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8 Things We Love About Bongos Cuban Café at Walt Disney World

Sadly, Bongos Cuban Cafe is scheduled to close later this Summer. We will miss the food, music and atmosphere! Enjoy it while you still can.  

Are you looking for a restaurant at Disney Springs with an authentic flavor, feel and look? You’re in luck! On Disney Springs’ West Side, you’ll find Bongos Cuban Café. It’s located right on the lake, and you can eat in the dining room or outside on the huge sprawling patio. There’s no wrong time to enjoy Bongos’ authentic Cuban food, and here are eight reasons why.

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8. It’s owned by a famous couple.

As if being housed at Disney Springs isn’t special enough, Bongos Cuban Café has some notoriety of its own—in the form of its famous owners, Emilio and Gloria Estefan. The couple opened Bongos at Disney Springs in the mid-90s and the party has been going ever since!

7. The architecture is gorgeous.

One of the first things Guests notice at Bongos is the huge pineapple that stands just outside the restaurant. We’re not talking a six-foot-tall pineapple. This one is about two stories tall! It’s just part of the beautiful detail to the restaurant’s building. Bongos has an old Havana-style architecture to it. When you walk in the doors, you’ll be carried away to Cuba.

6. The bar stools are bongos!

The bar is situated just inside the doors at Bongos, to the right of the host desk. And even if you aren’t ordering a cocktail, you should at least take a look at the bar—the bar stools are in the shape of different ornately-painted bongos.

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5. The lunch and dinner menu are great!

If you’ve never had Cuban cuisine, you’re in for a treat, and if you have had Cuban cuisine, you know how amazing it is. The fare at Bongos is some of the best authentic Cuban food you’ll find. Choose from ham croquettes and Cuban empanadas, black bean hummus, Cuban ceviche and slow-roasted Cuban pork, among other fabulous entrees!

4. Pick your favorite guava dessert!

You’ll definitely want to save room for dessert at Bongos! Try their key lime guava parfait, which comes with layers of key-lime mousse, guava and gluten-free graham crackers. Or try the guava cheesecake—a New York-style cheesecake served with guava marmalade.

3. You can stop by the pick-up window if you’re in a rush!

Bongos serves up some amazing Cuban food, but if you’re in a rush and don’t have time to stop in and sit in the dining room, you can head to Bongos Cuban Café Express, just outside the front doors of the restaurant. Order a huge Cuban sandwich or the Cuban Party Box, which comes with stuffed potatoes, a pork empanada and a mini Cuban sandwich. Just place your order at the window, pay, and then wait a few minutes and your food will be ready in to-go containers.

2. The entertainment is fun.

You’ll be channeling your inner Ricky Ricardo when you check out Bongos in the evenings after 6:00 p.m. There is nightly entertainment at the Cuban café, part of which consists of a Desi Arnaz impersonator! Entertainment is subject to change. To learn more, visit www.bongoscubancafe.com.

1. The Cuban Sandwich is the best!

Ok, ok, we’ve already mentioned the food at Bongos, but the Cuban sandwich is worth its own bullet point on our list of things we love about Bongos. This enormous sandwich is more than enough to share and comes with brisket, ham, mustard and pickles. The sandwich is served with steak fries. It’s the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever tried, and every visit to Disney Springs means a visit to Bongos for that sandwich! Yum!

About Rebekah Tyndall Burkett

Rebekah grew up in Forney, Texas and lives just outside of Dallas. She’s been a Disney superfan since childhood, experiencing the magic at Walt Disney World for the first time at the age of 11. Journeys to Neverland are at least a yearly occurrence for her, her husband and her four children (the Fab Four). When they go to the parks, they stay in Florida for three weeks at a time. Rebekah loves exploring the history of the parks, the genius behind the Magic in the person of Walt Disney, and she is intrigued by all things Disney World and Disney Imagineering. When in the parks, Rebekah and her husband Scott make the most of their time by enjoying every minute with their Fab Four, by delving deeper into Walt’s vision for the parks and into the history behind the Walt Disney World Resort, and by photographing the many different types of architecture at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and on the World Showcase at EPCOT. When she’s not in the parks, Rebekah is excitedly setting travel dates and planning her family’s next adventure to their happy place deep within the Sunshine State. On breaks from planning her next trip, Rebekah is a writer, journalist and children’s author, penning children’s books about kids with special needs that she affectionately calls “believement-achievement” stories. Her hobbies include creative writing, paper crafting and interviewing Imagineers. She is also an advocate for Autism Awareness and for children with developmental disabilities of all kinds.