Banana Cafe & Piano Bar

This place is fun, comfortable and has a great Latin charm. From the original artwork on the walls to the perfect outdoor seating and wonderfully friendly waiters, you just can't help but have a good time. My husband and I go there all the time now because we're greated with the best hospitality and they remember us by name. The food is always authentic Latin and the choice of the menu is fantastic. My husband is also from South America and he's always been happy with the authenticity of the food. If you want a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with good food, great variety and service....and won't break the bank, then this is a great bet!

I've been to this restaurant three times, ordered three different meals and was unsatisfied with any of them. After each of the first two, I decided I would try again because my impressions was so poor. The atmosphere is nice enough, and the service has been mixed waiters and waitresses are nice enough, but they seemed either inexperienced or unfamiliar with the food. The food itself however was disapointing. On my 1st visit, I ordered breaded steak it was overcooked and tasted almost leathery. On my second visit, I ordered ropa vieja, but the flavors were completely off and even the black beans were clumpy. On my final visit, I went in desperately hoping for a Cuban Sandwich at dinner time, which is easy to make I asked the waitress to make sure there was no mayonnaise on it because many places make it with mayo, despite Cuban Sandwiches traditionally not containing it. The waitres told me that all sandwiches were made in the morning-condiments included. Against my better judgement, I asked her to bring one anyway, the mustard and mayo had soaked into the bed making it a goopy mess. Perhaps I should have complained. Perhaps I set my expectations too high. I thought that on each of the three occasions, the food quality was poor. If you really want Cuban food in the DC area, I recommend Cuba De Ayer or Cuban Corner, both in MD.

The Banana Cafe has several things going for it: good service, good food both the Cuban and Tex-Mex dishes, the place is kind of schizophrenic and if it's decent weather and during the afternoon, a great place to lounge and see how many mojitos can be downed and maybe a cigar or two (unfortunately, not Havanas). Inside isn't bad either, being decorated with lots of Latin American art. Upstairs, a piano bar that I haven't experienced. The Sunday buffet is worth a wait. And glorious to relate, there isn't a papusa or El Salvadorean-oriented dish on the menu. But the Banana Cafe, in following with a Cuban theme, needs more rum-based cocktails.

The food at Banana Cafe is amazing. The only reason I took off a half star is that there could be a bit more variety a lot of the dishes are redundant. Everything that I've had has been amazing both food and beverages. The service is good (they all wear guayaberas which is a nice cubano touch) but nothing to write home about. The restaurant itself is beautiful. There's a lot of Latin American art and everything are those colores vivos that remind me of the Caribbean. It's a fun, delicious place that I would recommend highly to anyone.