Best restaurants for Cuban sandwiches in SW FL: Here's our favorites - JLB

Ham, cheese and pork don’t sound too exciting. But add mustard, pickles and Cuban bread pressed to perfection and you have our attention.

With National Cuban Sandwich Day coming Aug. 23, we tried many interpretations of the popular sandwich in honor of the faux holiday. Every chef’s seasoning and techniques for cooking and marinating pork differed. Garlic was detected among a few.

We discovered that good bread makes all the difference and a shiny post-press effect brought us happiness. To mayo or not to mayo? It depended on our mood.

Ultimately we found our eight favorite Cuban sandwiches from Cape Coral to Chokoloskee — all different and all worth celebrating.

Mango's Cafe

Mango’s Café is a sentimental favorite. The bright cheery eatery opened in 2021 by mother-daughter duo Tammy Moll (the chef) and Bianca Milo is located near IslandWalk, where I stayed for several months following Hurricane Ian’s decimation to my then-uninhabitable home. A temporary neighbor who eats there daily (often twice) and whose Jack Russell Gracie loved my Shar Pei Paul Anka urged me to visit. So I did. Several times. The first crusty mouth-scalding bite of their super flat Cubano ($12 includes fries) impressed me. The ingredients aren’t fancy; the bread is from Winn-Dixie, but the pork? Perfection. While most two-tops ordered one to share, I can eat the whole thing in one sitting. Hours: daily from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (7273 Vanderbilt Beach Road, North Naples; 239-326-1902; follow on Facebook)

Azucar Restaurant & Bakery

This had all the makings of a great Cuban sandwich ($8.50). It’s in a no-frills restaurant, attached to a well-stocked bakery, in an even less frilly strip mall. When I ordered it from the entree-filled menu, the server said, “Good choice.” And it was. Huge chunks of tender, juicy pork melted in my mouth. Mustard and mayo blended with the ham and Swiss cheese. It’s all mightily held together in their crunchy-yet-chewy bread. Even when the mayo and mustard start to drip, that fresh-baked marvel of a bread holds firmly and won’t let you down. Order the thick, two-hander of a sandwich with a side of congri and you’ll be taking half of it home. Grab a loaf of that bread too while you’re at it. (3326 Del Prado Blvd. S, Cape Coral; 239-549-2833; follow on Facebook)

Cuban Connection

Ask Cuban Connection owner Onil Martinez what makes his Cuban sandwich ($11) so extraordinary and there are a few things he might mention. Like the 300-mile roundtrip he makes each Saturday to see the folks at La Segunda Bakery in Ybor City. He buys their bread — with a signature palm frond lovingly placed on each loaf — which gives his sandwich the perfect balance of crunch and chew, bite after bite. He may talk about his tender and flavorful slow roasted pork that cooks for nine hours. Or he might say how his Cuban — a 2023 Ford Cuban Sandwich Festival of SW Florida award winner —  is authentic with mustard and no mayo. One thing he’ll always mention, however, is how his Cuban sandwich is made with love — for cooking, for the recipes his mom and grandma taught him, for his loyal customers, for getting to create this hand-held wonder every day. One bite and you’ll love it too. (11090 FGCU Blvd. N, Fort Myers ― in the Cohen Student Union at Florida Gulf Coast University; and at food truck events; follow on Facebook and Instagram)

Cubans Be Like

This Fort Myers restaurant and café’s Cuban sandwich ($14) is the most flavorful one of the Lee County entries. And it’s one of the few that comes with a side — plantain chips or fries. And it has some of the thickest layers of pulled pork and Serrano ham. The Swiss cheese is super melty and pickles and mustard round off the ingredients. The Famous Cuban Sandwich comes on Cuban bread while the Midnight Sandwich comes on sweet bread for $2 less. Oh, and this is one of the few places on this list with a full bar so you can wash your sandwich down with a fruity cocktail. We’ll drink (and eat) to that. (13300 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers, 239-789-1869; cubansbelike.com; follow on Facebook and Instagram)

HavAnna Café

Smithsonian Magazine’s list of "The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2022" included Everglades City, home to airboat tours, a must-do for any visitor to the region. While there, I would argue detouring to neighboring Chokoloskee for lunch al fresco at Havanna Café. No, that’s not a typo, merely a renaming in honor of Anna, the mother of co-owner David Ardelean who recently bought the café in 2022 with partner Aaron Tabor. The café’s take on the Cuban is ginormous and substantially stuffed. The lush garden’s zen vibes make it the most serene dining experience I’ve enjoyed in a very long time. Call before going, as hours fluctuate. The cafe temporarily closes for vacation in September. (195 Smallwood Drive, Chokoloskee; 239-695-2214; havannacafe.com)

J&J Paradise Bakery

I frequent this small but mighty Cuban bakery and restaurant often for daily specials, empanadas, papa rellen and perhaps my favorite guava and cheese pastries around. Everything is homemade at this family owned and operated eatery. It wasn’t until last week that I tried the Cuban sandwich ($8.99). Wow, was I missing out. The no-need-to-chew chunks of pork that I could eat every day are “cooked by mom and dad for four to six hours depending on the size,” according to son Jordan Dovale. The perfectly pressed bread, which I’d also happily eat daily, is baked fresh by his brother-in-law. Not too thick, not too thin, not too dry, not overdone with mayo and mustard, this family gets its Cuban sandwiches (and so much more) just right. (111 Del Prado Blvd. N, Cape Coral; 239-341-0007; follow on Facebook and Instagram)

Tommy Bahama Restaurants & Marlin Bars

Why is Tommy Bahama’s Cuban not designated among the restaurant’s top 10 menu fan favorites? For a sandwich nerd like me, it would be at the tippy top. At the Naples restaurant, it's $17 and served with fries, and exclusively available at lunch. At the Marlin Bar in Estero, it's available all day sans fries for $13. Layers between loaves sourced from Tampa Bay’s legendary La Segunda Bakery comprise house-roasted pork, Black Forest ham, Gruyere and house-made pickles that retain fresh cucumber’s fragrant-crunchy raison d’etre. Siracha mustard, a hint of garlic and spicy chipotle aioli add oomph. Once pressed, the caramelized melted-gooey-cheesy effects spill onto the bun in a very tasty, tangy way. Creative cocktails in a fun atmosphere elevate the experience. (Two locations: 1220 Third St. S., Naples; 239-643-6889; and 23150 Fashion Drive at Coconut Point, Estero; 239-947-2203; tommybahama.com)

More: Tommy Bahama marks 30th anniversary with idea that began on Bonita Beach

Yessy Cuban Bakery

Sometimes you just want a thin slice of pizza — I’m looking at you Downtown House of Pizza. Likewise, if you want a thin Cuban sandwich, go to Yessy, the DHOP of them. Just as satisfying as their more hefty counterparts, this sandwich has everything you need — roast pork, ham, Swiss, dill pickles and mustard. It’s all lovingly placed between crunchy, crisp fresh-baked bread ($7.99) that’s pressed to perfection. This neatly layered entry feels light, but don’t let it fool you. It’s surprisingly filling. It’s easy to zip right past this 8½-year-old bakery tucked away in a strip mall on Fowler Street. Slow down and taste this light delight. (3805 Fowler St., Fort Myers; 239-204-9521; follow on Facebook)

Jean Le Boeuf, aka JLB, is the brand under which our restaurant critics have written for more than 40 years. This article came from food writers Robyn George (rhgeorge@gannett.com) and Diana Biederman (diana.biederman@naplesnews.com).

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Where are best Cuban sandwiches in Naples, Fort Myers, Cape, Estero