I know very little about Cuban food, but I love a Cubano. They’ve been one of my favorite sandwiches for nearly a decade now. After the lackluster Cubano from Gatsby’s, I needed to see if Indianapolis had a place to solve the craving. My research led me to Havana Cafe out on the west side near the International Marketplace.

The Basics

Address: 3839 Moller Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46254
Cuisine: Cuban
Type: Sit Down

Bite Size History

My interest in Cubanos is easily attributed to the 2014 movie “Chef” with Jon Favreau. I remember going down to Keystone to the avant-garde theater to watch the movie. A few weeks after the movie, I bought a cheap panini press from GoodWill and found a pulled pork meal at Walmart. My homemade Cubanos have come a long way since then.

If you’re read my earlier reviews, you may recall that I had strong opinions on what a Cubano should be. You’ll find: Cuban bread, roasted pork, deli style ham, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard. The sandwich is then pressed until you have a crispy exterior and a melted cheese interior. Within this ingredient list, there is some freedom to make changes. 

The pork is often the biggest difference between restaurants. At some places, you’ll find shredded pork while at others you’ll find slices of a shoulder or tenderloin. The chef movie recipe uses a pork shoulder that has been marinated in mojo for 12 hours and then slowly roasted.

The other differentiator is the condiment.  Everyone agrees there should be mustard. The most common choice is yellow mustard, but I personally like it with Dijon. Some places will also cut the mustard with a bit of mayo. 

One of the more unique elements of this sandwich is the bread. Cuban bread is similar to a French loaf, but not quite the same. From an ingredient perspective, it’s unique because it includes a bit of fat – often lard. The dough is rolled into long loaves and then baked on a baking stone to create steam. The end result is a slightly sweet loaf that isn’t quite as thick as the more common French loaf.

Review

Atmosphere

We walked into an empty restaurant at 6:45 and were given our choice of seating. The tables had the menu underneath a glass top. The overhead fluorescent lights were throwing shadows across the room and made the menus fairly hard to read. When conversation stalled, the only sound that could be heard was the contemporary christian music being played. Later on, we realized the same ~10 songs were playing on a loop. Despite being the only table, the service was questionable. They were unable to ring in the appetizers before we ordered our meals. Once we ordered our food, it took nearly 40 minutes to get our appetizers. 

As we stepped up to the counter to pay, I walked around the desolate restaurant to look at the decorations on the wall. They had a handful of interesting photos and some Cuban trinkets that added a bit of character. 

Score: 1 / 3

The Food

We doubled down on appetizers with the croquetas and tostones. For the entrée, Morgan went with the cuban sandwich, and I chose the masitas de puerco fritas (fried pork chunks).

Croquetas de Jamon: I’ve never had a croqueta, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was rather surprised when the plate was delivered; it looked just like a cheese stick! They were golden brown and perfectly crunchy. Like all good fried foods, the first bite was way too hot. Inside, the ham mixture looked a little gray, but it tasted good enough that it was easy to ignore. I’m ready to see the Cuban food movement to get these on the menu of sport bars.

Post dinner, I did a bit of research on what a ham croquette should be. I learned that they are essentially a creamy sauce (potentially similar to the French mother sauce – béchamel) that is mixed with ground ham, and then rolled in bread crumbs. The photos online weren’t quite as gray as the restaurant, but did appear a bit “washed out”. 

Tostones: The menu billed these as traditional fried green plantains served with mojo sauce. Ultimately, I have very little to cover here. I found these to be incredibly bland and to be way over salted. A comment online described them as a “cross between a banana and a potato where the end result is particularly bland” and another person mentioned that the green ones are similar to root vegetables. I think these were made true to Cuban roots, but were really let down by the accompanying mojo sauce. I was expecting a sauce jam packed with tropical flavor that delights the tongue with a balance of acidity and sweetness. Instead, I got a sauce that was the color of watered down lime juice and tasted like salted lime juice that spent some time near the spice cabinet.

Cuban Sandwich: As we learned above, a Cubano has room for individual expression. Here, they used roasted pork that looked like it was slow cooked and then pulled. They also use a mustard and mayo mixture that is heavy on the yellow mustard. This was easily the favorite thing I tried here. The pork was juicy and bursting with flavor. The bread was also a delight. This was the flavor I was hoping to experience with the other items on the menu.

The Bill:  The above food with a tip totaled us $62.

Score: 3 / 5

Zac’s Thoughts

Havana Cafe was riddled with issues: cold service, slow cook times, and inconsistent flavors. Despite the flaws, I was still able to enjoy bits and pieces of this meal. I will likely never dine-in again, but I also know the craving for a Cuban sandwich will find me again soon enough. While I can make my own, placing a carry out order would be rather tempting. If I’m already ordering, I should probably go ahead and get my Croquetas de Jamon to round out the meal. If the atmosphere and service appear to improve during my to-go visits, I may reconsider Havana Cafe.

I don’t have a great understanding of Cuban food, but I know it’s known for its bold flavors that blend several different cuisines. I’ll have to keep looking for a place to showcase the flavors I’ve read about.

Score: 1 / 2

Havana Cafe: 5 / 10