Local Cuban Cocina - Johns Creek

This restaurant is now called Cocina San Miguel and newly opened. I've never been so I decided to stop in to get lunch to-go. I was the only one in the restaurant mid-weekday and was promptly greeted by the hostess. I placed an order for the fajita chicken chimichanga. The service was great and the wait was about 10 minutes. The portion was generous and well presented. The chicken in the chimichanga was nicely flavored and in large pieces vs. shredded chicken. There was a generous serving of bell peppers in the chimichanga and extra cheese on top. The rice was bright and colorful but tasted flavorless. Overall, the food is good and generously portioned but could use more seasoning. The menu is large and offers Mexican dishes, Cuban dishes, pastas, and more.

Let me first start this review off by saying it takes a lot for me to leave a one star rating. I went into Local Cuban Cocina earlier this afternoon and ordered a palomilla steak with rice, black beans and platanos maduros. The steak had so much fat on it, that I literally had to throw away more than half of it. The beans are not authentic, they have carrots, onions and other things in it. The rice was fine. The platanos maduros were ok, but certainly not like authentic Cuban restaurants. For $20, I would've expected a better cut of steak. Do yourself a favor, don't waste your money here.

As a Cubana who recently moved from Miami- the location of largest population of Cubans and Cuban Americans outside of Cuba- I KNOW good Cuban food. I had hopes for this place based upon the reviews and a mention that the chef possibly had been on staff at Versailles in Miami (IYKYK). I finally ate here the day before yesterday with my daughter and I will likely not return. Their food has the potential to be good, but it suffered from cut corners. We were the ONLY patrons late afternoon Monday. I ordered the ropa vieja with arroz blanco, frijoles y maduros. The food came out quickly, but was extremely bland (perhaps just an issue of grossly undersalting) and my maduros while being a generous serving were raw inside and the outside was pale. Anyone who knows good Cuban maduros knows the golden color and necessary caramelization of the outside. Ordered the fried Yuca app, a generous portion beautiful presentation but also undercooked and soggy causing the Yuca to absorb way more oil than necessary if it had been fried correctly. My daughter's Pollo a la plancha had no seasoning or salt it seemed, but was black it looked and tasted like it had been cooked in a pan that had burnt oil from a previous fry job. I truly cannot understand all the good reveiews about the food. I guess unless you have had REAL, delicious Cuban food you have nothing to compare to. Again, I think the concept it great and it has potential but they need to make serious changes to how they crank out food. There was no reason to hurry out a mediocre plate when we were the only patrons. Most patrons I would venture to say would rather wait 10 minutes longer and have their food cooked correctly (fried longer, pan cleaned and new oil used) than get terrible food fast.

Loved it! It was such a wonderful meal!! And I loved the environment of the restaurant

This is easily the best Cuban food I have ever had in Georgia. The owner, Carlos, is so friendly and obviously cares very much about his customers. He informed us the breads are super authentic and imported from Tampa, and that everything else is fresh and made in house. This definitely shows in the quality of the food.My husband and I tried the Tostones Sampler, Cubano, and Palomilla. Everything was delicious. Portions were generous, and prices were very fair. I thought that the sandwich, in particular, was a very good value. Only $9 for a large sandwich and a side. Would be a nice lunch option.Highly recommend this place. We will absolutely be back for a return visit.