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  • Victor's 1959 Cafe

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Victor's 1959 Cafe
Victor's 1959 Cafe

Victor's 1959 Cafe Details

  • Dining Style: Casual Dining
  • Website: http://www.victors1959cafe.com
  • Email: cafe1959@gmail.com
  • Phone: (612) 827-8948
  • Hours of Operation: Breakfast & Brunch: Everyday: 8:00am - 2:30pm; Lunch: Everyday: 11:00am - 2:30pm; Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday: 4:30pm - 9:00pm
  • Payment Options: MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: Cuban, Caribbean
  • Executive Chef: Flor Tapia-Negreros
  • Dress Code: Casual Dress
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Bar Dining, Beer, Counter Seating, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking Area, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Smoking Area, Smoking Area (patio only), Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wine
  • Catering: Please contact Niki Stavrou directly for catering options at cafe1959@gmail.com
  • Entertainment: We play fun Cuban and Latin music in the restaurant, but no live entertainment.

Getting there

  • Cross Street: West 38th Street
  • Public Transit: We are on the corner of West 38th Street and Grand Ave South in Minneapolis. Both streets are major bus lines.
  • Parking: Private Lot
  • Parking Details: We have a small parking lot in front and in back of the restaurant (3 spots in front, 4 spots in back)and there is also on-street parking available.
A word from Victor's 1959 Cafe
Victor's 1959 Cafe is a little piece of Havana in South Minneapolis offering traditional Cuban fare such as Picadillo, Ropa Vieja, Cuban Sandwiches, Yuca frita, Sweet Plantains, Tostones, and other recipes from Cuban cuisine. Independently and locally owned, you'll find friendly service and a… festive environment with lots of writing on the walls!

Visited in 2008 by Food Network's Guy Fieri, Diner's Drive-ins and Dives, who cooked up "off the hook" Cuban food with owner Niki Stavrou. Check our website to watch the episode!

We're a tiny restaurant with only 10 tables inside and 10 more tables on our tropical summer patio. Enjoy our Wines, Beers, Tropical Mimosas and Champagne Mojitos!

Also popular for our unique breakfast menu, served every day! No reservations for breakfast or lunch, just come on in...

5 mins from Downtown/Uptown 15 minutes from Mpls/St Paul Int'l airport. Continued
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerBest Overall
  • Diners' Choice WinnerNeighborhood Gem
Diner Reviews
  • "We had a wonderful dinner and the service was great! We would recommend this to anyone! We will definitely be coming back,"
    Dined on 2/28/2014
  • "My family isn't too big and we get together every month for a family dinner. They were able to find a wonderful space for all 8 of us and the food was amazing. As a mostly vegetarian family we had a few redundancies but the food is great nonetheless! Our server was on top of everything and incredibly helpful."
    Dined on 2/11/2014
  • "Service and food was excellent!! We will definitely be going back!! YUM!"
    Dined on 2/14/2014
  • "Excellent as always! One of our favorite restaurants"
    Dined on 2/14/2014
  • "Victor's 1959 Cafe never fails to deliver. Ropa Vieja is not to be missed."
    Dined on 2/13/2014
  • "This was my first time at the restaurant and I thought it was absolutly amazing. I picked it for my birthday and they were very accomoditing with the cake and everything. The parking wasn't great as you have to park in the street and it took a while to find a spot but it was well worth it. The waiters were all extremly friendly and the food was delicious! We will all be coming back!"
    Dined on 2/12/2014
  • "I am from Miami and grew up on Cuban Food Victor's is as close to Miami as you can find in MN. Good food, a nice little joint in a neighborhood- Highly recommend. Try the Ropa Vieja- it's very good!"
    Dined on 6/4/2013
  • "VIctor's is a nice change from other Mpls restaurants. Small, cozy, and delightfully tacky decor. The food is excellent, and the pina colada cake is to die for!"
    Dined on 2/5/2014
  • "The food here is SO good, the service is amazing, and it's just a really fun ambiance. I always bring my friends who are visiting from out of town to this spot (if I can get a reservation in time, it fills up fast!)."
    Dined on 2/1/2014
  • "Really enjoyed the Cubano sandwich, and the Xango Chango (a cheesecake and pastry dessert with guava) was phenomenal. Service was very good. Definitely come with a reservation on the weekend, it's a small place. They play music at a slightly-higher-than-speech level; not a quiet place for a romantic dinner."
    Dined on 1/31/2014
  • "The food was brought out to us about three minutes after we ordered and was very old and overcooked. We were very disappointed in our evening and left as fast as possible. Sometimes things are not actually as good as you remember."
    Dined on 2/1/2014
  • "We had beef empanadas, Picadillo Cubano (ground beef), Ropa Vieja (shredded flank steak) and a $14 bottle of Chilean red wine during happy hour. The empanadas were pretty on point. The picadillo was of the liquidy tomato type (they vary a lot between chefs) and I requested it with moros y critianos (rice w/black beans) which was completely bland. The ropa vieja had better flavor than the picadillo but was still lacking that full-fledged ka-pow! Cuban flavor you'd expect. Both dishes were served with perfectly made sweet plantains and a tiny salad with a garlicky dressing which was delicious. We topped off our meal with the Xango Chango dessert which was killer good! We won't come back though - we've had much better Cuban."
    Dined on 1/25/2014
  • "You can't do any better than Victors for authentic Cuban food"
    Dined on 1/18/2014
  • "I've enjoyed Cuban food and coffee on trips to Miami. I'll be back to Victors for my fix. Hubby loved it too."
    Dined on 1/18/2014
  • "The service was great! Attentive and fun! The food was great. I had the entree called Old Clothes (Ropa Viejo) and it was so good. The flavors were amazing. I dined with my husband and 2 friends. We each loved our dishes. My husband had the pulled pork, another friend had the Cuban Sandwich and my other friend the Ropa. We loved everything. You will not be disappointed if you are in the mood for some Cuban cuisine."
    Dined on 1/18/2014
  • "I highly recommend the Lechon Asado! So juicy and tender (with the perfect amount of fatty parts...yum), and the lime/garlic flavor went superbly with the white rice and black beans (and the yuca frita were delectable too!). I found the mojo sauce to be a bit overpowering and alternately totally delicious...it may have to grow on me. The mango sauce on the small salad that accompanied the dish was sweet and amazing! Service was fast and friendly, atmosphere was fun (next time I'll bring a Sharpie to leave my own mark on the place!), and aside from trying to find a parking spot with barely-plowed roads, it was a great experience."
    Dined on 1/14/2014
  • "A warm welcome restaurant, all memories from Keywest keep on flashing back while I was there. Food taste super B especially the limey pull pork with big amount of food."
    Dined on 1/4/2014
  • "Since returning to the Twin Cities several years ago, I'm still trying to taste all of the ethnic cuisine our metro has to offer. Cuban food has always been in my top ten. Victor's 1959 is the best of the best here! Past visits have been for breakfast; but, this was dinner. The menu is simple. Pick you favorite, whether vegetarian or which type of meat. Experience the plantains and the black bean rice. Enjoy!"
    Dined on 1/3/2014
  • "This was the first time anyone in my group had been to Victor's. It was a little cozy for a group of 5, but it was wonderful! Our server had a great attitude, and she was very helpful and honest when making recommendations about the menu. The meats were all tender and flavorful, and the salads were crisp. I fully endorse Victor's to anyone looking for a quality restaurant in South Mpls. I will definitely be back!"
    Dined on 12/10/2013
  • "Love victors food and rose wine options. You can't go wrong with the Cuban sandwhich (don't forget to add chorizo)! The resturant is small and not good for groups, but perfect for great casual dinner for a resonable price. We'll definately be coming back."
    Dined on 11/13/2013
  • "Victor's is a cute place, very small, but a hip environment. We moved here from Atlanta a few months ago and I have been missing my Cuban restaurants. The fried sweet plantains are good, but those are hard to mess up, I can make them at home. Other than that I wasn't very impressed. I went out of my way to go to this place, due to the lack of other Cuban options in the twin cities, but I don't think it is worth a return trip. Pros: Hip Environment, it isn't Applebees Cons: food is just so-so"
    Dined on 11/15/2013
  • "Great food and service. Ask your server for their recommendations, you won't be sorry"
    Dined on 11/15/2013
  • "very fun and energetic staff; delicious food; dessert was a fabulous finish!"
    Dined on 11/5/2013
  • "To start we ordered the Cubano Mix appy since the wife had never eaten Cuban food before. The Tostones and empanadas were good but the ham croquetes reminded both of us of deviled ham, and neither of us like it. The wife had the camarones criollo which she loved and I had the picadillo a la cubana which was also very good. My only complaint with my meal, is that being a huge green olive in cooked food fan, I only found one small half of a green olive in my dish. I would have preferred a lot more. Otherwise, the meal was great overall. We will definitely be back."
    Dined on 11/3/2013
  • "This tiny restaurant would be easy to miss if you weren't looking for it specificly. The atmosphere is fun and casual and the wait staff is very knowledgeable. Large portions of tasty food that I was able to share with my dining partner."
    Dined on 10/27/2013
  • "If you love Cuban food, you'll love Victors 1959 Cafe. A fun place to eat!"
    Dined on 10/19/2013
  • "Love this restaurant. Very unique and fun. Only been here twice but both times were very good experiences."
    Dined on 10/18/2013
  • "Fun, delicious and casual. Great Cuban food and not at all pretentious. We loved it!"
    Dined on 10/19/2013
  • "Great casual dining to chat with friends. Reasonable prices. Excellent service and food. Good choices in beverages, food and dessert were superb!"
    Dined on 10/17/2013
  • "This is our second time at Victors and both times were amazing! The food is great, the staff is fun and knowledgeable! I love it when recommended food is as good as the server says. My ONLY complaint is that it can be a little warm in there. Thank you for a great birthday dinner for my husband!"
    Dined on 10/16/2013
  • "A hot slice of Havana landed in S. Mineapolis - this small restaurant has atmosphere to share, since all the walls are covered with grafiti - most, it seems, from patrons. Friendly attentive service and authentic (as far as I can tell) Carribean fare makes this a spot not to miss - El Meson's kid sister has arrived."
    Dined on 10/6/2013
  • "this place is delicious! the empanadas and ropa vieja are golden. will come back for brunch."
    Dined on 10/6/2013
  • "The overall dining experience was just okay. The service was very slow, mixed up order and the menu options are limited. It was fun to experience the Cuban food and worth at least the one trip we took there. However, there isn't enough offered here for us to want to go back. I'm thinking breakfast may be a better option here. We ordered the house special rosa veiga (sorry, already forgot the name), a Cubano and the coconut shrimp. All were just okay. Although, the sauce for the shrimp was a nice new taste with a little kick. The atmosphere is fun and festive with its bright colors and writing all over the wall. But, for some reason it just wasn't enough to make this an overall great experience."
    Dined on 9/28/2013
  • "Good place and we will come back, but more restaurants to try first. Everything was good but nothing I have to hurry back for."
    Dined on 9/28/2013
  • "The Ropa Vieja was fantastic and the service both at the bar while I waited for my dining companions and once seated was friendly and attentive - had a great time!"
    Dined on 9/27/2013
  • "I really liked the black bean soup. Thanks for adding this item to the menu. But I also have to say please bring back the tamales! They were really good. Best Cuban food ouside of Miami."
    Dined on 9/15/2013
  • "In Minneapolis for a wedding - searched urban spoon for good restaurant - took a chance on Cuban food for my Cuban husband! Wow! To find awesome Cuban food in Minnesota was amazing! We were there for dinner one night and back for breakfast the next morning!! Awesome rice and black beans, tostones, Cuban hash, plantain omelet, everything! Wanted to go back for the classic Cuban sandwich but didn't have time... It reminded us so much of "Nana's" cooking that we actually got teary missing her! Don't miss this one!!!"
    Dined on 9/14/2013
  • "Great Food and Samosas! Please bring back the tamale appetizers!"
    Dined on 9/1/2013
  • "We picked this spot because it looks so fun and funky on the corner. And the best part probably is the patio, which we enjoyed (even with a tippy table). The food was good, nothing special, not much flavor. Our entrees came out within 2 minutes of ordering, well before our appetizer, and this got the evening off to a rushed and awkward start, as we were planning to enjoy the pleasant evening over a leisurely dinner. The service was friendly, average."
    Dined on 8/31/2013
  • "Consistently delicious, authentic Cuban food in a one-of-a-kind, graffiti-friendly atmosphere. Definitely a unique Twin Cities dining experience. And service is friendly and attentive. Put it on your go-to list."
    Dined on 9/1/2013
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Diners' Choice Awards
  • Minneapolis - St. Paul Winners
  • Neighborhood Gem
  • Twin Cities / Minneapolis Winners
  • Best Overall
  • Neighborhood Gem
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