Bongos Cuban Cafe

Saby was awesome! First time there and sat at the bar. she was very helpful with drinks and food description. friendly and we will be back!

Great food and great service. Miguel served our table and was a perfect server. Quick and courteous to the fullest!

Came here on a visit to the Hard Rock Casino. It is a beautiful restaurant that has more of a Nightclub feel rather then a restaurant. The food is pretty good but it is over priced for Cuban food. The Fried pork was nice and tender and the Ropa vieja had good flavor. The Tostones was really good. They were fried nicely and tender. For Cuban food I rather go to a Mom and Pop place which is much more inexpensive and taste the same.

By far the worst experience I’ve ever had with a restaurant. I made reservations for Mother’s Day because the online website had a detailed menue of a large brunch selection, they even promoted it as an array of brunch items. We get there on time and see that there is no brunch menu, so i ask the waiter. He then proceeds to pull out a printed crumbled piece of paper and reads off 3 items! Thats it 3 items! When i inquire about the menu online for mothers day brunch he proceeds to say oh i dont know all we have is 3 items. Well we left because that is not what they advertised. I have never had this happen before and they could care less. The waiter wasn’t apologetic no one knew what i was talking about and they just plain lied. I will never go back ever ever ever

My daughter was so excited to take me to this restaurant. Being that it was promoting its great brunch for Mother’s Day The waiter pulls out a piece of paper with 4 items on it and reads it that’s the brunch menu how disappointing ! my daughter was no upset. We got up and left I can’t believe how they can do false advertisement Same on you!

Beautiful dining area, nice staff, over priced but almost worth it. The food was really yummy. Went a couple days ago and im still thinking about the shredded beef plantain cups we had for an appetizer. So good. I had the shrimp with garlic sauce and wish there were a few more shrimp; had about 6 on the plate. My fiancé had the chino fried rice and he thought the portion was good for the high price. He could share it with our 3 year old and still have enough to get full.
It was my fiances bday and they gave us a free dessert with a sparkler in it and sang for him. It was very nice of them, and the tres leche cake was a perfect ending to the meal.
Im coming back for sure when i have people visiting from out of town. :)

Food is ok. We ordered appetizers, and typical Cuban food which was mediocre. Monitor were delicious! Cool vibe upstairs for the lounge area.

Bongos hard rock is great. We went on friday night and sat at the bar. the house band playing above on on the balcony was terrific. very loud but we were able to talk easily. food is cuban but much better than the typical Cuban restraunt. food. service and décor over the top. had a nonstop video of Miami sound machine on the wall and on screens. definately will return.

Poor service, came in for a birthday party which was reserved 2 days prior and we did not have our granted section and or enough tables for the party. Waited 45 Minutes for food and I had just ordered a simple famous fried rice which was very salty ! Did not like this place

There are so many negatives, so here it is had a birthday party dinner and they would not seat us until 70% of our party was there, but as more came in they would accommodate us and this did not happen. Second the manager was not pleasant and our food took 45 to come out. The waiter seemed liked he was overwhelmed. We finally finished dinner and go upstairs to the lounge and he girl at the front doesn’t speak English– really! … Place is good for dancnv, but not for service and gatherings.

I want to give them more stars. And I felt bad for my terrible waitress. I don’t think it was her fault that it took FORTY MINUTES to even get appetizers, because there were only two staff members working, but still I expected more from it. Service was so, so slow. I even went outside and walked around the hotel for a little bit and when I came back the food was still not delivered.
I specifically asked for my steak to be RED, and it came back inedibly black. The reason it’s getting two stars is because of the wonderful fried plantains. Yum

Gloria Estafan’s spot… awesome!!! Cuban fare with Live band playing on a Saturday night. Came here for hubby’s birthday, with family and friends in tow. Party of 7. We had drinks at the bar while we waited for the whole party to arrive. Bar area wasn’t crowded, and bartender was very attentive. Our table was ready shortly after everyone had one drink in hand.
Service was a little slow, but the place was pretty crowded with large parties, so I get it. Menu had a nice variety of Cuban eats; everyone was pleased. Skirt steaks, Chicken, arroz con pollo, all types of seafood dishes– something for everyone. Only problem is that you can’t really hear each other too well, so forget conversation thru dinner. Just enjoy the food, the music, and the atmosphere, and you’ll have a great time. People were dancing near us throughout the evening. It’s a very lively place.
After dinner and an an even better dessert (Flan and Tres Leches– must try!!) we all went upstairs to the rooftop. It’s a lounge with a DJ. It’s a whole other party up there! DJ played everything from Hip Hop to Salsa. We had such a great time. It was a rainy night, but they covered up the main area so you can still party and not get wet. Rain and all, it was crowded and everyone was having a blast! I think we closed the place down… ha ha! I would HIGHLY recommend this place.

Our amazing holiday party took place at Bongo’s sky lounge where 45 of us enjoyed the amazing service, food and ambiance provided by the Bongo’s staff. The pork, ropa vieja and fixings were tasty and fresh– a much better experience than what I went through in the Orlando location. Well done Bongo’s

What’s great about this place is that they often have a Groupon deal, and that they are located within the bar-​hopping area at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. They either take reservations or you can just walk in. The ambiance is pretty upscale chic, but I’ve also seen people visit in casual (but not too casual) clothing. People are free to dance on the first floor of the middle of the room, and you are free to have a drink at the bar while you are waiting on your table (in the event there is a wait) or group of friends to meet you.
I took a couple of friends from out of town to Bongos once and also visited on a Friday night date with my husband. The cocktails are good and so is the food; I typically order the Mojito with churrasco steak w/​black beans & rice. On two separate occasions we’ve had our orders taken incorrectly, but at each of those times they were quick to correct whatever was wrong. That being said, the staff are very friendly and attentive.
I would recommend this restaurant to any local or visitor. I highly recommend getting the Groupon first (if it’s available), and going at night after dark to get a good feel of the restaurant’s ambiance and its neon lit visusal appeal.

The upper open air patio is really a great place to hang out for drinks, providing the weather is amenable to that. This is not the type of place you come to drink wine or beer. Their wine selection is difficult to find and they have no beer on tap. If you are coming here, you must be for the mojitos or other mixed drinks.
I’ve never found the bartenders to be overly speedy. I get frustrated when it takes a long time to get a drink at a bar. This never makes sense to me. If your business is serving drinks, then that should be a primary goal to make it quick and efficient.
The downstairs area has two floors. That almost doesn’t seem to make sense. I mean the area below the upper open air patio there is an inside. The inside has a lower level and stairs to a balcony type area. They can really pack a bunch of people into this place.
The food is average, so you might want to eat dinner elsewhere, then come here to drink.

Came here due to a coworkers recommendation, food was good and service was great. Also enjoyed the live entertainment but they charged us 7 buck for a bottle of Voss water that they leave on every table lesson learned but they could have said something before hand.

While in Orlando I had the pleasure of dining at the «Bongos» in downtown Disney and was very impressed. So when I decided to take my wife out while staying in Ft. Lauderdale I did not hesitate on «Bongos» @ the HardRock. It’s not as nice as Orlando but still pleasant. The staff was polite and the drinks were not worth the price. Still a very nice place BUT the food was bland and dry besides the ropavieja. I had the tour of Cuba and my wife had the shrimp w/mojo…it was just okay. It did not even come close to small restaurants in Chicago like Señor Pan or 90 Miles Cuban Café. We still had a good time and the live band was great. Just was very disappointed with the food compared to the downtown Disney location. Usually when you ask for hot sauce at a Cuban rest. The choices go further then tobasco or sirachi sauce.

As I was wondering around the Hard Rock casino I stumbled upon this place. The menu sounded nice and the place looked cool so I decided to have dinner.
Walking in I was stunned by how beautiful then place was. It is absolutely gorgeous inside and makes you feel like you’re in Cuba.
My server Yusnel was great, very friendly and knowledgable and checked in regularly. I was surprised how dead it was inside, there were maybe 3 or 4 other tables. But I soon understood why, the food was just mediocre.
I ordered the fish of the day which was Grouper. It came with two sides, I picked black beans and crispy plantains. The fish was lacking seasoning and was overcooked. The beans were the best part, they were perfectly cooked and had just the right amount of spice. The crispy plantains were awful. I make better ones at home. They were dry, rubbery and tasteless.
The only reason I gave any stars was for exceptional service and very cool atmosphere. I’d come here for a drink or two but not dinner.

Nice place. The best restaurant at the Seminole Hard Rock Café area. I’ve been to Bongos twice. First time inside, it was loud, couldn’t really hold a conversation, but food was good and service was great. Overpriced though, spent about about $ 400 for three entrées, one appetizer and some drinks.
Second time we say outside. For the most part we were left alone, so much so that we felt a bit forgotten by our waitress. It’s not as loud as inside but still hard to talk. Our bill was very reasonable this time around. We ordered from the regular menu, rather than the specials menu like last time. In fact, we were not even told what the specials were. Food was ok, I’ve had better Cuban food in other smaller, less fancy Cuban joints, but it was ok. I’d come back for sure.

So Im Latin, but im not chonga, Im Puerto Rican, not Newyorican, but once in a blue moon, I like to shake my booty and listen to some reggeton.
This place is hot, its packed but its pretty. Only way to get in is to to do the line and wait for an elevator.
They have a lot of security and some table service. Compared to other spots at the hardrock, this is not a bad choice.