Tropical Cuisine image

Tropical Cuisine

Restaurant Breakfast restaurant Dominican restaurant

No-nonsense, counter-serve eatery dishing up mofongo, oxtail & other casual Dominican specialties. People often mention good, order, sandwich, time, great, minutes, chicken, lunch, rice,


Address

9005 E Adamo Dr B, Tampa, FL 33619

Contact

(813) 252-4712

Price rating

$ $$$

Rating on Google Maps

4.30 (1.1K reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Tuesday: 6:30 AM to 8 PM
  • Wednesday: 6:30 AM to 8 PM
  • Thursday: 6:30 AM to 8 PM
  • Friday: 6:30 AM to 8 PM
  • Saturday: 7 AM to 8 PM
  • Sunday: 9 AM to 6 PM
  • Monday: 6:30 AM to 8 PM

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: good (18) order (10) sandwich (10) time (10) great (8) minutes (8) chicken (6) lunch (6) rice (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 5/5 William H. 1 year ago on Google • 653 reviews
    Swung by here with my family on the way to Orlando. Right off the bat I noticed it was full of Spanish-speaking locals so I knew it was going to be good and authentic. The place delivered! A huge variety of options, savory plates and generous portions. My family of four ate their fill (plus had leftovers to take away) and we sample four different Latin canned drinks (the Yerbe Mate was my favorite, the Kola Champagne was my little one’s favorite) and the total bill was only $36! I highly recommend you try this place out in your road trip instead of settling for generic franchises or fast food.
    5 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Vianey R. 1 year ago on Google
    Save yourself the headache and your money this place is gross. I order a grilled chicken breast sandwich and they grabbed their season chicken strip/ veggie from the buffet(which by the way didn’t bother me, but it was not chicken breast) definitely not what I order. I gave it the benefit of the doubt and took a bite but obviously the sandwich won’t taste right because the chicken is season for a whole meal. I kindly request to get another sandwich, however, Iset the employee decided to get an approval from her boss. I overheard the conversation and this woman made it sound like I was being annoying and a difficult customer which it was not the case at all(this is my first time in this place it will definitely be the last). Once I overheard her rude comments I refused the sandwich and requested my money back which she made it completely difficult. An awful experience for someone that was literally starving and gracing good food. Below is a photo of what they gave me. Like I said save your money. In that same plaza in the other side is a wayyyy better Dominican place that has never, EVER given me any issues and is super neat and FRIENDLY
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 francesca v. 5 months ago on Google • 15 reviews
    Use to love this place until I witnessed a lady lick mangu off of her finger(she had on gloves) and then continue to touch all the other food the buffet area. Then moments later, I witness ANOTHER LADY put butter on bread with a spatula from the sandwich preparation area, bite it, then put more butter with a spatula from the sandwich preparation on the spot where she bit from and out the spatula back in the sandwich preparation area. Absolutely gross will never eat there again
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Robbie H. 2 years ago on Google
    My job orders from here a lot! I decided to order lunch via DoorDash this week so that the food would be ready to pickup during my lunch break. Food was ready on time, all I had to do was walk up to the counter and show my DoorDash App! The food was AMAZING, as always. Only complaint was that I ordered a chicken empanada and was given beef, I had already gotten back to work before I noticed, it was disappointing, but still good.
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Naikelly R. 2 years ago on Google
    Place did not follow instructions said no onions the food is covered in onions they didn't even drain out the stuff they fried absolutely disgusting very disappointed first and last time everrrrrrrrr ordering from this place smh
    2 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Kilsis J. 1 year ago on Google • 76 reviews
    They have a lunch special but we didn't do that. We wanted to try different meats. We also got maduros. I forgot to take pictures before we started eating. When I walked in, the food smell reminded me of restaurants in Dominican Republic. They have plenty of parking.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 David B. 2 years ago on Google
    Super clean and bright. Loved the selection of foods. Everything looked amazing. I opted for the Cuban sandwich. The roasted pork was very, very tender. They pull it right on the spot. Fresh ingredients. I'd eat it again.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jeremy H. 2 years ago on Google
    Went here for breakfast when I was getting my car serviced across the street. The breakfast buffet has lots of selections. The portions are big, the food tastes good and it is inexpensive.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Eduardo M. 6 months ago on Google • 5 reviews
    I never leave reviews but Imagine a Latin food place with no Empanadas even though they advertise empanadas… Place use to be amazing but has gone down hill since they open a new location. Counter people always have a nasty attitude as well.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 1/5 Tiffany C. 1 year ago on Google
    Soo disappointed. I ordered mangu tres golpes and it was so gross. The eggs were hard and overcooked, the mangu tasted weird and had no onions. You can tell it’s just been sitting there all day. Waste of money. Next time I’ll make it myself like I should’ve did in the first place 😣
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 2/5 Bubbleg26 1 year ago on Google
    The women of this establishment are rude, unfortunately…especially the one with the thick eye brows. The food is good but I wouldn’t spend my money here anymore, I’d rather spend it where it’d be appreciated. This meal was $15.05, I paid for $15 worth of rice.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 4/5 Jay A. 6 months ago on Google • 193 reviews
    This was my first time eating here . It doesn't look very appealing from the outside, but the inside was very clean and our service was good. They have a ton of hot food options from oxtail to chicken to fish beef and pork. They also have a sandwich station, and those looked pretty good . I enjoyed the food. I thought it was great. I recommend it and will go back to try some other things on the menu. 👍🏾

  • 4/5 A B. 10 months ago on Google • 132 reviews
    Lots of parking, easy to find. Reasonable prices, good selection. Many tables. Staff was great. Didn't like that plantains were not considered a side for the plate of food we ordered. We had to pay extra if we wanted them. Food was tasty, ordered fried fish, could have been cooked a little longer, inside didn't look well done to my liking. Inside was 2 different colors, white and a light pink.

  • 4/5 Jada S. 9 months ago on Google • 72 reviews
    So it was hard to communicate because their primary language is Spanish. I'm talking thinking they understood me because she was smiling lol. So this place is getting a four out of five not because of the language barrier but because the food wasn't all that. There were a few that understood English better so I was able to order. I got oxtails, red beans, beans and rice and some plantain mash. I'm not a big plantain person but I got to just to try it. I will say this took two or three bites and threw it away. It was giving me lumpy mashed potatoes vibes. The oxtails was my first time trying it. It has a tomatoey flavor but bland. The best thing about the plate was the yellow beans and rice. Yum. Then I got the lunch special the black beans and rice with pulled pork. Delicious pork. Beans and rice were good too but again kinda bland. I got roasted potatoes which has a miniscule hint of butter or garlic otherwise bland. I think with my family being from Louisiana and transplanting in California I'm used to flavor and salt. So for that it's okay. But I also ordered a beef empanada 🥟. First one ever. It was good! So if I go back I'm definitely getting empanadas, pulled pork and the yellow rice. The staff's kindness was better than the food. I prefer Jamaican oxtail so far. I love Florida

  • 1/5 Candy W. 4 months ago on Google • 40 reviews
    Ma’am, what is this, I order a large sandwich and they put 3 slices of meat. 🤬🤬 I will never order food from here again. I would have given a zero stars, you lucky you got that 1

  • 3/5 Damian R. 6 months ago on Google • 23 reviews
    This place is very busy with an awesome array of eats. From oxtails to Cuban sandwiches. I got two sandwiches. They were both equally good. The have a cafeteria style hot bar for those that wanna quick plate of already cooked grub. I will return because the prices are hard to beat vs the quality of food.

  • 1/5 Elizabeth M. 6 months ago on Google • 7 reviews
    They had my food sitting behind the cash register for 20 minutes, then I seen the girl bag it after it's been sitting there for 20 minutes and I asked her twice how long it will be and she said five minutes now mind you the food was already finished. She finally bagged it after ringing up numerous customers and I said why did you wait twenty minutes to bag my food? It is the three girls working behind the register with attitude problems. Seems like they are more worried about getting the men in and out quick in hopes of good tips since they walk around doing nothing in their see through leggings, wow real professional attire. Cold food and horrible service. No apology or nothing. Rude as hell. I guess because I'm not a man and can careless about them walking around in their translucent leggings, I wasn't important. I was the only woman in there, what a coincidence. Teach your employees good customer service.

  • 1/5 Jibin J. 8 months ago on Google
    I came in here just to get some coffee and waited 20 minutes. On top of that the staff was very rude and did not want to help. Definitely not happy with the way things are going here. It used to be a really great place the food used to be good and the people were amazing but it seems like a lot has changed. There are plenty of great places around here that serve great food, and are kind. I would recommend not coming here. I have tried it multiple times trying to give them another chance, but I think I am sad now on never returning, and I thought that I would share my experience with you.

  • 2/5 Johanne R. 8 months ago on Google
    Rude staff. This is a place with great food but staff is rude. Ordered over the phone and when I got there they watched me stand for like 5 minutes with my order on front of me but everyone was looking at me but they were busy throwing jokes between them and completely ignored me. The lady then says (in Spanish) "what do you want? If you don't say anything...." I said " I am waiting someone to pay for my order". I think they need to train the people with customer contact some basic customer services. I am never coming here again just for how stupid I felt for those 5 minutes.

  • 5/5 Steven M. 8 months ago on Google
    Quick cheap and tasty Spanish food. Beats all the chain fast food places in the area. They don't speak English but my broken Spanish got me what I wanted. $5 for lunch and I had a hard time finishing my plate.

  • 5/5 Jennifer B. 10 months ago on Google
    Absolutely delicious place! My friends took me there and I'm so glad they did. I had arroz con gandules picadillo and plantains. Wow. Must try for everyone!

  • 5/5 britton c. 10 months ago on Google
    I have been here lots of times. All the food is great and they have a empanada special no one can beat! Everyone is so friendly singing and smiling with great prices.

  • 3/5 Hector B. 1 year ago on Google
    I've been visiting this place for almost a year from Monday to Friday. The food is good but, I have noticed that in recent days they have less staff and the waiting time is much longer than before. The service of the few that have is excellent, but those who only have half an hour for lunch lose it waiting. I think that before it was much faster because they had more people working. They need to have more staff to serve because the few that there are are not enough to get out quickly.

  • 5/5 Javier M. 1 year ago on Google
    Today I had a breakfast sanwish (ham egg and cheese) ant it was awesome! The pressed it to oerfection and the cofee was on point out the door it was under $6. Well work it very conviniently located near the dealerships. Another good reason to come when you vehicle is being serviced ;-).

  • 4/5 Eddy C. 1 year ago on Google
    Must the time this people make good food that's why I give 4 stars but When you walk in sometimes you have to stand there waiting for 2 or 3 minutes before some one take your order. Last Friday I got a milk pastry and it was burned, horrible taste, have to throw it away.😵‍💫

  • 4/5 A T. 1 year ago on Google
    Very good and authentic Hispanic food here. MANY options too... it helps if you habla espanol :) Also... the sandwiches are made to order so allow a lot of extra time no matter how long the line is!


Call (813) 252-4712 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Parking
    • ✓️ Free parking lot
    • ✓️ Plenty of parking
    • ✓️ Free street parking
  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Salad bar
    • ✓️ Quick bite
    • ✓️ Comfort food
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Healthy options
    • ✓️ Vegetarian options
  • Popular for
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Breakfast
    • ✓️ Solo dining
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible seating
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible entrance
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible restroom
    • ✓️ Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Brunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
    • ✓️ Catering
    • ✓️ Breakfast
    • ✓️ Counter service
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✓️ Takeout
    • ✓️ Delivery

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