Cuban sandwich (Tampa style)
Photo: Jamie from Toronto, ON · CC BY 2.0

History

The Cuban sandwich was invented in Ybor City's cigar factories in the 1890s. Cuban, Spanish, Sicilian and German immigrants worked rolling cigars side by side, and the sandwich is a fusion of their cuisines. The Sicilian Genoa salami is the Tampa-Miami line: Miami's later 1959 exile version omits the salami. The City of Tampa formally declared the Cuban sandwich its signature sandwich in 2012. Roast pork is mojo-marinated overnight with sour orange and garlic before going on the bread.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 5 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Cuban bread (or soft French bread), cut into 4 sandwich lengths
  • 500g slow-roasted mojo pork shoulder, thinly sliced
  • 300g sliced sweet ham
  • 120g Genoa salami, thinly sliced
  • 200g Swiss cheese, sliced
  • Yellow mustard, to spread
  • Dill pickle slices, to taste
  • Unsalted butter, softened, for pressing

Method

  1. Marinate pork shoulder overnight in mojo: sour orange juice, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt. Roast at 160C for 4 hours until pull-apart tender, then slice thin.
  2. Slice Cuban bread lengthways. Spread yellow mustard on both halves.
  3. Layer ham first, then roast pork, then Genoa salami, then Swiss cheese, then pickles. Close the sandwich.
  4. Butter both outer faces of the bread. Press on a heavy hot plancha or under a foil-wrapped brick in a heavy pan for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until cheese melts and bread is golden and flat.
  5. Slice on the diagonal and serve hot. Never use mayonnaise; the Tampa version is mustard only.

Tip from the editors. If you cannot find Cuban bread, use a soft French baguette with a thin crust. Avoid sourdough or anything with a dense crumb; the press requires a soft loaf that flattens.

Where to eat cuban sandwich (tampa style)

Cuban sandwich (Tampa style) in Tampa

Columbia Restaurant ★ 4.5

$$$$ Tasting $30-60 entreesSpanishChef Andrea Gonzmart Williams (proprietor)

Columbia in Ybor City has plated 1905 Salad, paella and Spanish-Cuban classics since 1905, Florida's oldest restaurant under five Gonzmart family generations.

Book1 week ahead

Directions Book

Brocato's Sandwich Shop ★ 4.6

$ CaribbeanWest Tampa

Brocato's on East Columbus Drive in Tampa has built Cuban sandwiches, deviled crabs and stuffed potatoes since 1948 from a neighborhood storefront.

OrderThe Cuban sandwich with a deviled crab on the side.

TipCash and card both work; the party finger sandwiches (mini Cubans and mini deviled crabs) are the catering pick.

Directions

Wright's Gourmet House ★ 4.4

$$ AmericanPalma Ceia

Wright's Gourmet House on South Dale Mabry has built Tampa's classic Cuban and roast-beef sandwiches plus the famous rum cake since 1963. A Tampa table.

OrderCuban sandwich pressed and a slice of the rum cake to take home.

TipPete and Marjorie Wright started the shop on April 20, 1963; the Casper family bought it in 2024 to keep it Tampa-owned.

Directions

La Segunda Central Bakery ★ 4.8

$ BakeryCuban breadYbor CityWalk-in only

La Segunda in Ybor City has baked Cuban bread daily since 1915, with 18,000-plus loaves a day and the palmetto frond baked into the top loaf for steam.

Worth the queueLong Cuban bread with palmetto frond

Directions

Alessi Bakery ★ 4.8

$ BakeryItalian and CubanWest TampaWalk-in only

Alessi Bakery on West Cypress has run an Italian and Cuban bakery in Tampa since 1912, with famous hand-carved Cuban sandwiches, deviled crabs and cannolis.

Worth the queueHand-carved Cuban sandwich

Directions

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