Mi Apa Latin Cafe Review

Been eating here since I moved to Gainesville in '09 for my Freshman year. I'm a born and raised Dominican, and this is the best Cuban/Caribbean Latin food in Gainesville. You get a lot of food for your buck, as in most Hispanic restaurants, and it's so flavorful and always fresh. I gave them 4 stars because for some reason the Palomilla Steak has always been bad for me, but in the description it just looks so good. I always go for their breakfast egg combo (the cuban bread is bomb) and for their lechon asado entree for lunch or dinner. Also, you can never go wrong with a side of fried yuca (crispy on the outside and tender on the inside) and a side of avocado. They also listen to side requests, like when I tell them I don't want a lot of fat on my pork, they always make sure to serve me just the meat. They messed up my order one time, and they let me keep the first order and just made me a completely new order, so I had double the food LOL (with drink and sides and all). They're just great people who really want to please their customers and they just love making great food.

I come here often for coffee and breakfast. I m not sure if the quality and cost or friendly staff keeps me coming back. Liz and the crew are great!

Just had the new steak and egg bowl and it was absolutely delicious

My go to is the ropa vieja platter and mango smoothie and I am NEVER disappointed. The best part is that I order online and it comes out in a matter of a few minutes. This place doesn't get enough praise.

I was fascinated ... the service and the excellent food

Good and taste Cuban food, probably the best north of miami

I am from Miami, and I've ate so much Cuban food and can cook so much human food I know the good from the bad. I tried this place last night, and it makes the worst I have ever had tasted good. It was so bad to the point that I could not eat it. I tried the Picadillio (Cuban ground beef hash), black beans and white rice. I mean, how can you screw up ground beef? The food had absolutely zero taste, I can't understand why the locals flock there like in some type of Mecca.

Great food and coffee. One of our favorite places for lunch.

Not bad for fast cuban food. Guava smoothie was good.

Great food, great price serviced with attitude. What's not to like?

Some plates are good and some are ok and over priced for what you get..

Hit or miss. I come here for my home coffee fix every time I come to Gainesville (it's easier than hauling my cafetera with me to make coladas) i placed an order for curbside today both spots were taken and no one was in the cars so I went in. I did curbside to social distance. Well my coffee was sitting in the counter less than a foot from a customers face waiting. My pan tostada had hair in it and my coffee was cold and not very sweet. Other times it is a pretty good experience. But a Cuban should know we don't like cold mildly sweet coffee

Pork was very tender & Moro Rice & Tostones was excellent. Service was fast & friendly

Excellent menu, very efficient service, satisfied with each of the foods consumed, the exquisite rice with milk reminded me of my grandmother. Congratulations to everyone for their excellent work especially to the girl Ana.

On 2 separate occations I have called ahead 20 or 30 minutes with my order and have gotten there and had to stand and wait 20 or 30 more minutes for my food. Good food but totally disorganized.

Food was good, but the real star of my visit was the young friendly blonde server with braces, didnt catch her name as I was in a hurry on my trip back to Georgia, but she provided excellent customer service and showed great attentiveness while not being overly pushy. Will definitely find a weekend or two to return despite a 3 hour drive!

One of my favorite places to stop when I'm in town! Great selection of sandwiches amd entrees, as well as some of the best fruit shakes you'll ever have.

Very good food and service, variety on the menu and reasonable prices. Very good food and service, variety on the menu and reasonable prices.

My Wife And I Were Attended Quickly Food Was Delicious. Looking Foward To Keep Coming Here When I Visit Again

The drive can get jam packed. Ordering ahead is the route to go when possible. Overall the service is fine and the is solid. Decent range of
menu options available.

Food is INCREDIBLE. Servers are very kind and patient, wide selection of food and overall great restaurant. 10/10 recommend

Great Cuban food north of Miami!! If you haven't been here, it's a must stop. Prices are reasonable even for a student!

Loved the Cuban sandwich along with a double shot expresso

Cubans seemed to be missing the mustard. Very long wait in line for called in order.

Nice Cuban food, quick service, great prices. Parking could be tight depending on the timing. My son is on his third year at Florida... I make it a ritual to visit at least twice a year when I'm there.

Excellent Service. Delicious food. One of my favorite frequent choices.

Wonderful food and people! Hot chocolate is amazing!

Food was fantastic!! The only thing better was the service.

Excellent authentic Cuban/Latin food. Excellent service. "Best Cuban food North of Miami".

This place has been around for years and still is serving up authentic delicious latin favorites. Everything is delicious, but my favorites are the arepas and fruit juices.

Best cuban food in North Florida
Please open up in Jacksonville

Although I had to wait a little longer than usual because they were making a new batch of tequnones, it was still a five star service. Not only was the food fresh and delicious but the nice girl taking our order was pleasant and evem gave us an extra tequenon for the wait. Great food for a great price.

Out of towner; stopped here to meet a friend and it was worth it. The food was really good and came out fast. Good place for to-go or a quick bit.

Both the food and service are of low-quality.
And amazingly, they expect you to tip for pickup/drive-thru food.
Disappointing...

Prices have gone up but this is still a great place for authentic cuban. I love the coffee!

Good service, latin cousine, good customer service. Food has a great taste

Great Customer Service, The food was as good as my Grandma. If you in Gainesville I really recommend No Apa Latin Cafe... Coffee shots are the bomb they will give you a boost... **And Lili is a Excellent Server she's very attentive to the customers**

Good food, great prices. I like that you get a choice of sides rather than being forced into beans and rice. Love this place.

Best Latin food in town. Customer service is greaat, especially the server Valentina.

Excellent quality, unique flavors, great service & reasonable prices. Do you think I liked it?

Waiters always ask if you're going to tip, so buy just a coffee

Nice! Excellent hospitality, Excellent food. The best empanadas.

The food and coffee are good. Only con is the drive thru line - it often moves exceptionally slow.

The service was awesome and the food was even better! This is my choice for Cuban food in Gainesville! Prices are great too. Ask for Javier as your server he's a amazing!

Totally amazing! Best Cuban food I've had in a while, I never write reviews but this place was super legit!! If your deciding where to go this is the place!!

I literally have one complaint...the MOJO by far the worst I ve ever had. Maybe it was a bad batch but it was terrible

This is a fantastic place to go the food was great. Don't know why I just got around to eating there.

Go- to for dinner after GHF workouts. The scrambled egg Perico and the cafe con leche are perfection
.

Place is really clean and the food is really good. When you walk in, it feels like your in Miami.

Excellent food, quick service, taste of Latin America in the swamp

Waited ten minutes to place an order over the phone. When I finally placed the order, the food wasn't all that...

I love this place! The servers are very friendly and the food is awesome. Authentic cuban food and well worth your dollar. Ropa vieja with rice and beans is my favorite dish!

Great service. The shredded beef was awesome with yellow rice and black beans. I might fart a lot, but it's worth it.

Great tasty food, excellent friendly service, very good prices

The only thing saving this place from a completely bad review is decent food and coffee, except anything with chicken. Their chicken has no seasoning and you can literally only taste the tap water they used to boil it in, completely gross. Other than that their service basically sucks. The owners have this theory that people will be happy if they get to look at pretty spanish girls. These girls are rude, dumb, gawk at any non-spanish customers, and need more training all around. How to compensate for only hiring ditzy one track minded pretty girls?...HIRE LOTS OF THEM. There are so many girls working behind the counter that they bump elbows left and right, and it makes their quality of service even worse. At least while ordering inside, you can easily ask for the things you need to actually enjoy your meal, because they will not care otherwise. This means STAY AWAY FROM THE DRIVE THROUGH. The drivethru menu is non descriptive and confusing to average white people, and they get annoyed if you ask questions. Then they take forever and only open the window to hand you the clipboard so you can write them a tip....which they deserve why? I ordered a breakfast plate once with eggs, rice, and plantains. They handed me the food and quickly shut the window, once driving away I noticed I had no eating utensils, napkins, or any sauce (I'd expect them to ask if I'd like some since it's eggs and rice). I resorted to eating my dry eggs and rice with my fingers because I was late for work.

I love the families and their little children. I love the pretty girls! Cuban women are some of the prettiest Hispanics of all. The food is excellent,as well as the service. The servers are multilingual! This is NOT Taco Bell. Prices are good also.

Over salted, meat is very dry and the portions for the price is not worth it

First time there. Was craving an authentic Cuban sandwich. Excellent !

I ate there so many times when I was studying at UF that I lost count. This place is phenomenal and the staff is very very nice. Highly recommend!

Very good food, well prepared and a fast and efficient service

Fast check out, have a face mask, and social distancing

Their claim is true: it's the best Cuban food north of Miami! Certainly worth their prices, the plates are huge and delicious. Definitely try the coffee too, it's the best in Gainesville.