If your morning leans more toward a Cuban sandwich than a bagel, Cuban Eats in Northdale is worth knowing about. It sits at 601 North Morgan Street in Tampa and runs early, opening at 7:00 am and closing by 1:15 pm, with its lunch menu running from 10:50 am to 1:30 pm. It's a place that clearly does its best work before noon, which is also why it's a strong candidate for a weekday lunch or a slow morning.
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The menu is built around the Cuban sandwich, and there's a size for whatever you're feeling. The 6-inch version is $12, the 8-inch is $13 and billed as the best value, and the 10-inch is $14 and meant for sharing. The 8-inch is the most popular of the bunch. If you're after a meal on the go, the $12 meal box lets you pick between the 8-inch Classic Cuban — ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, and plantains — and a few other options like a BLT, a ham and cheese, a mojo pork, or a media noche.
Speaking of the media noche, it's the one that rewards a little curiosity. It's $12, and the difference from the classic Cuban is the bread: a sweet egg bread instead of the traditional Cuban loaf. The name comes from the Spanish word for midnight, because it's traditionally eaten late after a night out, so it's a nice nod to the culture behind the sandwich. The mojo pork sandwich is another house favorite at $14, and the grill also turns out chicken fajitas, a chicken Cuban melt, and a crispy swai fish sandwich, all $14.
If you'd rather skip the bread, there's a build-your-own Cuban bowl for $11 — pick from picadillo, roasted pork, grilled chicken, or grilled beef over rice and beans, with sweet plantains available for extra — and a platter version for $17. The deli side rounds things out with a triple club, a classic BLT, and veggie, ham, and turkey sandwiches in the $11 to $13 range, plus quesadillas, salads, Cuban sides, and toasts. For the early crowd, there's a whole spread of breakfast platters, from a Cuban cheese toast breakfast to a mojo pork platter, with cafe con leche boxes, house coffee, and sweet pastries to wash it down.
It's well-regarded for what it does, sitting at 4.7 stars from more than 120 reviews, with some customers calling it the best and others singing the guava pastries. If you can't make it in person, it's on DoorDash and Uber Eats, and new users get a $0 delivery fee. Between the early hours and the straightforward menu, it's an easy spot to fold into a Tampa morning or lunch routine.
