Pasion Cuban

I was somewhat skeptical after reading the mixed reviews online, however I was pleasantly surprised when our dining experience was perfect, from food to service. We started with the empanadas which were delicious. We ordered both meat and cheese varieties to sample both and they were fantastic. For our main entrees we had the grilled meat platter and rice and chicken. Both very good and authentic. The fried plantains were excellent. Even better than at Cuban restaurants I've eaten at in Florida. Our server, Miranda, was extremely pleasant and diligent. All in all a great meal and experience. There were other items on the menu that looked great and we'll be back to try them again.

The cocktails were very good and the prices were cheap for their happy hour specials. The service was also good with friendly and helpful servers and bartenders. We had a group of 5 and got several different entrees and sides. Everything was seasoned well (maybe a little heavy on the salt) but the meat was so dry. We had chicken, beef, and pork dishes and the general consensus was that the meat was tasty, but very overcooked. The fish of the day (salmon) got no complaints. The sides were all very delicious. We would go back for drinks, but not food.

Unfortunately, both times I went here were disappointing from a time perspective. The first time, it was restaurant week- so I didn't think much of it since it was extremely crowded. We did have reservations, and I gave my friend and I an hour and a half for dinner, but we had to wait a long time between courses, and in the end had to pack up our main course and dessert to go since we had tickets for Babel right after, and could not be late. The second time I went was on date night with my husband, and we were seated outside (we requested the patio). We saw it was not crowded inside, or outside, figuring it would be a quick meal. We were not particularly hungry, so all we ordered were a cocktail each, and a couple of appetizers. We waited for over an hour for our cocktails to arrive, and were told a couple times it would just be a little longer- that the manager was out, the bartender was new, etc. Each time the server was extremely apologetic- and I do not blame her at all for the delay. We were served our food and finished it (we were eating slowly, too) and still no cocktails. In this time, the only other couple, who was seated after us on the patio, had received their food and drinks well before ours. Finally, the server asked if we wanted free dessert instead of the drinks, since it had been so long, or wait for the drinks which would be on the house. We opted to wait for the drinks since we were in a cocktail mood. It seemed like another 15 minutes before we got them All in all, it took almost 2 hours to have 2 drinks and 2 appetizers. This is unfortunately why I do not think I win return, which is a shame. The quality of the food was top notch- the pork I had the previous visit melted in my mouth, the appetizers that were a puff pastry fried and filled came with a delicious guava dipping sauce, and the appetizers we ordered that second trip- and the drinks too, were delicious.

If I could give this establishment a lower rating, I would. The drinks and food were okay, but not good enough to excuse the downright rude wait staff. At first, our server, Chris, had a dry sense of humor I actually enjoy. But then things took a turn. He made snide comments in response to our questions about menu items. He agreed to do separate checks for us at the outset of our meal but at the end this request apparently became a problem for Chris. He literally tossed the checks onto the table with the wrong change. When a member of our party questioned him on this he commented "That was fun," then walked away. After continued questions to get her proper change (that amounted to more than her bill itself), he reacted defensively and the situation ended with us leaving as he said: "F*** you!" The manager did nothing and just thanked us for coming in. I would love to say I'd go back because the atmosphere was nice (despite being really loud) and the food was decent. But being verbally assaulted by the staff is no way to build a customer base in this small town.

if I could rate this restaurant I would. First off the greeter was on her phone and was paying more attention to her phone than the customers. It took at least an hour (probably more) to get our food and it was terrible. The rice tasted like chemicals and was crunchy. The black beans were creamy and had little taste. I had the chicken breast and it was burnt and had way too much seasoning on it. I am half Cuban and have been to lots of Cuban restaurants in my life and this one was by far the worst I have been to. DON'T EAT HERE!!!