Babaloo Cuban Cafe - Seaside

Ordered the Classic Cubano sandwich. Shredded pork was dry, but pickle and mustard made up for it.

My friend and I went to try it for the first time and the workers were very rude. They were rude and seemed annoyed our entire time we ate there. My friend asked the worker where mangoo was from and the worker misheard her question and said you look like you want to order more food what do you want In a rude way. Then, the other worker forgot my Empanada in my order and gave it to my friend by accident. My friend kindly asked the lady to give me the empanada and the woman behind the counter grabbed an empanada, THREW it on the tray and stuck it in the oven. We were very uncomfortable the entire time because of how rude the workers were being. The Cubano sandwhich was great but the service was definitely NOT.

Scrolling through the restaurant list on Yelp, this Cuban sandwich place stood out to me. I half expected to hear Desi Arnaz to be serenading the customers as e walk in. The building itself is nice and airy. Lots of natural lighting and spacious. The Classic Cuban was nicely filled with a good amount of ham and pulled pork nestled in a perfectly toasted sourdough bun. It is a big enough sandwich to feed two people. The Havana is a generous serving of braised beef with a delicious sauce, topped with sliced plantains. It is so good! Served only from Thursday-Saturday, I have a feeling that it takes a long time to slowly and carefully braise the beef to reach this fork tender stage. The drinks were good too. I really liked the cafè Babaloo as it had a subtle taste of coconut which cut down on the sweetness. The chocolate whipped cream was a nice touch. The mojito was a tad sweet for my taste.

We still often discuss this restaurant! It was a delightful and delicious experience. It's a must-try for anyone wanting to enjoy authentic Cuban cuisine!

I highly recommend this place when you're in Monterey/Seaside. The service was fantastic, and the owner was very nice and welcoming. The classic Cuban sandwich was outstanding. We also sampled the coffee, and both the cortado and cafe con leche were excellent. We ended up going back for more coffee before we left!