La Vina Restaurant   9419 Richmond Ave Houston TX 77063 713.914.0810 You might also be interested in these:     Cuban Food    ZIP 77063   Add Review       MY REVIEW: La Viña is a better than average Cuban restaurant. That being said, I have noticed the portions getting a smaller. If you don't mind driving a little, It's not exactly close to any major Highways and waiting for your food on busy days (most of us only have one hour for lunch). Pros: Good food, nice people. Conns: Too far from any major HWY exits, service can be a little slow at times. NAME: COMELON SUBMITTED: 4/3/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 3/2008 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: lunchtime 12 pm and a good crowd both times I've been there. The place looks like a luncheonette, but the portions are large and delicioso for a price that can't be beat. I've had the #6 - roast pork and doused it with a little extra mojo as it was not right out of the oven. The black beans and rice are better than excellent. Yuca is consistent with what I was raised on. But the Flan... oh... I am not a flan eater, but this is the richest flan I ever had. I'm normally more of a bread pudding person - which I tasted, but it was not comparable to my mom's with the slivered almonds and rum... the Flan won. I've also had the Cuban sandwich with the plaintain chips and that totally reminded me of West New York, NJ. Of course, I will go back and see if I can get a plate of roast pork chunks, because those always seem to sell out before I get there. They also serve Iron Beer! yay! NAME: Sharon Fernandez SUBMITTED: 11/26/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: noviembre 10 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Man, let me tell you, the owner is Salvadorian, and was taught by a Cuban friend... and she has out-done herself- the food is truly Cuban- not water-down at all! It is definetly the envy of the strip. I went to the restaurant Mi P*ueblito next to it, and the customers say the taste is just so much better at La Vina... and I concur! Cubans are awesome, and the food is awesome! Agh! YUMMMMMMM! NAME: djv SUBMITTED: 10/30/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/30/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: Having a cuban mother i was spoiled growing up. My friends to this day often beg me to bring them to my mothers house JUST so they can have her food. So i think i am a good judge of cuban food. I also lived in Florida for many years and often went to Miami to see relatives. LA VINA is the best outside of my mothers kitchen & HAVANA!!! the ropa vieja is AMAZING!!! this really isnt a place to take someone if you want 4 star quality ambiance, but if you want some damn good food............YOU CANT GO WRONG WITH LA VINA!!!! I LOVE THIS PLACE NAME: Chris SUBMITTED: 10/9/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: This is the best cuban restaurant I have been to when it comes to food. The taste is great, the waiter is the same guy that was from P*iquet and Cafe M*iami back in the day. I'm Cuban and love Cuban food. My partner and I started off with the mariquitas which were great. They came out hot and the Mojo was perfect. Then I had the Masitas fritas and he had the Palomilla which both were superb. I never knew rice could taste so good. We then had the batido de Mamey and he had the tres leches. The cake was ok, but who cares when everything else was SOOOOOO good. The owner has done a great job. I first went there when it opened and went a couple of months ago, and she has done a lot. I really don't care if it's a hole in a wall; aren't most Cuban restaurants like that. The only thing missing is the little window with the ladies serving Cuban coffee outside. Can't wait to go again. NAME: rgonzalez SUBMITTED: 1/29/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/06 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: I was just about to give up on Cuban food in general.. It just seemed way too bland and I always came away disappointed. I had the time of my life spanning two vacations to Havana in 2000 & 2001. So, the fond memories prompted me to give the food yet another try. Not that I really ever had a meal to write home about when I was there, but you know... memories. That's the one thing Cuba's tourism needs is more attention to the quality of the food available. Well 'La Vina' has, by far, the best Cuban sandwich ($3.95) I've tasted in both Havana and Houston (Though, I have never been to Miami). Anyway, this "hole in the wall" stays busy and now I know why. Can't wait to try the Ropas Vieja next time. This place doesn't concern itself too much with ambiance. Rather, it concentrates on what really matters most to me... the FOOD!!! This place rocks!! NAME: Brian SUBMITTED: 1/20/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Have only eaten there once but it was wonderful food. I shared a papa rellena with my date, then she ordered the pernil and I had ropa vieja. Both were excellent. They included yucca was easily the best I have had. The rice and beans were a little disappointing. Not bad, just not up to the standard of the rest of our meal. Prices were very fair and service was efficient and friendly. I will definitely be back. NAME: dazekiel SUBMITTED: 8/27/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/06 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Overall great location, and great atmosphere. You cant go wrong with this place. Its cheap, large portions of food and its authentic. Lets get real people we dont go to restaurants for pretty visuals we go for the food. Try the (Camarones enchilados) shrimp dish, its delicious. I also recommend the cubanito (type of xpresso). NAME: ieatalot SUBMITTED: 7/12/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: July 2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: I wasn't even lookin for cuban food, but it caught my eye that there would be a Cuban place next to a colombian restaurant. You see I'm part colombian part cuban, so i chose to walk in to this cuban spot. it was really good. i loved the sandwich cubano and it was sooo much i had to take the rest home. the location is perfect and i would recomend that you try the flan too! i plan to go there again soon. NAME: Missy SUBMITTED: 5/3/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/03/06 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: I am not Cuban, just an average anglo who usually likes different types of food. Went for lunch. I did not like what I ordered, the plate lunch #6, shredded pork with beans/rice. Just could not eat much of it. The purple mix of rice/beans had strange flavor and texture. The shredded pork was very dry and did not have any flavor. Did not cost much, but I did not like any of it. NAME: tried it once SUBMITTED: 4/26/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/06 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Wow! It's like going to a good friend house it feels comfortable, familiar It may not be as elegant as other Cuban restaurants in Houston like the one with all the pictures of Cuba on the walls but the food tastes great, the portions are big & the service is slow but friendly, Another great thing is their prices! Same great food but half the cost of the other guys! Don't change a thing exept for the mint green paint on the walls. NAME: sssb SUBMITTED: 2/21/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/06 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: A.Perez could've said it better. Food is excellent, restaurant could use some help but who cares. It just makes it more authentic. After going to Cafe P*iquet and not seeing my favorite waiter and noticed that the food was just not the same. I went to the internet and found LaVina. The food at LaVina is much more flavorful and I was so excited to see my favorite waiter, DIEGO who I met years ago at the old Cafe M*iami then followed him to Cafe P*iquet. He can wait on tables, clean tables do it all and always is so pleasant. I rate this the BEST CUBAN CUISINE in Houston. You have to end your meal with flan and a cafe con leche. SABROSO! NAME: h.mas-cirrone SUBMITTED: 12/19/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/17/2005 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: This place has really good cuban food. Anyone who likes Cafe P*iquets will love this place because the owner is the old chef from Cafe P*iquets. The prices are downright cheap. The food is absolutely delicious. I have had the Picadillo, which melts in your mouth. I also love their croquetas and empanadas. My favorite dish is the Masitas Fritas (fried pork chunks). My family had the Palomilla and loved it. Honestly, this place is even better than Cafe P*iquets now because its cheaper and tastes alot like P*iquet's used to taste. The only downside is that its in a shady looking strip center and the actual establishment is sparsely decorated and downright ugly. But who cares with food this good? If you are going for lunch, try and get there early because all the tables fill up kind of quickly. Everytime I have been here, it has been crowded. Even for dinner. If you have children take that into consideration, because there is really no place to wait for a table. But they serve food quickly and it doesn't take that long for a table to open up. Overall I highly recommend this place. NAME: a perez SUBMITTED: 12/1/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: November 24, 2005 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: This is a happy addition to the Westchase lunch time dining scene. A group of six of us went to eat lunch. We intend to add this restaurant to our everyday regular lunch rotation. Everything was very tasty. Service was quick. They take credit cards and were willing to split checks when we went to the counter to pay. The decor is pretty minimal, but clean. The menu has my favorites that I used to get at the Cafe P*iquet when I worked in Bellaire. The table was served with two loaves of hot, crusty bread. Two of us had the ropa vieja (stewed beef round steak), one had the piccadillo (spiced ground beef sort of like homemade chili), one had the the roast pork one the grilled chicken breast, and one of us had something like a chicken fried steak. The ropa vieja was $7.95 per plate and (I think) the rest were $6.95 each. Each plate had rice, black beans, and either boiled yucca with garlic sauce or fried plantains. Service size was large- we were all full and some left food on their plates. NAME: Jim from Westchase SUBMITTED: 10/19/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/19 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: This is probably the best of the affordable Cuban restaurants in town and it is a relatively new establishment. The chef used to work at Cafe P*iquet (the best Cuban restaurant in town -- but not as affordable). If you don't mind eating at a hole in a wall establishment in an area that is populated with Colombian hangouts and discoteques, then this is a good stop. I had batido de Mamey, batido de Mango for drinks. They were good. The Mamey wasn't sweet enough to my liking so I added sugar -- a quick fix! The appetizers were scrumptions. I loved the fried yuccas as well as the croquetas de jamon (I definitely would recommend the croquetas). Another table had empanadas and I must admit, it did make my mouth water. It looked good from afar and the lady eating it was daydreaming after she took her bite. For the entrees, I had the masitas fritas (fried pork chunks), they were good, but I thought my brother's plate, La Palomilla, was even better. The thin cut steak had a good flavor and size and came with sauteed onions. The rice and beans came with the plate as well as the delicious plantains. My only complaints were the beans as I thought they could be better. But still, they were good especially after I ate them the traditional style -- sprinkled with sugar on top. My other complaint would be that they only had a small menu. And at the time I had a craving for the vaca frita... and they didn't have it. :-( I wanted to have dessert, but the pastelito de guayaba and queso was gone -- they ran out for the evening I was there. But surely enough, I never ever had a bad Cuban pastelito. I would recommend others to try it out. Lunes a Sabado (Monday to Saturday) 9 am - 9 pm NAME: jdnn SUBMITTED: 10/10/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: October 2005 FREQUENCY: Visited once ©Copyright 1991 - 2008 B4-U-EAT.COM. All rights reserved. Design and database by B4-U-BUY