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    Cafeteria Yesenia

    4.4 (77 reviews)
    InexpensiveCuban
    Closed 6:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Cafeteria Yesenia Photos

    Business Info

    CAFETERIA YESENIA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Cuban Sandwich

    Don't know if it was bcuz I came in while the owner and a staff member were having their lunch or because they were about to close (next hr.) etc. I definitely didn't feel welcomed. No one didn't get up nor said hello, until I spoke. Made a trip only to try the Cafe con leche, which was a bit too milky. Sandwich Cubano was tender and seasoned good, but unevenly made & needed more ham. Would've came back to try their ice cream if the service had been better.

    Arroz con gandules. Great!
    Brian Z.

    I really liked the place in the people who run it. I had the best cortadito I think I have ever had. It was delicious. I had arroz con gandules that was fantastic. I ordered a Cuban sandwich, which is was the only downfall. I expected to be a true Cuban sandwich but the guy at the counter told me they use mayonnaise instead of mustard cuz most people prefer the the Mayo. So a true Cuban sandwich is ham, swiss cheese pickles and yellow mustard with roast pork which is actually the key ingredient. The roast pork is marinated first in bitter or sour Orange with other herbs and it's called Mojo. Without the Mojo you don't have a Cuban. The roast pork that use I believe might just be regular Mexican carnitas which is what it tasted like. So would have been 5 stars but I thought the Cuban kind of lacked the taste of a Cuban. I would still recommend checking them out but I would probably try the empanadas or ham and cheese sandwich.

    Roast pork with arroz con gandules Nd plátanos maduros
    Rod C.

    I had the lechon plate and it was pretty good. I wish it were more mosit but for the price can't complain. Itgood cuban food without the expensive Northside prices.

    Jibarito
    Jein P.

    This was my first time trying Cuban food and I walked away wondering why I hadn't tried Cuban food sooner. I came in here on a Sunday afternoon with my friend and we split a jibarito and Cuban sandwich. The portions are huge!! I was nervous about the plantains because I wasn't sure id like them but they ended up being quite a good complement to the meat and veggies that were in the sandwich. They're so generous with their meat serving and the pork in my jibarito wasn't dry at all. The lettuce and tomatoes were fresh and the sauce wasn't overly potent! Half of a jibarito left me feeling very full so I had that for lunch and saved half of my Cuban sandwich for dinner. The bread on the Cuban sandwich was just great, crispy and delicious. I can definitely see myself coming back and high recommendations for authentic and affordable Cuban food!

    Coy M.

    An oasis Last Sunday morning was driving through this hood and wanted to have some breakfast. And even tough this is a cool hood, the more options the better. I had heard about this place that had recently open and decided to check it out. We park in front and from the outside the building looks normal, but once inside it is a pretty cool place, simple but very well decorated. Few tables and even some small lounging chairs and coffee table. We proceed to the counter and check out the menu. I tasted the Cuban, media noche and ham-egg-cheese sandwiches. All of them were good and the bread was perfectly toasted with good fillings inside. Not a huge coffee drinker here but my friends is and I had a couple of sips from his coffee and it was freshly ground and super flavorful. I had a hot cocoa and it was perfect. They have other drinks and sandwiches that I am looking forward to try next time I come here. The service was great, literally. Owners came by a couple of times to check on us and make sure everything was perfect and even went out of their way to provide my table with hot peppers, yes hot peppers there is no complete meal without hot peppers LOL. Cafeteria Yesenia, oasis in the middle of a desert of options

    Steak and cheese Sandwich

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    2 months ago

    Excellent food at this spot. Empanadas are tasty and a nice variety. Chilaquilas are some of the best I've ever had.

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    3 months ago

    The food is amazing! The empanadas! The jiboritos! We will definitely order from here again and soon.

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    2 years ago

    Excellent Cuban place. Very nice staff and great family business. Food is authentic. Would certainly come back

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    3 years ago

    One of my favorite spots to come to great service great food fair prices no complaints this is my go to spot

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    3 years ago

    La comida está muy deliciosa! empanadas de ropa vieja con la salsa verde! También la gente que trabaja allí son muy amables!

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    7 years ago

    I ordered the double steak sandwich and café con leche. We also shared an order of Yesenia Fries. The food is delicious!!!!

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    5 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Every sandwich I've had has been delicious! I've had the cuban, jibarito, and 2 or 3 others. Never disappoints.

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Cafeteria Yesenia

    Ustedes realmente son una falta d respeto para los cubanos en colocar una foto d. Che un asesino k ha matado a muchos cubanos en es tan culpable como Fidel k lastima k no pones esa foto en la Florida tendrías k cerrar el restoran Me dan lastima?

    No creo que sean cubanos. Desculpa la foto, es como si tubieran una foto de Cortez en un restaurante Mexicano.

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    Cafecito - Steak Chimichurri Sandwich

    Cafecito

    (1k reviews)

    $$

    Streeterville, Near North Side

    After a day shopping on Magnificent Mile north of the river in Chicago, we stopped at nearby…read moreCafecito on Chestnut. It was early Sunday afternoon, and we were too large a group to arrive without calling ahead. You walk up a lovely old half-flight of stairs under an ornate ceiling. After a short wait, half of our party went elsewhere, and the remaining four of us were quickly seated. The front area is mainly a café, with maybe 10 seats at tables for two. Farther back is a hallway and a larger room with seating in booths and at high-tops for maybe 40, and maybe 6 more at a small bar. The staff is quick and friendly. The food is delicious and fresh and hot! And the music is loud and festive :-) We had the thin-cut savory palomillo steak, a generous serving, pounded to tenderness, served with classic wet black-beans and white rice, sweet soft platanos maduros plantain pieces, and some greens and tomato. We had a lovely colorful medium-sized Mojo Shrimp in tart garlic citrus mojo sauce, with sateed red onion crescents, tomato chunks, and parsley. And we had the huge slow-cooked tender shredded-beef Ropa Vieja pressed sandwich, sauced lightly with slightly-tangy creole sauce, served with platanos maduros and black beans. All of their food delightfully authentic. We liked it so much, a few days later we ate at their South Loop location, too!

    Cafecito had my favorite sandwiches in the city - all time favorite is the ropa vieja. It's meaty…read morefrom the steak and slightly sweet from the plantains - so delicious. Their shrimp and guava-q sandwiches are also other go-to sandwiches for me. The one on wells is perfect for a lunch in the loop. If you want sit down service, the gol coast location is decent. The location on Fullerton kinda sucks - service is just really slow there so if I get sandwiches from there, I exclusively go the take out route. But all in all, the sandwiches are amazing!! And the yucca fries are good too. Oo and the guava cheese pastry is nice if you want a sweet treat after.

    Cafecito - Steak Chimichurri sandwich

    Cafecito

    (2.1k reviews)

    $$

    The Loop

    I'd never had Cuban food before until I came here. I got a fried tilapia platter which came with…read morerice and a spinach salad. I genuinely cleaned this plate off. The spinach had a kind of sauce with it that when mixed with the rice and fish tasted absolutely divine. The plantains were perfectly fried. My friend got the pork sandwich which she also enjoyed. We also got two vanilla lattes which were very good. This place has both indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for outdoor because the weather was nice but the vibes were good inside as well. They have a pastry counter indoors that looked good. I would highly recommend making a reservation because the place was packed on a Thursday morning! In the future I would bring friends and family here.

    I saw this place was close to my hotel, so I decided to give it a shot. I noticed they had a lot of…read moregood options, but I decided to stick with the pollo chimichurri. My food was ready within minutes and while I was hoping for a mouthful of flavors, I got anything but. The chicken wasn't really seasoned. In fact, it was lukewarm and bland. The plate could have gone without the tomato's as it made the maduros mushy. The plate itself was rather meh and I was pretty disappointed. Also, I was expecting the chimichurri to already be on the chicken and not for me to have to add it myself, especially considering I didn't get very much. Maybe they had an off day or I just chose the wrong dish.

    Bayan Ko Diner - Baby bangus silog

    Bayan Ko Diner

    (120 reviews)

    Ravenswood, Lakeview

    BBQ Skewers: tender chicken thighs and the perfect amount of sweet glaze…read more Lumpia Shanghai: the crispiness was perfection and the sauce was so good, it was like a slightly sweet vinaigrette Lechon Kawali: so crispy on the outside and the pork was juicy and tender inside, the sauce helps give flavor and softens the crispiness of the the pork Ropa Vieja: the shredded beef brisket was cooked to perfection but was very salty, eat it with the sweet plantains and rice and it reduces the saltiness taste, sweet plantains are black but not burnt, garlic rice is tasty Adobo wings: messy but worth it, delicious Saffron cream cheese flan: very sweet, but also had salt on top, texture is thick and smooth and melts in your mouth Halo Halo Banana Split: pandan ice cream is so good, loved the shredded coconut and the rice crispies to add the crunch, the fried banana lumpia was so good Hibiscus ginger cooler: slightly sweet and so refreshing, can def taste the hibiscus Pandan Mojito: slightly sweet and has like an aloe after taste Table reservations are for 90 minutes only and they give you a 20 min warning. Order quickly! You can sit at the bar if your time is up and still want to hang out afterwards. Highly recommend getting the $30 prix fixe menu (reasonably priced) and ordering one more dish from the menu for two people. We left feeling very full and satisfied if you're super hungry. Love the decor inside and very tropical with its palm leaves wallpaper. Latin music gives an upbeat atmosphere. There are two locations for Bayan Ko. One is a diner and the other place is for a more private tasting menu. I accidentally went in there instead of the diner place.

    I want to preface this review by saying I am of Hispanic descent, so I may naturally have a higher…read morebar when it comes to Latin cuisine and what I expect in terms of AUTHENTICITY and flavor... I arrived with my family and there is a sign at the entrance instructing guests to "please wait to be seated." Unfortunately, there was no host or hostess present at the front, so we stood waiting and tried to get the attention of the only visible staff member in the restaurant. He appeared to be working alone behind the bar counter and didn't notice us right away. This already created a slightly disorganized first impression. If a restaurant is going to require guests to wait to be seated, there really should be someone assigned to the front to greet and seat customers..... Once seated, the same gentleman brought us menus, but it took quite a while for him to come back and take our orders because he was handling multiple roles at once--taking orders, preparing drinks at the bar, and bringing out food. It honestly felt like he was doing the job of several people, which is not fair to him or the customers. On to the food: as someone who is Latina and familiar with both Cuban and Filipino cuisine (through family and community), I was surprised by the execution. Appetizers were served in very small portions-- only two or four pieces per order--such as the lumpia, which felt overpriced for measely two pieces. The pricing overall felt quite high for the portion sizes even with 4... Flavor-wise, the food leaned heavily toward a more Americanized interpretation. The ropa vieja lacked depth and seasoning compared to what I'm accustomed to, and the pancit bihon tasted closer to a salty chow mein-style stir fry rather than the traditional dish...even the noodles used were very different It didn't reflect the authentic balance of flavors associated with Filipino cuisine... Overall, while I appreciate the concept and understand the challenges of running a restaurant, the execution felt inconsistent. Between staffing limitations, high prices, and food that didn't fully reflect the authenticity of either cuisine, the experience fell short for me and my family.

    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar - Lollipop Pork Chops

    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar

    (126 reviews)

    Uptown

    My goal is to try 50 new Chicago restaurants in 2025!…read moreRestaurant: 51/50 Month tried: September Favorite dish: Pollo Al Ajillo Marinas is an unassuming spot in a strip mall that packs big flavors and cheerful service. Was so happy to discover this place. I tried to go back on a random Friday night recently, and they were completely booked up for the night, so definitely make a reservation!! Drink: La Playita - yummmm House Starter: Yucca fries and I believe some kind of guava dip? - This was SO good. I need to know exactly what that dip was and how I can get a jar of it. Starter: Queso Frito con Tamarindo - Fried cheese, how can you not love it?? Entree: Pollo Al Ajillo with rice and beans - This was so simple but SO flavorful. And a HUGE portion, perfect for lunch leftovers. I truly cannot stop thinking about this perfectly executed plate. Dessert: Flan - I have never in my life enjoyed flan, but they brought it for my friend's birthday, and I really liked it! Did Marinas make me a flan fan?? It took a bit of time to get our check. I had the feeling they wanted us to sit and enjoy more drinks. Next time I think I will do just that :)

    We made a reservation since there were six of us. It is very small inside so plan ahead. My friends…read moretried to eat here on Sunday night, but they were told the restaurant had run out of food. So we tried again on Friday. The service was exceptional. We loved our waitress. Everyone enjoyed their food. The craft cocktails were also good. If you are looking for authentic Puerto Rican food, you should try this spot.

    Omarcitos Latin Cafe - Steak Sandwich or Steak Jibarito

    Omarcitos Latin Cafe

    (118 reviews)

    $$

    Logan Square

    Had a great lunch with friends here yesterday . The spot is a little confusing when you first walk…read morein... there's a patio with a food truck and outdoor seating . You can sit outside or grab a menu and go inside . The inside has about 8 tables that fit 4 people each . Inside there is a table with utensils and water glasses as well for help yourself service . You order at the food truck window and grab a seat. They brought our food inside to us on a tray. We ordered the rope vieja, steak jibaritos, and flautas . Everything was very good but I especially loved the flautas with the consome. It was absolutely delicious and very unique, I drank the leftover consome because it was that good . Just poor everything in one big bowl . The flautas keep their crisp even when swimming in the broth . I liked the shredded Munster cheese on the jibarito and loved the green sauce . Sooo good!! The restaurant is byob and we brought mixes for bloody Mary's and some beers. It was nice to enjoy the meal and not feel rushed . I really enjoyed the experience, good music playing and kind service . Definitely recommend

    I had such an amazing experience at Omarcitos today…read more I stumbled across an IG reel of this food spot, and I immediately knew I had to check them out. The cafe has such an interesting set up. You order from what appears to be a food truck, and there is an outdoor (open concept) and indoor seating. We ordered the steak sandwich and ropa vieja plate. The steak sandwich was DELICIOUS. The bread was crispy, and the meat was flavorful and juicy. The sandwich also paired so well with their garlic side sauces. The Ropa vieja was also so insanely yummy. The beef was so juicy and savory. The garlic rice was also so yummy. I'm not a huge fan of plantains, but the plantains were actually pretty decent! Overall, I had an excellent experience at Omarcitos. I cannot wait to come back once it gets warmer!!

    Cafeteria Yesenia - cuban - Updated May 2026

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