Review Cafe Cuba - Palmerston North

We always come here when we are in town. All the workers were super friendly, food tasted amazing and arrived super quick. Good coffee too.

Great service, clean and tidy. Has bathroom facilities. Good prices. Good food. Can take dogs.

Very impressed with the Camp Fire Smash breakfast and loved the dairy free smoothie. Definitely worth the long wait in line. Can feel crowded inside, but there is outdoor seating.

Had a great ‘build your own breakfast’ good price and good food. A but of a wait on a busy day but that was bearable. Well looked after old building with lots of character in a good location adds to the experience.

Five ⭐️ service, right from the moment I walked in the door- I was greeted with a warm and welcoming smile as well as a verbal welcome. As I was in line a waitress asked if I’d like to have a menu to which I replied ‘oh no thank you, I’ll get cabinet food thanks’ she then asked if I like a table- too which she quickly went to reserve for me. Before I was even served at the counter the cashier Acknowledged me with a warm and welcoming smile- I ordered the chicken & bacon stake which was delicious , coffee was well made and the silk cake Superb. My whole experience was fabulous, which made my choice on where to treat myself a very enjoyable experience. Only bummer was I didn’t have cash on me to leave a tip. I’ll definitely be returning and I’ll bring cash.

Just ate here and wow!!✨ 10/10 friendly service. Even with it being busy, the team were in control, moving fast all the while still smiling and being warm. The food was INCREDIBLE and I appreciated the keto options + the keto cake from the cabinet was to die for!! Defs stopping here again next time I’m in Palmy. Thanks Cuba Cafe Team! Keep Slaying✨

We loved this place. Service was great and so was the food and the coffee. Fairly priced too.

Outstanding service for such a busy place. Super fast service of the food. So many options we have to go back and try more of what looks like a yummy menu. Food itself, delicious and filling.

An old haunt and favourite that I had not visited for many years. Was not disappointed. Great staff and service. Wide ranging menu. Amazing coffee

Love going to this Cafe, always has the best food & awesome customer service. Just a great little place to have a hot chocolate or brunch with friends or solo.

Cafe Cuba has been an institution in palmy since as long as I can remember. Great food. Great service. Good atmosphere, can get a bit loud, but it's because they are so popular. Also huge KETO selection

Went for a coffee with my dog, I went to sit him down outside and they opened the door and said bring him in - wow thats a first. The coffee and cake were good, service great …. Thank you guys be back for lunch 👍

Love how it is so close to work. So easy to call in and take away or dine in for a fantastic lunch. Service is always great and the food is amazing.

We had a pram and a newborn, the staff member seen us and reserved a table that could fit our family and gave us menus. Great service and very accommodating staff, cheers!

Absolutely live for Cafe Cuba! Service is usually really good, and the size of the large coffees is incredible. The pasta dish is definitely worth trying, my favourite, and their bacon scones are something else altogether! Easily my favourite cafe in Palmerston North.

Chilly morning in sleepy Palmy. My colleague tell me this is the place to go for a pick me up, with a dose of caffeine & slice of the silk cake. At almost $10 a slice, the silk cake was worth every cent. Every bite was like smooth soft silky chocolate or a denser smooth mousse with a think crumbly biscuit base. Very decadent.

Average one. Hope there are better ones in the area.

I came here as a table of 3 on a busy Sunday morning. Super long line at the counter!! But thankfully we got a seat as soon as we got in. We got 2 build your own breakfast, and 1 salmon toasted bagel.<br/><br/>For the 2 build your own - Both the scrambled eggs and poached eggs were very well cooked: scrambled eggs were light and fluffy, poached eggs were perfectly runny. The creamy mushrooms were well seasoned - and very creamy. However, I was underwhelmed with the size of the ciabatta and especially with how hard it was - it made it difficult to chew. The portion of creamy mushrooms and avocado was also disappointingly small...<br/><br/>For the bagels, the portion sizes were great, lots of cream cheese and pesto but there could've been more salmon. Again the bagels were toasted for far too long and was hard.<br/><br/>We had also gotten 3 drinks, and altogether it came to be around $80, I had expected better quality and quantity for this price.

While it was very busy it is overpriced for what they offer. We went for dessert and paid $10 for a piece of cake. The coffee was average as well.

Visiting the bro in Palmerston North and he recommended checking out Café Cuba. I’ve rarely had the opportunity to travel to Palmerston North but I must say the place was alive and vibrant. Café Cuba doesn't skimp out on portions, all 3 meals + dessert. <br/><br/>For me what stood out was a their Savory Mince on toast, the mince had a red wine sauce that was amazing and complimented the toast fantastically. Most mince on toast combination don’t have sauce, the mince of these meals are rather dry. The steak sandwich had was as expected a sizable meal, cooked medium rare would have retained more of the flavor. The other stand out for me was their Baked Berry Cheese Cake. As mentioned they give you a sizable slice, the cheese cake texture was creamy and the baked cookie base had a nice crumble. <br/><br/>Overall loved my time at Café Cuba, you certainly get what you pay for here. <br/><br/>Showstopper: Savory Mince and the Baked Berry Cheese Cake.<br/><br/>Overall Grade: A-

Cafe Cuba offers a wide variety of hot/cold drinks and food, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.<br/>The cabinet food looks brilliant and their new cabinet slice, cheekily named "2am in Wangas" is likely to cause a rarkus with the straight edge liberals amongst us. If you have a sweet tooth, their silk cake is famous in Palmerston North, though I prefer the Banoffee Pie.<br/>Seating options are good, inside can be a touch crowded during busy periods, though their outdoor seating is brilliant on a sunny day - If you are a taller individual target an outdoor seat with metal legs as opposed to the black plastic variety as the latter seem to be about an inch too high for the height of their tables.<br/>Cafe Cuba is one of my absolute favourites for atmosphere, perfect for an informal gathering with friends, the Cuban Marxist Revolutionary vibe is evident in the Art, Decor and in the names of some food items (Marx Slice). One can imagine Fidel or Guevara sitting comfortably in a corner plotting revolution over a Vege Bene.<br/>Unfortunately for Cafe Cuba there is absolutely no consistency in the quality of their coffee, sometimes it is great, other times it is truely terrible.<br/>Today was one of those terrible occasions, the Long Black was so damn bitter it had to be replaced and the replacement was equally bitter - It truely is a shame given how simple it is to purge a coffee machine in order to extract a decent Long Black with the full bodied flavour one craves (which I tend to tip for). Hopefully Cafe Cuba can rectify this Cafinated travesty in future, as one bad experience will not put me off a cafe but unfortunately today I can only award a very generous 3 stars for this visit - see you another day team!

I went to cafe Cuba for my friends birthday, I ordered a Thai beef salad and I was super excited about it until the food came out. The beef was raw and the marinade was inedible. <br/>I let my whole table try the beef and they all agreed it was not good.<br/><br/>When I went to return the meal, they said that I could choose a cheese cake from the cabinet as repayment.<br/>When I asked for a refund of my meal, they said this was not policy.<br/>I am personally disappointed in the response given as I didn’t want a cake, and would rather my money back. I paid $19 for a salad that was close to inedible and got a $9 cheesecake I didn’t want in return.

Apologies in advance for sounding like a Wellingtonian for this review. It's hard going to other places and reviewing their cafe culture when your home turfs is stronger than Hulk.<br/><br/>Today saw us venture to Palmy to see a friend and have lunch before he moves further afield. It was an absolute stunner in Palmy so we took my wee furson and ventured to Cafe Cuba. I've been here many a time and it is a good safe pair of hands when it comes to eating out.<br/><br/>The decor itself is nothing to write home about. It's pretty stock standard so not what you're going here for.<br/><br/>It's an order at the counter arrangement so other than the queue, you're not really engaging with the wait staff that much but when you do, they are pleasant enough.<br/><br/>It's the food here that I always go for. I havent ever had a bad food experience, whether it be from the cabinet or the menu. Today I got the Vege Bene.<br/><br/>Now, to me a Bene always has some form of carb on the bottom...a potato cake, bread, hashbrowns. This one didn't. They roasted off Portobello Mushrooms and layered it with caramelized onion, spinach, poached eggs and hollandaise. I'm a bit on the fence about this. Not saying it didn't taste good...I just missed the crunch in the texture and having so many water based veges did mean the plate was a wee bit paddling pool-esque.<br/><br/>I'm doing a no coffee challenge so didn't sample a brew today but from memory they do a decent job, which is important when caffeine is usually your poison of choice.<br/><br/>The outdoor seating was great today and it was great getting some rays. That definitely helped our experience so a solid 4 based on today and previous outings. Thanks Cafe Cuba!

I won’t be coming back. After moving to Palmy earlier in the year I’ve visited a few times - the first time was great, second was disappointing, third time I was thought maybe I caught them on a bad day and I won’t hold it against them. But now on the fourth time it’s clear this is not worth a trip back. Over priced, basic menu (dishes lack variety), service really not the best. I’ve added a star for baked goods because they really have yummy cabinet sweets (silk cake etc) but other than that I would recommend to take your appetite else where!

I only dropped in for a hot chocolate so can't comment much on the food. This place is so busy, I was here at 10:345 am and it was packed out. The hot chocolate was a little watery and cold. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good weather day but can imagine it being lovely in Summer outside. The tables are too close together for such a small space, especially during prime time for Mums and their prams.

Lovely atmosphere and staff! Service cannot be faulted, ordered nachos, pork sliders, and garlic bread, delish! Best thing on the menu is their famous silk cake! Highly recommend to all people in the area 😊

Had breakfast here with a friend, it was not enjoyable. I ordered the salmon and avo on rye bread. They added a beetroot relish or something that was so overwhelming, took all the flavour away from the salmon and avocado.

Good coffee, nice service. Ordered a Thai Beef salad with no noodles and it came out as stated so that was great. My vote down to 3 because they obviously have no idea what Thai is, that was an American style BBQ beef salad. Maybe you could get away with Korean salad? Anyway would try again, since it was tasty enough

What a busy place. Had a beautiful breakfast.I had the Hash brown stack. I highly recommend it. I expected a long wait as the place was packed, inside and outside. But the four of us had our meals in 15 minutes. The staff were friendly and the kitchen staff can really belt that food out. Great atmosphere and a fantastic breakfast. Thank you.

I couldn't even get a photo of my hashbrown stack because i was soooo excited, but I cannot wait until my next visit, my table went from full convo to silence as we enjoyed our food 💜💜💜

Great service, awesome portion. Despite it took a while to come out it was extremely nice ! They were patient when we didn’t know what we wanted which is always comforting. It is a nice family friendly environment.

I ordered spinach egg Benedict and apple juice. The food is great and the juice is good. The cafe has a good ambience and friendly staffs. It's a nice place to have lunch alone or with friends.

We came here for breakfast.... very busy place... long queue to place an order but meals came quickly. We ordered the hash stack with sides, one with avocado one with sausages. Good "normal" selection on the board to choose from.

I have been here many times and it's always a pretty average experience. I mean there's nothing terribly wrong with it, just nothing too good either. But clearly other people must enjoy it because it's always quite busy. The staff all seem inexperienced and the coffee is sometimes good, usually average. I appreciate the open late, 7 days a week thing though. And the cabinet food is solid. Writing this review in hopes that I remember to stop going here because it's really not my scene

What a great little cafe. Took the team here for breakfast - smashed avocado (slightly heavy on the feta) and two lots of fried eggs (excellent) one with sausages (excellent) and one with bacon (excellent), black pudding (great), tomatoes (undercooked). Great flat-whites and friendly service. This cafe does Palmerston North proud. While be back each day of my stay........

I always end up coming to this place whenever I visit Palmerston North. I have dined here a few times, and have always enjoyed it. I love the busy atmosphere - and it comes with good food and great coffee. Although the food can be a bit pricey.

Found this place via zomato and the cafe didn't disappoint! Their non coffee drinks are pretty good as well! Food is pretty standard cafe food but they had a bigger variety. The place can get busy so hard to find seats sometimes.

This place has been around for many years. I used to go there in 2003/2004 then when I visited Palmy last year I saw the place is still going strong. One of my favorites in Palmy. Food and coffee is nice. Staff is very attentive as well. When it is sunny you sir outside and have a nice latte you can't beat that. Food choice can be better and sitting can be more comfy. However it is still my favorite.

Amazing quick service, really friendly staff and the best cake selection around. Always great coffee and with the additional seating area out front, definitely makes it a great place to be on a beautiful day.

mains are fairly expensive for size and quality is average at best. Decent for a Cafe but would not recommend there coffee to anyone who enjoys their coffee. Flat whites look and are like cappuccinos and flavour is average as well.

Ordered Avocado Smash from the menu with bacon which costs an extra $1.20. Left feeling rather disappointed and thinking cafe Cuba is cutting corners to keep their prices down. Nice fresh avocado, two pieces of toast, what would have been half a tomato cut into chunks, some nice feta, and one small rasher of bacon and a splash of balsamic. Left hungry for more and thinking I would not order this again

Read previous reviews of cafe cuba which made me a bit reluctant to try their coffee. Glad I did. So far, best coffee I have tried in PN though I have yet to try others (other cafes). Flat white was surprisely smooth and pleasant. Will come back again to try other types of coffee.

Been here quite a few times because it is always busy and you'd assume where the locals go will be good! However I am always left slightly disappointed and find the food overpriced.  No longer go to cafe cuba unless it is one of the "roll a 3 and dine for free" promotion nights

Had breakfast here last week and ordered muesli without looking at the menu. I opted for the regular muesli, they had two choices. I wasn't fussy, it just had to be better than the packet stuff. I know I had low to no expectation, they actually seemed a bit put out that I wasn't being picky. The ambience is great at that time in the morning. A few early risers languishing with a coffee in the comfy sofas and a group of women meeting before work sitting in the gentle morning light.<br/><br/>I was impressed with my muesli, it wasn't a poor copy of what you see advertised in the pictures like at McDonalds; it looked like it was straight out of a Gordon Ramsay's cookbook.<br/><br/>It was quiet in the morning, but I went on wkend for lunch and it's really popular pays to get there early otherwise there will be quite a long queue.

Standard cafe fare, with good decor and nice seating. Service is decent. Food and coffee is usually pretty good. Can be a bit pricy at times for what it is, but the location is nice.

I come to this cafe when I am feeling optimistic with hopes of being served a decent coffee and I often leave this cafe disappointed at their inability to produce anything that even comes close to a decent coffee, especially if you come here later in the day. I often ask for a trim flat white and I am served something more like a cappuccino or latte. A flat white is not supposed to be half a cup of milk foam! Most of the time they also get the milk wrong and serve me whole milk instead of trim. The actual blend of coffee is ok, however the barista skills are amateur and don't do the coffee justice. The final straw was when my partner and I came here on 11/01/16 and ordered two trim flat whites, we were served two flat whites made with whole milk, we didn't complain and just drank them anyway. However, straight after we left we actually became quite ill which we think was due to the milk possibly being slightly off due to sitting out in the heat?! Really bad. The baristas also need to respect milk choice as some people are asking for trim milk for a reason as they may have an intolerance to whole milk etc.

we had a fantastic time today. a group of 6 of us came in for lunch and we loved the place, loved the service and the food was delish! thank you so so much. we all come from ozanam house and lunch today was a perfect way to end the weeks treatment.

Food: of very good quality. Muffin was a meal in itself and well worth the price. Well presented cabinet food. So 2.5/2.5 for food.<br/>Service: its like a time warp back to Wellington in the 90's - the service is trendily surly and stand-offish. 0.5/2.5 for service.

Cafe Cuba is my favourite cafe to go too. I always order the corn fritters with bacon and sour cream and a chocolate milkshake. Milkshakes are the best in town. Always thick and creamy and taste how milkshakes should taste. I did branch out a bit and ordered the chicken filo and it was super tasty. My friend ordered the hash brown stack and she enjoyed her meal. The service is quick and polite. The atmosphere is always busy and energetic. Always busy which is a good sign too.

Amazing food and wonderful staff! Definitely my favourite place for dinner or just a coffee. Too bad I work at a local cafe otherwise I'd be voting for them for cafe of the year 🙊

Nice selection of cabinet food and a good blackboard menu. For breakfast and lunch items. <br/><br/>Selected a panini which was tasty. Even asks my preferred degree of toasting. <br/><br/>Hot strong coffee was excellent.

Great service and great food. Staff went above and beyond keeping our 4y/o happy. The chicken honey mustard salad I ordered was heaven on a plate! Will definitely be going back for the salad again 👍

Till lady smiled at me. Good coffee. Good pancakes. Good efficient service and atmosphere. Been here a few times over the years and always good.

Ive always been a regular of cafe cuba, but to be honest im sick of the girls at the till who i dont think has ever smiled or been friendly too me !!! Shes been there too long & clearly hates her job !!! The place has atmosphere, but im over feeling like a pain to the till girl!!! <br/>

Loved it. The food, the coffee, the decor, the staff. Best cafe I've come across yet! Been with a few friends and they thought the same. Been back time and time again and Cafe Cuba will always be amazing!

I've eaten here several times on the weekends. Usually around brunch and it is often busy. Which I take to be a great draw card if you're looking for what is locally loved. However, sometimes I've found that the tables aren't cleared and we've had to to shift things around to make a table for us, whether it be for a group of 2 or 6. This I put down to the busyness of the cafe. The salads and quiche that I often buy are usually pretty great. The coffees are always well made, and I'm left wanting for more at the end.

Really ordinary. We used to love this cafe but the standards have dropped. The good food used to compensate for the dated decor and mediocre cleanliness but not now. Basic service. 20 minutes after finishing our meal an attendant arrived and said she"d clear our plates away almost like she was doing us a favor! Won't go back to this cafe again.

Normally I love Cafe Cuba, and am a frequent customer, but the food tonight was a disappointment. I ordered the tomato and basil soup and a side of fries. The soup was bland, no seasoning at all. If there was basil in there, it must have been a very small amount. The fries were also bland, not even salted. At least the hot chocolate was good. I left quite dissatisfied.

Had lunch there. I'm really fussy and I have to say the Moroccan pasta salad (heated) I had was amazing, it was so good. I'm going there for tea next week so hope it's just as good.

Best food and great efficient service!! Would recommend to all when visiting Palmy. I have tried multiple items on the menu and they all have been amazing. Worth the money and great cafe atmosphere. It is suitable for all age groups and food types. The slices are amazing as well as the hot food and salads.

Still great coffee, and the eggs bene is the best. Always a favourite.

Visited Cafe Cuba yesterday, first time for a number of years. The food is OK, not fantastic but good cafe food. Unfortunately my experience with the person on the till makes me think a return visit wont be happening. She was abrupt expressionless and verging on rude. My EFTPOS card was practically snatched out of my hand. She didnt speak apart from. "Yes" when we lined up to place our orders. We sat and observed her manner with other diners. She smiled at the people in her own age group, but no-one else. Other young people working there seemed OK. Not brilliant, just OK. They need to make more of an effort or move on. Its a service industry. We give them money and in return they give us food drinks and a pleasant attitude. Not hard is it.

Am a regular. Nice coffee nice food would recommend the antipasto platter. However the cafe its self needs a make over, dated and needs a good scrub

Dined for breakfast on a Sunday, the place was packed. We managed to find a nice spot outside in the sun. Definitely a great place to dine if you want to sit outside - plenty of tables and buzzing atmosphere. The food and coffee was unfortunately hit and miss. I had eggs benedict with bacon. The good - the toasted foccacia it was served on was delicious, crispy and light. The bacon was great, good quality and nicely cooked. There was a hash brown under the eggs which added a nice extra touch of crispy to the dish. The hollandaise sauce was fantastic - rich, with a hint of wholegrain mustard and there was plenty of it. Unfortunately the star of the dish - the eggs, were not runny - they were hard. This let the whole dish down. However I still enjoyed the meal and it's flavours. My caramel latte was also quite burnt and bitter and not enough caramel. On the upside the service was good, fast and although so busy we didnt have to wait long for our drinks and food.

Beware these people will try to overcharge you for their already overpriced food. Two other people I know have been overcharged the last two times they have gone there also.

The food here is definitely overpriced but as an ocasional customer to coffee shops I still chose Cuba Coffe most of the time, probably just because I like the busy atmostphere here?!? Fortunately I haven't got a problem with their service quality so far.

I am a regular and even though often I find the noise of the place annoying, and also the fact it is hard to get a table, I am never disappointed with the food here and only once have had a meal that I was not happy with.<br/>Totally recommend this place.

After a few great breakfasts here in the past and generally always great coffee, I thought I'd give dinner a go.<br/>I ordered Lamb Rump - Roasted lamb rump served with homemade mint sauce, jus, spinach and peas and your choice of potato.<br/>What I got was a frozen pea and limp spinach soup with undercooked potatoes and grisly lamb.<br/>The lamb was well cooked (rare) even though I wasn't asked how I wanted it cooked (rare would have been my choice) but very chewy and a bit fatty, not unexpected from a rump, but disappointing.<br/>The potatoes might have been boiled for a few minutes, but even the supplied steak knife had a time cutting through them.<br/><br/>The whole meal was swimming in a lot of mint sauce with sparing leaves of spinach floundering among the potato ships and frozen pea sardines.<br/><br/>I think from now on I'll stick to just the odd coffee from here now.<br/>The frozen peas may have been been in an open packet in the freezer as they were noticeably freezer burnt.

Cafe Cuba has got to be the best Cafe in Palmerston North. I am a regular to a lot of Cafe's in Palmy as my work requires many informal coffee meetings. <br/><br/>I have also visited to dine both for breakfast and dinner, and it did not dissapoint! The staff are always friendly and work extremely hard to keep up, and give great service in this busy cafe! <br/><br/>It is not difficult to see why Cafe Cuba is constantly buzzing with activity, it has a great atmosphere unlike any other in Palmerston North! Keep up the great work Cafe Cuba

I have been a regular at Cafe Cuba for years. I get a beautiful coffee every morning which is always made speedily and to perfection, some of the best baristas in the manawatu here! I have got to know most of the front of house staff, they are all friendly, efficiant and make you feel welcome as if you are part of thier family :)<br/>Cuba is always my first option when out for dinner or dessert, and the savings im making using my smartfuel card are a huge bonus!

Cafe Cuba is one of Palmys iconic cafes. The best eggs benedict ever, and coffee is always amazing!! Love the selection and there is something to suit everyone, so ideal for a big group. Open 7 days days a week, day and night. Great wine list, and the dinner menu is great! The staff are awesome and do a great job to keep the high standard of service, even when its hectic! Looking forward to seeing the new outside area.

People tend to make a bigger deal out of cafe cuba than what it really is.<br/><br/>I only really like it because of the atmosphere and like the outside area with the plastic that shield the wind!<br/><br/>But other than that, Everything is average and what you can get from any cafe in Palmerston North. <br/><br/>Staff aren't all that friendly either... It only attracts people because of its alternative modern art deco feel...

Consistently the best hot chocolate and coffee in Palmerston North for over 8 years. Love the atmosphere - kinda casual and dark. Staff are always friendly and obliging. The meals tend to let this place down. And someone (poss the manager?) keeps writing notes on the whiteboard telling the kitchen staff off - and customers can read it! Bad image guys. Customers don't need to know the issues management may have with staff - keep it in house.

If it wasn't for the silk cake which my wife adores I probably wouldn't choose to visit this place. As per some of the other posts the staff seem uninterested in customer service, lack basic food handling hygiene skills, and make the whole experience of going there the least bit desirable.

Silk cake to die for and best coffee in town and blondie coffee maker also best in town, keep up the good work

An absolutely fantastic little Cafe, it's easy to see why it is constantly busy, the staff do a great job considering the popularity of this Cafe. The food is excellent. I have been there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and have had beautiful food every time. Certainly this has got to be Palmy's best Cafe! <br/><br/>Great place on a nice summer's day, with outdoor seating to soak up the rays. <br/><br/>Big thumbs up Cafe Cuba, ill be back for sure!!!!

usually very good. Love their mochas, and the fact that you can get half portions of their wedges.<br/><br/>bit disappointed recently though. <br/>1. The staff doesnt seem that interested in serving you.<br/>2. They used to charge half price for a half strength lemon honey and ginger. No longer. disappointing, as they are only using half the syrup<br/>3. Had beef nachos this week - no chilli in the mince. Just a nicely cooked plain mince with beans. Nice texture, but my husband had to go to the counter for a bottle of tobasco.<br/><br/>a pity, as it's my favourite cafe. What happened since November? New owners? New staffing?

Love the food especially the eggs Bennie's and the coffee usually always is consistant and great quality.<br/>The staff are usually always nice and chatty but maybe should smile more.........<br/><br/>overall fantastic always have been.

usually very busy, so sometimes you have to wait a long time for your food<br/><br/>the staff are sometimes wonderful and friendly, and sometimes plainly stressed and overworked. Get more staff when you're busy!!<br/><br/>the food is quite good, and the prices have gone up, so what used to be excellent value is now reasonable<br/><br/>nice place to go and will see us again

The food continues to taste great, the prices have gone too high,the staff have deteriorated considerably, maybe you need to employ more mature people who are focused on good customer service.....food for thought...

My experience of cafe cuba has normally been a good one and have been going there for years. However the last few times i have been there as recently as today the customer service has really let them down. I got given the wrong item and not what i asked for, when taking it back was met with blank stares from all the staff and then the person who served me asked if there was a problem. Then told me i got what i asked for to which i said no this is not what i wanted so then they walked off mumbling something so i just went and sat back down not knowing if it was going to be bought to me or what then the coffee girls had to make a comment like "what was her problem" in front of all the other customers etc. I probably had a confused look on my face because i didnt know what was going on and was treated like a nuisance but I think im entitled to ask for a replacement, i wasnt rude - but will not be going back there at all! Its become overpriced aswell and the coffee was burnt! How dare i ask them to replace something they got wrong?! you'd think i was asking for a free meal or something! Not cool Cuba - sort your grumpy staff out. If they dont want to give customers service maybe the should change jobs!

Always good food and excellent coffee. It's the most popular cafe in town and always very busy. The staff are sometimes a bit disorganised, and sometimes it takes a long time to get food, but they seem to have improved recently and I still have no hesitation about going back.

Food is usually pretty good, and there is a good range of option, regardless of time of day. I do object to the increasing price of the cakes. Silk cake is great, but I don't really think $9 a slice is justified. The thing that lets Cafe Cuba down is their consistently poor service. We have already had to wait a long time for our orders - both dine in and takeaway. Orders are regularly messed up, and waiter attitude is really indifferent. No mattre how good the food is, if the service is poor that's enough to turn me away.

we had a work leaving dinner at cafe cuba on sunday the 24th of july. three people including myself ordered the beef scnitzel which was $19 i asked the lady if we could<br/>all SWAP!!!! our salad to veges and if we could SWAP!! the fries to mash potatoes, she said yup you can swap thats fine. so we all get to the check out and the lady has charged us a extra $9 each. i then rang up the next day to enquire about this problem and the staff member was extremly rude to me and said well the waiter should of told you and we hope next time this wont happen. well there wont be a next time. i understand that mash potatoes and veges are $3 extra but they swapped are sides for these but still charged us extra as in we still got the salad and fries. we only got our Schnitzel mash potatoes and veges and got charged 28 dollars each. very dissapointed.

Its not hard to see why this Cafe is so busy, whether its for Coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner, we always get greeted with a friendly smile and fantastic service from the staff, and i have found that their quailty of service is hard to beat in Palmerston North<br/><br/>The food is excellent and great value for your money. We went in as a group of 6 for dinner, and there was something on the menu for everybody, a great atmosphere in this Cafe, it was absolutely buzzing. <br/><br/>Great job Cafe Cuba, we will be back for sure! A+++

I too wonder why this restaurant is so busy. We ordered lunch. My husbands bacon and eggs came and i was told that mine would be there in a minute. Coffee's arrived. Husband has finished his meal and we are still waiting. It seems odd as i had ordered from the cabinet and mine only had to be toasted. Finally gave up and went in search of my meal. Amazing there were no customers waiting to order. Two pretty blonde's standing chatting and three plates of food behind them under heat lights. Yep, mine was one of the plates. No apologises, just dumb looks. I then had to eat in front of my husband with no coffee left. Food was okay but the whole experience was less than enjoyable. Owner needs to get staff that are 'on to it'.

I ordered fish and chips and for close on $20 I expected better. There was a heap of fish - too much in fact, but the salad was pathetic. It was all lettuce with a "garnish" of sprouts and a quarter of a tomato. I wouldn't bother eating there again.

We were far less than impressed with what Cafe Cuba had to offer as far as dining goes.<br/><br/>We ordered the Fish and Chips, and the Spinach and Feta Ravioli. We asked what the Napoli sauce was as we had never had it before, and was told that it was "a really creamy sauce". <br/><br/>When presented with our food, it turned out that the Napoli sauce on the Ravioli was mainly tomato based, and was very sweet, to the point where it collided with the smooth flavor of the Ravioli. The fish in the Fish and Chips was cooked perfectly, but the coating was almost the consistency of half cooked batter with no seasoning, and if I'm paying $19.90 for fish and chips, there is NO reason why they couldn't have made home made chips, instead we got chips you'd expect to get from your local chippy.<br/><br/>The last straw was waiting for a desert menu. And waiting.. and waiting.. and waiting. In the end we gave up, paid our tab and went across the road to Grandma's Roast House for coffee and desert.<br/><br/>And lastly, to add insult to injury, I placed the review above on a page where their representatives have a degree of control over, and it was removed. I have emailed them asking why this was removed, but to date, I have not received a reply.<br/><br/>We might go back to Cafe Cuba for coffee, but that will be about it.. sorry guys, you need to pick up your game.. both on the food front and on your public relations.

I'm only occasionally in Palmerston North but this is my 1st choice when I'm there. I have always had great food and service and it its always a good atmosphere. Whether its a quick coffee or a meal I highly recommend Cafe Cuba.

Breakfasts are consistently excellent. Rather good value for money considering the size of the meals. Im not a coffee drinker but the thickshakes are the best in town.

I have always been puzzled me why this café is so busy, I guess it has the sunniest outdoor aspect or all the cafes in town. The food is reasonable but not great, the coffee is consistently good, the staff however are half asleep , away with the fairies, and frankly are so busy chatting with each other it’s a wonder the place functions at all. Big room for improvement, I do buy coffee here occasionally but only as other friends ( mainly smokers ) insist on returning. Room for improvement if the place was managed better.

The children's pancakes are well loved by my daughter but every coffee I have ever gotten has been bitter.

Delicious food, great staff. This cafē will go out of their way to provide good service. Sometimes the wait can take a while but that's to be expected in this industry. Great coffees, even going out of their way to tailor a drink to suit my needs.

There ice coffee is yummest in Palmy. Other cafes should learn from them how to do it. Yummmmm. I have never tried anything else we go there often for ice coffee. But my flatmate tried most of the food from there and she like it. :) :)<br/>5 stars for these but <br/><br/>We went there for dinner on my birthday must say not good at all never ever think of going to Cuba for dinner. And also the meals were actually not very inviting just looked very plain and made by someone not very experienced. All the 8 meals not appreciated. I would give 0 star for that. <br/><br/>That makes average of 2.5 stars. Approx 3 stars.

The desserts are to die for especially the silk cake but when I have come for a meal i have been disappointed every time.

Reading the other comments here makes me think 'so it wasn't just us then'. We went in for a family breakfast (fairly apparent that they aren't keen on kids) and left feeling quite down about the whole excursion. Lots of little things not right, but what got me was the comment from the waitress that 'chef says that if you order poached eggs, then you'll get soggy bread coz they are cooked in water' when I requested another slice of toast to replace the wet one on my plate. Left me rather speechless that did! We haven't been back, nor do we ever intend to.<br/><br/>You just can't afford that kind of attitude in the competitive cafe space.