We have eaten at every place in Dubai that serves Cuban dishes on the menu more than once. There are seven worth recommending in 2026. Ranking criteria: authenticity (how close to Havana), execution (is the ropa vieja properly shredded and properly sauced), atmosphere (does it feel right), value, and consistency across three visits.
There is no fully Cuban-owned restaurant in Dubai. The number one entry on this list is technically a cigar lounge with a Cuban-themed menu. Number two is a private chef. Both are excellent. The full pillar page is at Cuban Food in Dubai if you want the dish-by-dish breakdown.
The Ranked List
Bohemia Lounge — DIFC
The closest Dubai gets to a proper Cuban restaurant. Cuban-themed cigar lounge with full Cuban dinner menu, live Cuban music three nights a week, and a bartender (Yariel) who trained at La Floridita Havana for four years before moving here. The ropa vieja (AED 95) is the best in the city — brisket slow-cooked for six hours, hand-shredded, finished in a sofrito of bell pepper, onion, garlic and tomato, served on perfect white rice with sweet plantain.
Order: ropa vieja (AED 95), lechón asado for two (AED 280, 24h notice), tostones with mojo (AED 35), the Floridita-style daiquiri (AED 75), Cohiba Robusto if cigars are your thing (AED 380). Best time: Thursday night for the band (book 14 days ahead). Sunday for quieter dinner.
+971 4 333 6789 · bohemialounge.ae
Yuniel Cordero Private Catering
Yuniel is from Cienfuegos, trained at the Hotel Nacional Havana, lives in Al Quoz and cooks Cuban for private parties only. He brings a whole pig (10-12kg, 24-hour mojo marinade, 6 hours in a charcoal box) plus ropa vieja, picadillo, moros y cristianos, tostones, sweet plantains, flan de coco, and a full daiquiri-mojito bar with proper Havana Club. Six weeks lead time. Minimum 8 guests, maximum 40. This is the most authentic Cuban food experience in the UAE — full stop.
Order: The full menu — do not ask him to do half of it, the lechón is the show. Best for: Birthdays, large family dinners, anniversaries. Bring your own rum if you want a specific brand.
@yunielcocinacuba on Instagram
Toro Toro — Grosvenor House
Richard Sandoval's pan-Latin restaurant with a strong Cuban contingent. The lechón asado is the most consistently good in Dubai — the suckling pig is cooked in their custom wood oven overnight, finished crackled, served with mojo verde and white rice. Moros y cristianos as a side is correct (beans cooked separately then folded, not cooked together — an important detail). The mojito programme is large but inconsistent — some bartenders skip muddling the mint, ask for someone senior.
Order: lechón asado (AED 165), moros y cristianos side (AED 45), ceviche cubano (AED 95), churrasco anticucho (AED 140). Best time: Thursday and Friday dinner for the music; lunch is quieter and the kitchen pays more attention.
+971 4 317 6300 · Grosvenor House
Casa Latina — JLT
A Latin American cafe that runs a Cuban menu every Thursday. The medianoche sandwich (AED 55) is the best Cuban sandwich in Dubai — properly pressed in a panini grill, the swiss cheese melted, the pickles thin, the pork shoulder slow-roasted on Wednesday. The picadillo with rice (AED 65) has olives and raisins exactly as it should. The flan de coco (AED 28) is the only one we have found in Dubai. Sara, the owner, lived in Miami's Calle Ocho for ten years.
Order: medianoche (AED 55), picadillo (AED 65), flan de coco (AED 28), cortado coffee (AED 22). Best time: Thursday lunch for the Cuban menu; other days are pan-Latin. Walk-in.
@casalatinadxb on Instagram
La Cantine du Faubourg — Jumeirah Emirates Towers
Runs a Cuban supper night the last Thursday of every month — six courses, three drinks pairings, live Cuban band. AED 380 per head. It is theatrical rather than strictly authentic but the kitchen does its homework and the band is real (members of Cuban Soul Collective who tour the Gulf). The arroz con pollo course is excellent. The dessert (flan de leche) is the weakest dish but still pleasant. Sells out three weeks ahead.
Order: the set menu — no a la carte on Cuban nights. Best time: Last Thursday of the month, doors 7:30pm, music starts 9:15pm. Book by phone, not online.
+971 4 352 7105
Coya — Four Seasons Jumeirah
Primarily a Peruvian restaurant but with an excellent Cuban-style yellow rice with chicken (arroz con pollo, AED 145) and an outstanding daiquiri programme. The bar is the strength here — AED 75 for a daiquiri made with Havana Club 7 (where available, Diplomatico otherwise). They occasionally have a Cuban guest chef night — check Instagram.
Order: arroz con pollo (AED 145), Pisco sour to start, daiquiri to finish. Best time: Sunday and Monday for quieter rooms; Friday and Saturday booked solid.
+971 4 316 9600
Maya Mexican — Madinat Jumeirah
A Richard Sandoval Mexican restaurant with one excellent Cuban dish — the Cuban-style pork with mojo verde (AED 95). They roast the shoulder slow, finish it at the plancha for crisp edges, and serve it with white rice and tostones. The daiquiri is clean. Not really a Cuban restaurant but worth knowing if you are in Madinat.
Order: Cuban-style pork (AED 95), Habana Mango cocktail (AED 65), tostones (AED 40). Best time: Sunset on the terrace overlooking Burj Al Arab.
+971 4 366 6730
How We Ranked
We visited each restaurant on this list at least three times during 2026, including one anonymous lunch and one anonymous dinner per venue. We ordered the same set of dishes everywhere where possible (ropa vieja, mojo pork, plantains, a daiquiri). We compared notes against three Cubans living in Dubai who tasted every entry on the list.
Rankings weight: authenticity 40%, execution 30%, atmosphere/experience 20%, value 10%. We did not weight social media presence, marketing budget, or celebrity-chef status. None of these restaurants paid us — we paid for every meal. Read our full ranking methodology →