This is one of my favorite restaurants. There must be 100 tables there or something. It’s huge… two indoor seating areas and one outdoor seating area. In the summer it’s usually pretty busy.
I’ve never had an actual entree here. I always go for the Tapas. It’s a long drive from my house, but so worth it. There’s over 20 items on the tapas menu for $3.95 and one for $7.95. I like that you can try and share a bunch of things. Every item I’ve tried are good for at least 2 people to try.
Goat Cheese Fritters - Hazelnut stuffed goat cheese with a sweet honey vinagrette. Love them!
Spinach Empanadas were great too as were the regular empanadas.
Everything I tried from the tapas menu was pretty good.
The Sangria was excellent. May have been the best sangria I’ve ever had. My friend and I went on a warm summer day. We got seating inside by a window. Big pitchers for $14.95.
I lived in Montclair for a long time. I always had a theory that there were two Cuban Petes. There’s the one you describe and one that was like a deep ring of hell. People’s experiences ranged from delight to utter horror and dismay.
Well, I have been there multiple times with no issues. In fact I’ve got the same waiter twice. I remember him, but he wouldn’t remember me.
Anyway, the only complaint is not the fault of the management or staff… it’s that in the summer it can be VERY VERY VERY busy. Like a 3 hour wait if you want to sit inside out of the heat, but there was no wait (when I arrived) outside. After I arrived outside got busy too. We didn’t want to sit outside, but it was alright if you ask me.
I haven’t been there in years, partially because the chef who opened the place left (he now owns Marie’s and Pop’s Diner, both in Chatham) and partially because I heard stories from people who worked there that really turned me off to the owner/management. I have no idea if the food is still good, but I know a lot of people love it and love the vibe; I’m just unwilling to wait that long at ANY restaurant.
Wish I could find another place which has a decent sized tapas selection and the prices aren’t high. All the places I’ve seen seem to be expensive, yet Cuban Pete’s are mostly $3.95.
