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Start a Top 5 for CubanEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Washingtonian and The Washington Post. Updated August 2026.
Colada Shop · 14th Street
An all-day Cuban cafe on 14th Street from Barmini alum Juan Coronado, where the pina coladas and fresh-mint mojitos are as much the draw as the food. The Cuban sandwich has a loyal following, and ham croquetas and flaky empanadas fill out the counter case.
Casta's Rum Bar · West End
Arian Castaneda, whose family has run a Cuban cigar company for four generations, opened this West End room on New Hampshire Avenue. The Cuban sandwich flies its bread in from Florida, and a picadillo empanada rounds out chef Alberto Vega's menu of Cuban staples.
Cuba De Ayer Restaurant · Burtonsville
A family-run Burtonsville restaurant opened in 2005 by Jessica and William Rodriguez, with mother-in-law Mayra Lopez as opening chef; her Camaguey-province recipes still set the kitchen's standard. The Washington Post's Tim Carman called the picadillo sublime, made without a single tomato, combining crumbly beef, plump raisins, green olives and diced potatoes swollen with meat juices. Order the picadillo and the Bacardi-glazed rum cake.