Cana Cuban Parlor and Cafe - Oakland, CA

For my final evening dinner with my sister's family we went to Cana Cuban Parlor and Cafe in Oakland, CA.

We first went to my brother-in-law's Mandolin / Guitar concert nearby and then to dinner afterwards.  The concert was a lot of fun and I sat right up front.

Cana Cuban Parlor and Cafe wasn't too far away so we decided to try it.  Reviews had said that the food was great, but not the service.  They were right.  While the waitress was very friendly and nice, we had to ask for items to be brought to us.  Plates, fried plantains, bread... all things that we had to ask for.  The food came out slowly too even though there weren't many diners there.  We figured that the food needed to cook so we were ok with the waiting for that but not so much for the waiting for basic necessities.

But... the food was very good.  My brother-in-law did not feel his plate of Paella Valenciana was really that good, but my sister's Ox Tail and my Puerco Asado was very good.  The Ox Tail was very tender and my pork was also.  Very tasty as well.  The chips of fried plantains were good, but sparse.  We ordered it twice.  The bread was toasted, but it would have been better if they also brought out some butter or olive oil or something other than just dry toast.  Yes, service and execution was a bit lacking.

We did note that the smell of cigar smoke (and whatever else they were smoking in the back of the restaurant) was a bit overwhelming at times.  I would have preferred no smoke at all, but I guess that's to be expected if you go to a Cuban restaurant!  Still, I'd recommend the restaurant if you know of these things in advance and are ok with those issues.

Sorry for the photos not being good... my iPhone 6s+ struggled in the low light.