Stepping into Victor’s 1959 Café feels like stepping into Cuba in the ‘50s.  The tiny ten-table restaurant glows with festive lighting and graffiti written over all surfaces. Cuban music plays in the background while the inevitable line of people waiting for tables crowds into the small entry area.  The traditional Cuban head wraps worn by female servers add to the distinctively unique atmosphere.

The Cuban food––influenced by Native American, Spanish, Caribbean and African cuisines––creates an infusion of fresh fruit and seafood into many of the restaurant’s core recipes.  Victor’s menu reflects this heritage by including ingredients such as plantains, yucca fruit, and creole sauce that is difficult to find at many other Minnesota restaurants.

The breakfast menu includes both “Americano” and “Cubano” sections, but of course choose Cuban.  Start brunch with a traditional tropical juice. The guanabana and mango juices are particularly delicious, not too sweet and very fresh tasting. One dish is the Bistec Criollo from the Cuban breakfast section. This dish includes thinly sliced steak marinated in lime and garlic, served with green peppers and onions and topped with two eggs. On the side was yuca frita, a unique taste and texture that is rather potato-like but with a tropical spin.  Those interested in something sweet for breakfast will love the mango pancakes.  These fluffy pancakes have mango pieces baked within, and are covered with mango puree.

The Sandwich Cubano from the lunch menu is absolutely outstanding.  The sandwich is a signature item including ham, pork loin, chorizo sausage, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles.  These ingredients are placed between lightly buttered Cuban bread slices and then pressed with a grill called a plancha that heats the ingredients while toasting the exterior.  Choose rice and beans or a traditional Cuban salad on the side.

Stop by Victor’s 1959 Café for a dining experience like nothing else in the Twin Cities.