Roast pork, ham, Swiss, pickle and mustard pressed flat in Cuban bread until the crust shatters. Key West calls it a mix, not a Cubano, and it is a grocery-counter lunch rather than a restaurant plate.

Cuban cigar workers crossed from Havana to Key West from the 1860s and made the island a cigar capital before the industry moved on to Tampa. What stayed behind was the food: the pressed sandwich, the coffee window, the bakery bread. In Key West the sandwich is ordered as a mix, and the places that make it best are corner groceries rather than restaurants. 5 Brothers Grocery has pressed them at Southard and Grinnell since 1978 and is the counter the island sends you to for a mix, and Sandy's Cafe works from a window attached to a working laundromat on White Street.

Where to eat Cuban mix in Key West

3 editor picks for Cuban mix in Key West, ranked by editorial score. All Key West signature dishes · Cuban mix across every city.

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Key West: Old Town Food Tour with 5+ Tastings★ 5.0 (27)
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Key West: Old Town Food Tour with 5+ Tastings

Explore Old Town Key West beyond Duval Street. Taste local favorites like conch fritters, Cuban bites, iced coffee, and Key lime pie, plus a delicious secret dish.

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Make it at home

Serves 220 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Cuban bread, cut into two 20cm lengths
  • 200g slow-roasted pork shoulder, sliced thin
  • 150g sliced sweet ham
  • 8 slices Swiss cheese
  • Dill pickle slices
  • 3 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 40g softened butter

Method

  1. Split each length of bread horizontally without cutting all the way through.
  2. Spread mustard on the bottom half of each.
  3. Layer Swiss, then ham, then roast pork, then pickles, then a second layer of Swiss so the cheese meets bread on both sides.
  4. Close the sandwich and butter the outside of the top and bottom crusts.
  5. Press in a sandwich press or a heavy pan weighted with a second pan, 4 minutes a side, until the loaf is flattened to about a third of its height.
  6. Cut on a sharp diagonal and eat straight away, while the crust still cracks.

Editor tip. Cuban bread has a soft crumb and a thin crust built for pressing. A baguette will not flatten; it will just fight the press and tear.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Mustard.