We recently discovered Rumba’s Cafe in Jersey City. We went for lunch and this place was extremely busy, not just with diners, but also with a large amount of take out. The reason: cheap and comforting Cuban food that is also delicious.

Dining room at Rumba’s Café in Jersey City

There you will find plenty of dishes you would find at La Isla, like the beef empanada that was quite good, flakey and slightly crispy with a flavorful filling (I hate when the filling is just dry and lacking flavor) or the Cuban sandwich that is one of the best I ever tried. They just don’t put ham and cheese and press it: you get pieces of pork as well as pickles in it. Just that sandwich that costs $4.95 makes a whole meal. Of course, if you are vegetarian, you can go with their version of grilled cheese that is a pressed sandwich with 4 slices of cheese in it. Understand though that they make it on the same press as the meat one. But, hey, what do you think happen in most restaurants ? Your veggie burger is probably done on the same grill as a cheeseburger. So, if you do not mind, go for it: it is crunchy and has lots of cheese in it (not that melted though).

Accompanied with plantains chips, you would be in heaven. What we did not try but saw lots of people ordering it is their breakfast that comes with a fresh squeezed orange juice (loved it), coffee and various combination of eggs or meat ranging from $4.75 to $7.45 with generous portions for sure.

Plantain chips at Rumba’s Café in Jersey City

Desserts looked delicious but I admit that the batido de Mamey that is like a milk shake filled me up and I could not eat more (ok, I admit that our plan was also to buy donuts somewhere else…).

Batido de Mamey at Rumba’s Café in Jersey City

So, overall, Rumba’s Cafe is a great find. This is worth a trip to Jersey City!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Rumba’s Cafe -513 Central Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07307

I Just Want To Eat!