Caribe Blu

Had the churasco and rice and omg! I am sold! Went here for the first time and really enjoyed all of the food. My husband loved the Blu tacos which had corn tortillas and he hates corn tortillas and he said he was so happy of the choice they made with the tortilla for his taco. My kids loved their food also. They are picky eaters and next thing I noticed they were asking to taste MY steak! Totally looking forward to coming back to try brunch and mimosas!

Had lunch today at this Latin restaurant. The menu has nice Cuban and Latin selections. The service was attentive. The outdoor dining area is comfortable and shaded. Will come back soon.

This place knocks it out of the park. Had my wife’s 50^th birthday party here. The latin/​cuban food was very authentic. We enjoyed the steak, shrimp and fried pork. The arroz con gandules was spot on. They have a great drink/​bar selection with mojitos and sangria. DJ Sonic was great as we ate, drank, and danced the night away. The staff was extremely attentive to all of our guests needs. I would recommend this place for an evening dining out or if you are looking for a venue for an event, look no further. They comfortably took care of our 50 plus guests. Even though this place is in a shopping plaza, it’s tucked away and backs up to conservation and gives one an intimate feel. We will definitely be back to try Sunday brunch.

Caribe Blu is practically the definition of a hidden gem. It’s an awesome little restaurant tucked away in the back corner of a largely unlocked, out of the way strip mall. If you don’t know about the restaurant, and aren’t actively looking for it, it’s extremely unlikely you’ll ever come across it.
We recently visited for brunch on a Sunday morning. As it turns out, the restaurant had been broken into the night before, and they had been robbed. As a result, I think some of the staff were a little off their game while we were in, often seeming a little distracted. My wife has gone back in again after our visit, and said that the service was much better on her subsequent visits.
For Sunday brunch, they offer $ 10 unlimited mimosas. There was no way my wife was passing those up. While they weren’t the strongest pours, they were very tasty, and the waitress kept her glass full — definitely a good value.
My wife got the omelette, and I got the breakfast sandwich with added pernil and a side of patatas. We loved all the food we got, but felt the $ 13 omelette was overpriced for the size, especially compared to the amount of food on the breakfast sandwich at only $ 9, even after adding pernil to it. The side of patatas was also a bit small for the price.
We’re looking forward to making Caribe Blu a regular brunch spot and exploring more of their menu.

We decided on a whim to check out Caribe Blu for brunch one Sunday. They started following my BF on Instagram and the food pics definitely enticed us to make the short drive from downtown. Tucked away in a plaza with a variety of Dr. offices and storefronts on south Alafaya, Caribe Blu is off in a corner, away from the hustle & bustle of the main street. They have a handful of outside tables with umbrellas and couches. It was a gorgeous day so outdoor seating was on my mind but only the couches were available. We sat inside the light blue open kitchen building next to a big picture window (can’t sit outside, might as well pretend). My suggestion would be to eliminate the couches and add more tables outside especially if you want to become a brunch hotspot.
We were immediately greeted by our server who explained this was a scratch kitchen, therefore everything was made to order — no freezers, microwaves, only freshly made food. They offer a great Mimosa deal on Saturday/​Sunday — $ 10 unlimited with several different juice flavors you can mix & match. My favorites were the berry and the mango. They were all super tasty and our server kept my glass full! The brunch menu is a Cuban/​PR inspired, also you can order from the lunch menu if you aren’t feeling French toast or steak & eggs.
We started with the egg & cheese empanada which had a great crust and filled with scrambled eggs & cheese, served with a red hot sauce. We enjoyed it thoroughly but for what it was, I think a $ 7 price tag was a bit on the high side. Next, we had the stuffed French toast with guava & cheese and a side of Swiss cheese scrambled eggs. Also, we tried the skirt steak & Swiss cheese scrambled eggs. My BF’s eggs were cold so he called our server over who apologized and offered to either warm them up on the griddle or have new ones made. I found this question a bit odd, as it only take a few minutes to scramble up new eggs versus overcooking cold ones. In any case, she brought out new eggs very quickly. The steak was very well seasoned with a Mojo sauce, nice a garlicky. My eggs although warm were a bit over done, not fluffy like scrambled eggs should be. I mixed them with my steak and it was fine especially with the side of Cuban toast to sop up the sauce. The stuffed French toast was oozing with a guava & cheese sauce — combined together to ensure the cheese melts thoroughly we were told. Either way, it was fantastic!
I love these local restaurants who bring a nice ambiance, fresh food, and great service to areas that are a bit off the beaten path from the regular chains so prominent in these parts of Orlando. Breaking into the Brunch scene is a tough feat as well. With a few tweaks, this place could really flourish into an East side staple of the Avalon area.

Food taste was ok, however I ordered white cilantro rice and it was cold and my wife’s congri rice was not fully cooked. The food appeared to come from microwave oven.

Best kept secret in East O-​town. Food is authentic & delish. Staff is on point & incredible passionate about their little restaurant. If you’re not sure which dish to choise, the waitresses will guide you, (they’ll even give you samples). While I want everyone to go here & the business to thrive, selfishly I want to keep it hidden to myself! Get to Caribe Blu!!!

Great restaurant with great staff and food. Best mofongo I’ve had outside of Puerto Rico, not too greasy and absolutely delicious! Staff is very attentive and friendly. Also the nutella french toast for brunch is TO DIE FOR

This place is amazing for brunch. The staff is super friendly and the food is delicious. Their bloody Mary’s are fantastic, super flavorful. It’s only $ 10 for bottomless mimosas and bloody Mary’s on the weekend. I can’t wait to go again.

The food was good and service just waiting on the refill wasn’t fun we I had to ask for it and mimosa and sangria didn’t have no type of presentation of fruits. We order something to go and they gave it to the wrong person didn’t charge the person yet we had to waiting another 20 min for our order again and we had to paid for it its just a restaurant protocol. on top of that we got charged 2 $ extra because they did the math wrong but 2 $ is nothing but service was good!

I really feel like they need to step up «their game» when it comes to coffee. The food was great, about almost an hour of wait time, but that was to be expected for a scratch kitchen on Valentine’s. But the coffee; Ok… People from the Caribbean take their coffee seriously. This place needs a real coffee machine (not something with «pods») and a barista that knows what they are doing. The coffee is not bad… but for Puertorrican that takes their coffee seriously, it’s kind of sad that they are limited to serving «x» amount of coffee because they use pods and can’t serve more. I asked for a «café con leche» which translates to a latte with extra shots (1 or 2 extra shots, depending on the size) and I explained I wanted 2 extra shots. I was given a shot of espresso with a bit of milk. Almost like a «cortadito». I asked if I could have more and that I was ok with paying extra for a small cup of coffee with milk. Server gave me a bit more, which didn’t even fill half of the cup (12 oz cup). After I finished it I asked if I could have another one but with the cup full, clarifying I could pay for the extra shots. Server literally said, «I can’t… it would be too much and cost too much… we are only able to serve a few pods… and she explained that they «charge by the pod». Kind of disappointed since I couldn’t have my coffee with our brunch. Again… food and service was great, but I would expect great coffee from a place that serves mostly Cuban/​Puertorrican-​like food. If you are a coffee connoisseur, you might want to save your money and stick to the bottomless mimosas, on weekends, if you arrive before 2pm.

Food this time was just ok. They were scraping the bottom of the container to give me the last of it and it hardly made it and it was re left over scraps. Got two meals and one was better than the other. Usually this place is great.

I used go to this place and quit going because they take too much time to serve your food. Today I had the time and went for a second chance. I tried the Churrasco (skirt steak) and I can say I’m enjoying the worst and salty Churrasco I’ve ever tried in my life, not to mention that I had to wait almost 35 minutes (with an almost empty place) to find out that my food was also cold. I asked them to change it and they brought back to me a new plate but with the same salt as the first one. Very expensive and disappointing situation.
I would never come back again to this place.

Good foood over average but nothing that I really would like to repeat. I am not a fan of Cuban food and I went to this restaurant because they say Latin Food. Stafff is super nice

I came here to Caribe Blu with my bestie for brunch today! The location was new to me in the back of a plaza and when you enter you have to wait to be seated. I was hit with soft Spanish music playing and small but warm setting with rustic chic seating. I was seated at a table for 2 and asked what i would like to drink. I ordered a café con leche. My friend arrived and she ordered oj and water. Her drinks arrived before my café and when we ordered my coffee had not yet arrived.
Be prepared for the slow service (it wasnt packed), i am not sure if this is the norm. Our server (not the one that took my coffee order) never gave us his name and was very nonchalant and slow, and never returned with the answer to my question. The service was not a reflection of our food, which was quite delicious. I odered sweet mini empanadas with guava and cheese. For main course i had the churrasco steak (medium) with eggs and it was delicious.
After almost 2hrs, i requested our check and asked that he split it. Our server didn’t split our check so we took it to the cash register and explained we needed our bill split and i was unfortunately still charged for the entire bill on my cc, refunded it and recharged me for my part of the bill. I wish i couldve rated caribe blu higher than 3 stars because the food was delicious but the service felt under par considering it wasnt packed.

The server was cordial and friendly: Excellent service!
Tender and tasty Pan con Puerco (Cuban Roasted Pork sandwich) served with Yucca fries.
The «To-Go“order was made fresh and quoted to be ready in 10 minutes and I received it in 7 minutes.
The Tres Leches was at the right sweet with a hint of rum I believe.
I love the Antique pictures of Old Havana!
I will be back!

I heard about this place the other day from one of my fellow Unilocal buddies so after a trip to the dealership I stopped off on a whim for lunch to check this place out.
I walked in and have LOVE to open kitchen concept. That was a real winner. I also liked the décor and just started snapping off pictures. My server let me know I could sit anywhere so I chose the corner seat and figured I would make this a working lunch. I ordered some unsweetened tea with lime and started to ask some questions about the menu. My server was nice enough to let me know she was still new and learning the menu. I appreciated her being honest about that up front.
My tea arrived and guess who walks in the door? My friend that just told me about this place so I joined her and her friend for lunch. I chose to have the El Cubano but with Yucca in place of the fries along with some Tostones and some black bean soup.
The food took a very long time to make its way to the table. When it did, I was never given a spoon for my soup and had to request one. Additionally, my Yucca took a while longer because the cook forgot to make it according to my server. If you are in a hurry, this is definitely the wrong place to go or they were having a VERY off day…
First up, the Tostones… The portion was very generous and they were absolutely delicious. I like a little salt on mine and they had just the right amount of salt for MY liking. Nicely done… The Mojo sauce was a nice compliment but it was a little heavy on the garlic and cilantro.
Next up is the Black Bean Soup… It was a bit bland. I added some of the Mojo dipping sauce and it helped jazz it up but is a far cry from what I have had in Miami.
The Cuban Was quite nice and the pulled pork on it was exceptional. My only complaint was the choice of mustard. They should have stuck to the plain yellow instead of the Dijon mustard that was used. Had they done that, it would have been one of the top Cuban sandwiches I have had in Orlando thus far.
Finally we have the Yucca fries… I was brought a chipotle dipping sauce that was fantastic! The Yucca fries were very good but would have been better if the pieces were evenly cut so they could be fried evenly. Because of that, the thin end was overcooked and the thick end was spot on.
One of the others had the Black Bean Soup as well and also felt it was bland and the other was given rice with pigeon peas that was so salty is was inedible. She ended up getting some Yuuca in place of the rice.
When it was time for our checks, that was a total disaster. The checks were wrong and it seemed to take forever to get it straightened out. I know the server was new BUT… There was not a manager on duty and her co worker that was obviously training her never made her presence known.
Atmosphere — 3 (Music way too loud)
Service — 1 (New server basically thrown to the wolves and no manager on duty)
Tostones — 5
Mojo Sauce — 2 (Garlic and Cilantro was overpowering)
Black Bean Soup — 2 (BLAND)
Cuban Sandwich — 4
Yucca — 3
Chipotle Sauce — 5
Would I return is the big question… That is a good question… When the owner and management is not present with a newbie serving the guests and a kitchen that seems to take forever… Combine that with food getting forgotten, inedible rice, having to ask for a spoon to eat my soup and a mess to simply get a bill that was correct… I doubt very seriously I will be going back. I can overlook some things from the server because she has only been there for three days but her co-​worker should have done more to help her out when things were not going to plan. What I can’t overlook is the NO MANAGEMENT on staff… SERIOUSLY!!! What are the owners of this place thinking!!!

Pros: the food was actually very good. We had the dessert appetizers both apple and guava. Guava was my favorite and it really is amazing. For bunch I went with the stuffed French toast and my boyfriend are the fried chicken chunks. The chicken chunks were very well seasoned. The beans had good flavor and the rice was perfect. I had a guava pineapple mimosa which was also amazing. Food came out quickly and everything was nice and hot.
Con: This establishment is very hot. The high ceilings are beautiful but the fans from up their do nothing for the heat in the building. I seriously was sweating as I was seating down. It was cooler outside.
The server was nice and polite but not as attentive as I would have liked. Once our food was delivered we didn’t see him until after our food was complete. I also had paid for bottomless mimosas and only had one even though I finished my first one prior to finishing my food but no one came to refill my empty glass. They were so good that I would of loved to have more especially since I paid for bottomless. It also took quiet a whole to obtain my check. Just think this establishment would be amazing with better service.
All in all, the food is great and I would be back to eat but will probably order to go since I can’t stand the heat and don’t enjoy waiting on a waiter (all pun intended)

First time and last time!
Service was very slow and
not impressed at all with the food! :-/​
Mofongo relleno with shimp didn’t look nothing like the picture they have in the website and facebook…
Then I started speaking Spanish to waiter and she said «I don’t speak Spanish»
In a very rude tone of voice…
I was like sorry… we are in a Spanish restaurant! I really didn’t mind if she didn’t speak Spanish I didn’t appreciate the attitude!

I really wish that I could give an additional half star to this place because they are almost a 4 star but not quite.
I stopped in here after hearing mixed reviews from friends and other people in the neighborhood. This review is based on back to back visits this week.
This place is located off the beaten path. Honestly if you don’t live out near Avalon Park/​Eastwood you would never know it existed. Its located in a office park with other businesses and you cannot see them from the road.
Customer service is outstanding in this place. My first visit I went around lunch time. It wasn’t overly crowded which was nice. I love the atmosphere. True open concept. You can see right into the kitchen. One thing that you will not see is a freezer or microwave. This is a scratch kitchen. Everything is made fresh daily. With that being said, they do run out of items so you may want to check Facebook or call before you go to see what they have.
In my first visit they explained to me how the entrees work. Each comes with a main dish, rice and bean option and another side. I chose to have the Chicken Fricase which is basically a stewed chicken with potatoes. I chose black beans and white rice and for my side I went with the Amarillo’s which are sweet plantains. I also ordered their Mojito Iced tea and a Tres Leches for dessert.
This is somewhat a full service place so they have you sit down and they bring your food to you. My food was brought out fairly quickly which was nice. The chicken came in a bowl and reminded me of a chicken stew. It had great flavor but my only disappointment was that it was sort of lukewarm. I expected the dish to be hotter. The rice and bean and fried plantains were at an acceptable temperature. Everything was tasty and I felt the portion sizes were ample. I know that some of the other reviews were not happy with the portion sizes but I was actually very full after eating my meal. Any more would have gone to waste.
My second visit I went in with the notiion of ordering the Ropa Vieja Sandwich special that was posted outside as I walked in. I was disappointed to find out that the Ropa Vieja was not ready and it was about 2pm in the afternoon. I ended up ordering the Pernil which was delicious but I had my heart set on the special. As I was eating my meal another person tried ordering the special and was also told it wasn’t ready. My suggestion would be that if the special of the day isnt ready then it should’nt be posted.
I tried two of their desserts. The first day I tried the Tres Leches. It was tasty but it needed a little more milk and less sugar. It was almost too sweet. The second day I tried the Guava Cheesecake which was soooo good! I hightly recommend giving it a try. At first I thought it was flan but its not. It was very creamy and not overly sweet.
Once of the reasons why i gave this only 3 stars is because on both visits I spent about $ 17-​$ 20 each day. Thats a little pricey for lunch in my opinion. Even if I would’nt have ordered dessert it still would have been $ 13-​$ 14. I think that the concept is great. I know that with any new business there are growing pains. I look forward to visiting them again because the food is good and the service is wonderful.