard made with coconut milk with grated coconut and caramel on top.
A really enjoyable meal although a bit on the expensive side.
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