Tina’s Cuban Cuisine
“There's so many things to like: Mountainous sized plates of rice and beans with stewed beef and a side of plantains?!”
“It's been so long since I've even had Sophie's that I'm probably imagining a difference.”
“I always get the Pernil with yellow rice and sweet plantain, I also ask for extra pickled onions.”
Tina’s Cuban Cuisine
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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– overall rating: 3.5
– got food to go for lunch
– large portion for the price
– pernil was a mixed bag, moist or dry depending on the piece. . .was a little bland but nothing a little salt couldn't fix
– rice and (red) beans was seasoned well and was plentiful
– maduros (fried sweet plantains) were good but I think that'd be fairly hard to screw up
This is the best option for lunch if you're planning to sleep between 2-5 p.m.
I've been coming to Tina's for years. There's so many things to like: Mountainous sized plates of rice and beans with stewed beef and a side of plantains?! How could one go wrong with such a meal? Other favorites include:
-Baked chicken
-Pork chops
-Empanadas (chicken, beef and guava & cheese)
-The passion fruit smoothie
Make sure to get grilled onions if you get any of the plates. Also, some people say they can tell the difference between Tina's and Sophie's but the food tastes identical to me.
3.5 stars… The food had flavor, that's for sure. We only ordered delivery so that's something to consider, but the food was kinda thrown together. Some of the meat was moist, some of it was dry. If prepared better this would be a 4-star place. But it wasn't so there you go…
How does a Cuban place serve dry pork in their Cubano? I don't get it. The pork was chewy and so dry, it was pretty disgusting, didn't even finish it. Very bland too
Their everyday specials are really good. The stews with oxtail and beef are absolutely dynamite – full of flavor. Most of the stews have olives, so I love that (Picadillo). And the green sauce just catapults you into a new flavor strata, it's amazing! Green sauce has a small kick.The platanos maduros can be a hit or miss, some days sweet and warm, other days dry.
Lunch rush can be hectic. Workers dashing around and passing trays and what not. One day a waiter got my order wrong and when I asked him to please fix it, he said "This has beef too", and I said "No, I wanted the other beef." He had a most annoyed look on his face, sighed deeply (very melodramatic), shook his head from side to side, removed the other stuff and got my correct entree, and brusquely handed it off to me, as if it was such a great burden for him.
They rush a lot and sometimes they can mishear customers, but still, they need to handle their mistakes better. Hopefully, their manager can mildly chide the employees about this.
I really appreciate the flavor of the specials – AUTHENTIC and SUMPTUOUS. The specials can be pricey though, running upwards of $12-15 depending on your entree.
Oh, Tina. I wish I could be the same Tina who can cook as delicious as you do!
Location: Tina's Cuban Cuisine attracts zero attentions from me if I am on my tour for NEW YORK Food Adventure. Why, it seems like this place is full of people who work close to the area and the yelp review is relatively poor. But the greatest thing is that I got a chance to step in this place not much caring about yelp reviews. I am so glad I did it. This place is divided by to-go and sit-in areas. It is fairly crowded during lunch time. I walked back and forth deciding what I ;d like for most.
The menu is on the wall, including daily specials and some interesting entrees like sandwich, or plate choices.
My new year resolution is to be a vegetarian for a year so many choices(almost all) are not something I could try.
SUCH A BUMMER
Food: I ended up with a spinach patty, and guava and cheese patty, as well as black beans for side. The first bit elf spinach patty is, for god sake, good. The dough is not too soft but firmed in a good way. I chewed and bites and then a sense of spinach is flooding into my tongue. The freshness, and the flavor is trapped in my mouth that I barely wanted them to leave. Guava and cheese patty is a miracle. Can you image the hot version of sweets and savory immersed in your stomach. No, but it's good. The contrast between sweets and savory is not strong and well balanced. I love to eat two more!
Blackbean is seasoned well, a good choice to go.
Price: they have a credit card limit for 7 dollars. N most entrees are not pricy and the portion is huge. I'd say it is very worth going if you are close to the area.
Overall: 4 stars for the cuban flavor.
Food:
I came here with a friend to pick up some food during our lunch hour. It was quick, easy, and cheap (for Manhattan) – no complaints. Their lunch specials are priced well, starting around $12 (including tax), which is what I paid for my spicy grilled chicken lunch special with a side of broccoli. The chicken was sliced kind of thin and cooked that way, so it was a little tougher than what would be ideal, but it was seasoned/marinated well, so it was still very tasty. It came in a slightly spicy sauce with tomatoes and onions. The broccoli was sautéed and seasoned well, too. The texture was good – it was not undercooked, but still had a good crunch to it. I had thought I would be getting a healthier option by choosing the spicy chicken and broccoli, but it was all quite oily, and I didn't really feel healthy after eating it. But it was tasty and I'd probably come back. They have a bunch of other lunch specials as well – all around the same price.
Service:
The service was quick and friendly. They are very busy, so no nonsense kind of attitude, but we were in and out of there within 5 minutes with our food, which is great for picking up a quick lunch on a busy day. They also had seating in the back if you want to sit down to enjoy your meal.
All I know is that you have to come here early to enjoy their lunch specials. I came here expecting to order their stewed oxtail around 2:00p and they ran out 🙁 so instead, reluctantly, I ordered their chicken soup, plus fried pork chops with yellow rice and beans. It wasn't a part of their daily special. I found that for me it was the hardest and dryest piece of pork chop I have ever eaten and the plate came with 2 pieces. It really wasn't for me I literally only ate 1/2 of a piece of this pork chop which made the rice and beans the stars on the plate.
As I was leaving I realized that I really should have looked at all of their specials behind the glass case (which were slim pickings because it was later in the afternoon) before I ordered. I guess since they ran out of their oxtail stew, and I was already sitting down with their menu, I made a rash decision. The next time I am going to stick with their specials menu.
stopped here for to go lunch with my co worker. there was a line, but it moved quick. also a decent sized seating area in the back half of the place. we both got rope veja, yellow rice and black beans. for the price you get a ton of food ($11.97 after tax). we both made the mistake of eating almost the entire plate of food, this was a bad move as we essentially spent the rest of the afternoon in a sleepy uncomfortable state. note for next time- only eat half!
there is a good variety of options here from entrees to sandwiches and daily specials. like everyone says, the green sauce is CRACK and if you decide to sit down you get an ENTIRE SQUIRT BOTTLE of it at the table… i kind of wanted to steal one and bring it back to the office with me.
overall a solid lunch spot if/ when you get that cuban craving. the rope was very tender and flavorful as were the sides. crispy pork chop might have to be my next meal for when i go back.