Equelecua Cuban Cafe is back! This restaurant is now apart of the Grand Food Depot. This depot houses an array of restaurants. Place your order online or at the main window and when your food is ready you will pull up to the drive through at a specific door, ring the bell, and they will bring your food out.Our food was quite delicious and I’m looking forward to returning when I come back to L.A. Thank you for the good memories. I remember your cuisine to be delightful and it still is. ✌?☮️✌?
Douglas Camacho
Very well kept and accessible restaurant. They serve generous portions and for economical rates. I loved the menu a lot and the staff members were super affable and explanatory. Highly recommended.
Judy T.
We were so excited to try vegan Cuban food but the ordering method of the overall establishment is a bit difficult. You order from an iPad and pay there but the touch screen has many glitches and oftentimes doesn't register your finger. The food overall is delicious and comes out pretty fast. We tried their cubano sandwich in the past which was delicious and worth a try. Another time, we got their tamale which was very flavorful. You don't really need extra sauce with that. They also ask on the iPad if it's for here or to go and saying for here decreases the amount of packaging..but it's all disposable so not very environmentally friendly.
Nancy J.
Equelecua has moved to Pasadena, which means I can visit more often. The new location is part of Kitchen United, a shared kitchen and dining space that caters more to take out orders. If you've never heard of vegan Cuban food before, it's because Equelecua is the first of its kind. I've ordered just about everything, but the Cubanoso and platos caseros are in heavy rotation. The Cubanoso is a pressed sandwich with pulled pork, ham and cheese. It's topped with briny pickles and a sauce with mustard seeds throughout. This sandwich is a textural dream, hitting every taste bud in its path. The plates are customizable dishes that include a protein- chicken, pulled pork, picadillo or shrimp; a side of fried plantains or yuca fries and a generous helping of fluffy rice. Mojo wings- flakey drummettes slathered in garlicky sauce- are another hit. Ordering from Kitchen United is convenient with the scheduled pickup times and access to multiple restaurants. The participating restaurants offer up substantial discount codes for repeat customers.
Shelley D.
This place is delicious! Located within whatever 55 Madison is currently called (I swear the name changes every couple of months), this place has very good vegan food. I really like the nachos with black beans on top of plantain chips.
Ashley H.
Located inside Kitchen United Mix, Equelecua Cuban Vegan Cuisine serves delicious and bold flavors. If you like garlic, the Alitas with Mojo are drenched in garlic. The El Cubanaso Sandwich is also really yummy. My meat-eating mother (who I'm trying to convince to go vegan) shared the Cubanaso with me and said it tasted a lot like meat. The negative part of my experience here was that I really needed water and I had forgotten my water bottle in the car and didn't order a drink. So take my advice and order a drink. The garlic will get to ya lol Parking: there's a structure next door which Kitchen United Mix will provide validation for. Seating/How to Order: You can order online and pick up or have it delivered. They have a convenient pick up spot along their wall and the staff at a Kitchen United Mix is friendly and will help you. If you're dining in, there's kiosks along the back wall which you can use to place your order. Then there's communal seating benches. Overall: the food was amazing and the lady who came out and gave us our food was super kind. Highly recommend ordering from Equelecua
Weimann S.
As my friends kept talking about this place I decided to go there. It's a heaven for vegans. All types of delicious cuban food. You can either eat there or do a takeaway. There pricing is quite reasonable. I'll be taking my other vegan friends to this place as soon as this situation with corona virus is over. Can't wait!
Julia D.
This was pretty underwhelming. I grew eating Cuban food and when I stopped eating meat I had to stop eating Cuban :( I was so excited when I found this place you have no idea. Here's the thing you need to understand, this is not a sit down restaurant, it's a place specifically for take out and has tons of other restaurants inside, you order from a kiosk, or on the web or by phone. Pretty interestingly for me I ordered by text message, it got kinda confusing when I came in and asked for my food because they didn't ask for my name so there was a bit of confusion. Once I got my food I couldn't wait to dig in. Here's the problem none of the food was seasoned! It was the blandest thing I've had in a while. No salt, pepper, nothing! The picadillo inside of the Papa rellena tasted like nothing, where the olives? The tomato sauce? Oils and seasonings? I was pretty upset even the seasoned rice was unseasoned. Pretty unfortunate considering Cuban foods are so bold in flavor. Probably won't come back
Anabel Inigo
I am so upset with this place. I had originally gone here before the my transitioned into their white box.
Ashley A.
I originally planned on coming here for my birthday. As a vegan East Coaster who grew up with Cuban food (music and culture), I was beyond thrilled to hear of this place's existence. So when I wound up in Pasadena today and had to buy lunch, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to come here. Spoiler alert: I will not be returning for my birthday dinner. I got the coconut soup for a whopping $11 and an add in of Maduros for $2. First on the maduros: the core was dry. But yet, they were submerged in hot liquid. From a science perspective, how is that possible? Additionally, I would discourage anyone from adding maduros to future soup orders....pay the extra $3 and get it on the side or just don't get it at all. They were placed on the bottom and hard to find at first, then they were almost everywhere. It was just....not right. Next up: the soup Immediate thoughts: it needed salt. I know it was in there, somewhere, but it was very faint. Thanks for introducing me to calilu. It was unique and a fun thing to try since it's not a main part of American culture. Kudos to you that the soup was piping hot. Pasadena was cold today and it warmed me up. Lastly, while hot and filling, the soup wasn't worth $11 and I certainly didn't receive an $11 sized portion. I think the soup is a solid $6-$7.50 and the rest is to cover rent. It's ridiculous. Oh and it's a shared kitchen space (which I'm sure is indicative of the future) so if you're looking for fine dining, keep looking.
First time I came here I tried the Yucca fries with Mojo and they were alight..i didn't see the hype from all the other reviews. But I recently tried their food again and this time ordered the El cubanso and omg! Now I see it. The sandwich did not taste vegan at all. The "pork" is so good and has lots of flavor. I will definitely be ordering this again!
Alex A.
I had never experienced Cuban food before, but since this place was fully vegan, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed! I had the nachos encubanizados with a side of Maduros. I made sure to add shrimp protein to the nachos since I was extra hungry. I also tried the mustard agave sauce and the fire sauce. Both were delicious! I have to say, I was surprised at how much I loved the plantain nachos! They were delicious as were the Maduros, which were a sweet and unique side. They also have great gluten free options available. I highly recommend going if you are vegan and want to try an cool new cuisine or if you love Cuban flavors and are vegan!
Gloria G.
I really wanted to love this place but sadly I will not be returning. Initially we were thrown off by the digital only store front (there's no cute Cuban store front like the pictures shown). My husband and I decided to give this place a try and were very excited to eat Cuban food as we very much miss it since becoming vegan. I was wowed when I saw my dish and you can see why! It looks amazing! The taste however, left much to be desired. The texture of the "chicken" was mushy and the flavor was not quite where it should be for pollo al mojo. The sautéd onions smelled off like they may have been going bad. We ordered the black beans and even they were off. They lacked flavor. The plantains were great and pretty much the only thing we liked. The last thing we ordered was the potato ball with the mojo sauce and just smelling the sauce I knew I wouldn't like it. It had the same off scent that the onions had. It tasted bad and you could barely make out the garlic taste. The potato ball wasn't bad. I think if I was the owner I'd wonder if my employees are following the recipes as they should or something. As we speak, we are rushing home with stomach aches. By the way, we went to the location in Pasadena, off of Madison. We didn't go to the Inglewood location.
Harlen B.
I thought I would like to have some vegan food at a restaurant. This place technically has vegan food, but I would argue that it is not a restaurant. It is take-out only and primarily digital. There were other confused potential patrons as well. I left. I had just finished a long walk and just wanted to sit and chill. You are not invited to sit and chill here. I did not feel comfortable or welcome. It is like those ghost restaurant delivery places popular in grubhub, but IRL. Very bizarre. Maybe if I had known in advance I could have been spared disappointment.
J M.
I was super hesitant to eat here when I arrived in person. Mostly because it didn't look like the old photos posted here on yelp. (The photos of the old restaurant should definitely be taken down). But I decided to go through with it and order anyways just for the experience of eating at such an odd setup. And to my delight the food was very tasty! My girlfriend (non vegan) enjoyed the food too. I will be eating here again; but probably via a food delivery service since there's really no point in eating there in person.
Equelecua Cuban Cafe is back! This restaurant is now apart of the Grand Food Depot. This depot houses an array of restaurants. Place your order online or at the main window and when your food is ready you will pull up to the drive through at a specific door, ring the bell, and they will bring your food out.Our food was quite delicious and I’m looking forward to returning when I come back to L.A. Thank you for the good memories. I remember your cuisine to be delightful and it still is. ✌?☮️✌?
Very well kept and accessible restaurant. They serve generous portions and for economical rates. I loved the menu a lot and the staff members were super affable and explanatory. Highly recommended.
We were so excited to try vegan Cuban food but the ordering method of the overall establishment is a bit difficult. You order from an iPad and pay there but the touch screen has many glitches and oftentimes doesn't register your finger. The food overall is delicious and comes out pretty fast. We tried their cubano sandwich in the past which was delicious and worth a try. Another time, we got their tamale which was very flavorful. You don't really need extra sauce with that. They also ask on the iPad if it's for here or to go and saying for here decreases the amount of packaging..but it's all disposable so not very environmentally friendly.
Equelecua has moved to Pasadena, which means I can visit more often. The new location is part of Kitchen United, a shared kitchen and dining space that caters more to take out orders. If you've never heard of vegan Cuban food before, it's because Equelecua is the first of its kind. I've ordered just about everything, but the Cubanoso and platos caseros are in heavy rotation. The Cubanoso is a pressed sandwich with pulled pork, ham and cheese. It's topped with briny pickles and a sauce with mustard seeds throughout. This sandwich is a textural dream, hitting every taste bud in its path. The plates are customizable dishes that include a protein- chicken, pulled pork, picadillo or shrimp; a side of fried plantains or yuca fries and a generous helping of fluffy rice. Mojo wings- flakey drummettes slathered in garlicky sauce- are another hit. Ordering from Kitchen United is convenient with the scheduled pickup times and access to multiple restaurants. The participating restaurants offer up substantial discount codes for repeat customers.
This place is delicious! Located within whatever 55 Madison is currently called (I swear the name changes every couple of months), this place has very good vegan food. I really like the nachos with black beans on top of plantain chips.
Located inside Kitchen United Mix, Equelecua Cuban Vegan Cuisine serves delicious and bold flavors. If you like garlic, the Alitas with Mojo are drenched in garlic. The El Cubanaso Sandwich is also really yummy. My meat-eating mother (who I'm trying to convince to go vegan) shared the Cubanaso with me and said it tasted a lot like meat. The negative part of my experience here was that I really needed water and I had forgotten my water bottle in the car and didn't order a drink. So take my advice and order a drink. The garlic will get to ya lol Parking: there's a structure next door which Kitchen United Mix will provide validation for. Seating/How to Order: You can order online and pick up or have it delivered. They have a convenient pick up spot along their wall and the staff at a Kitchen United Mix is friendly and will help you. If you're dining in, there's kiosks along the back wall which you can use to place your order. Then there's communal seating benches. Overall: the food was amazing and the lady who came out and gave us our food was super kind. Highly recommend ordering from Equelecua
As my friends kept talking about this place I decided to go there. It's a heaven for vegans. All types of delicious cuban food. You can either eat there or do a takeaway. There pricing is quite reasonable. I'll be taking my other vegan friends to this place as soon as this situation with corona virus is over. Can't wait!
This was pretty underwhelming. I grew eating Cuban food and when I stopped eating meat I had to stop eating Cuban :( I was so excited when I found this place you have no idea. Here's the thing you need to understand, this is not a sit down restaurant, it's a place specifically for take out and has tons of other restaurants inside, you order from a kiosk, or on the web or by phone. Pretty interestingly for me I ordered by text message, it got kinda confusing when I came in and asked for my food because they didn't ask for my name so there was a bit of confusion. Once I got my food I couldn't wait to dig in. Here's the problem none of the food was seasoned! It was the blandest thing I've had in a while. No salt, pepper, nothing! The picadillo inside of the Papa rellena tasted like nothing, where the olives? The tomato sauce? Oils and seasonings? I was pretty upset even the seasoned rice was unseasoned. Pretty unfortunate considering Cuban foods are so bold in flavor. Probably won't come back
I am so upset with this place. I had originally gone here before the my transitioned into their white box.
I originally planned on coming here for my birthday. As a vegan East Coaster who grew up with Cuban food (music and culture), I was beyond thrilled to hear of this place's existence. So when I wound up in Pasadena today and had to buy lunch, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to come here. Spoiler alert: I will not be returning for my birthday dinner. I got the coconut soup for a whopping $11 and an add in of Maduros for $2. First on the maduros: the core was dry. But yet, they were submerged in hot liquid. From a science perspective, how is that possible? Additionally, I would discourage anyone from adding maduros to future soup orders....pay the extra $3 and get it on the side or just don't get it at all. They were placed on the bottom and hard to find at first, then they were almost everywhere. It was just....not right. Next up: the soup Immediate thoughts: it needed salt. I know it was in there, somewhere, but it was very faint. Thanks for introducing me to calilu. It was unique and a fun thing to try since it's not a main part of American culture. Kudos to you that the soup was piping hot. Pasadena was cold today and it warmed me up. Lastly, while hot and filling, the soup wasn't worth $11 and I certainly didn't receive an $11 sized portion. I think the soup is a solid $6-$7.50 and the rest is to cover rent. It's ridiculous. Oh and it's a shared kitchen space (which I'm sure is indicative of the future) so if you're looking for fine dining, keep looking.
Restaurantji Recommends
First time I came here I tried the Yucca fries with Mojo and they were alight..i didn't see the hype from all the other reviews. But I recently tried their food again and this time ordered the El cubanso and omg! Now I see it. The sandwich did not taste vegan at all. The "pork" is so good and has lots of flavor. I will definitely be ordering this again!
I had never experienced Cuban food before, but since this place was fully vegan, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed! I had the nachos encubanizados with a side of Maduros. I made sure to add shrimp protein to the nachos since I was extra hungry. I also tried the mustard agave sauce and the fire sauce. Both were delicious! I have to say, I was surprised at how much I loved the plantain nachos! They were delicious as were the Maduros, which were a sweet and unique side. They also have great gluten free options available. I highly recommend going if you are vegan and want to try an cool new cuisine or if you love Cuban flavors and are vegan!
I really wanted to love this place but sadly I will not be returning. Initially we were thrown off by the digital only store front (there's no cute Cuban store front like the pictures shown). My husband and I decided to give this place a try and were very excited to eat Cuban food as we very much miss it since becoming vegan. I was wowed when I saw my dish and you can see why! It looks amazing! The taste however, left much to be desired. The texture of the "chicken" was mushy and the flavor was not quite where it should be for pollo al mojo. The sautéd onions smelled off like they may have been going bad. We ordered the black beans and even they were off. They lacked flavor. The plantains were great and pretty much the only thing we liked. The last thing we ordered was the potato ball with the mojo sauce and just smelling the sauce I knew I wouldn't like it. It had the same off scent that the onions had. It tasted bad and you could barely make out the garlic taste. The potato ball wasn't bad. I think if I was the owner I'd wonder if my employees are following the recipes as they should or something. As we speak, we are rushing home with stomach aches. By the way, we went to the location in Pasadena, off of Madison. We didn't go to the Inglewood location.
I thought I would like to have some vegan food at a restaurant. This place technically has vegan food, but I would argue that it is not a restaurant. It is take-out only and primarily digital. There were other confused potential patrons as well. I left. I had just finished a long walk and just wanted to sit and chill. You are not invited to sit and chill here. I did not feel comfortable or welcome. It is like those ghost restaurant delivery places popular in grubhub, but IRL. Very bizarre. Maybe if I had known in advance I could have been spared disappointment.
I was super hesitant to eat here when I arrived in person. Mostly because it didn't look like the old photos posted here on yelp. (The photos of the old restaurant should definitely be taken down). But I decided to go through with it and order anyways just for the experience of eating at such an odd setup. And to my delight the food was very tasty! My girlfriend (non vegan) enjoyed the food too. I will be eating here again; but probably via a food delivery service since there's really no point in eating there in person.