Flaco's Cuban Bakery

Came here with my friend after a night out in downtown Gainesville. Flaco's Cuban Bakery is located on the edge of the main attractions in the downtown area. Their menu consists of a variety of Cuban sandwiches, arepas, bowls, and Cuban pastries. They are open late and are a great spot to hit up for a late night munch. The inside isn't super big and there aren't a lot of seating options. The service was fine and our food didn't take too long to come out to us. My friend and I split the nachos with pork, while I also enjoyed a Cuban sandwich. The nachos included a tortilla chips topped with ample amounts of refried black beans, sour cream, shredded cheese, nacho cheese, lettuce, pico de galo, pickled jalapeños, and shredded pork. These were ok, not the best nachos I've had, but not the worst either. The chips reminded me of Tostitos. There was too many beans on the nachos, making them very heavy and soggy. We both appreciated the pork and thought it had a lot of flavor though. This wasn't our favorite and we thought ordering nachos from Taco Bell would have left us more satisfied. Now my Cuban sandwich was absolutely amazing. The sandwich included shredded pork, ham, mayo, mustard, pickles, and Swiss cheese, pressed on this delicious Cuban bread. The meat had immense flavor, the mustard added some tang, while the Swiss cheese was nice and melty. I really loved the bread it was on, so good! The sandwich was nice and warm when it came out, indicating it was fresh and made to order. I would 100% come back here just for the sandwich, definitely worth it!Overall, Flaco's is a super chill place that serves good Cuban food located downtown. The eatery is very chill and ordering is very simple. It is open late and is a great spot to grab some grub after a night out on the town. We didn't love our nachos, but I loved my Cuban sandwich. I would return to order that sandwich any day! I would recommend checking Flaco's out if you have a hankering for some Cuban cuisine. My rating would be higher if it weren't for the nachos. I would stick to their Cuban cuisine. Can't wait to come back and try more of their sandwiches, and maybe even some pastries too!

Has Flaco's quality gone down over the years, or was I just a drunk college student when I used to like it? We were driving up north and craving Cuban food, so we decided to quickly stop at Flaco's for a bite. The parking was horrendous, but that's expected of downtown Gainesville. Just as bad as the parking was their selection and quality of bakery snacks.The guava and cheese pastelitos were horrible; stale dough and barely any cheese. After my first bite I even thought they gave me the guava-only pastelitos... you couldn't taste the cheese. The empanadas were dry, and the dough was terrible as well, but the flavor of the filling saved them. The quesitos were the best of the bunch. If you're expecting South Florida quality Cuban dulces... you're in for a treat. Maybe I just had too high of expectations?

I absolutely adore Flaco'sI visit Gainesville annually for The Fest and I MUST eat at Flaco's while I am there. The portions and the prices are fantastic. All of the food comes out tasty and filling. The staff is always friendly and I love the touch screen ordering system.

Had a few meals from here while I was in GNV for Fest. Cuban, Ropa Vieja, pastries. I love Cuban food and could have eaten here multiple times a day over the weekend. Service seemed slow but I guess that is to be expected with how packed the shop was. If I'm ever in town not during Fest I'd love to come and have a real sit down meal.

Flaco's has some of the best Cuban food in Gainesville, and it's one of the only restaurants downtown open really late at night. I stopped by around 10:30pm for a super late dinner, and they still had plenty of delicious food cooking and a line to the door. I tried the ropa arepas and the chicken plantain arepas, which were both cooked to perfection. The chicken plantain one had a unique sweetness to it. I also got the cheese pastry for dessert because a friend said I just had to try it. I liked it for sure, but I can't say that it really wowed me. It may have been sitting out a little bit.The only real negative thing I have to say is that it was a bit dirty with all the open tables having a little bit of old food left on them and the occasional fly, but it is summer in Florida. Overall, I think this place is worth a try. Thanks, Flaco's!

This is my favorite Cuban sandwich restaurant. However the last time I was there I ordered two sandwiches, got charged for two and only got one. I have left over 3 messages on the answering machine wanted a refund for the missing sandwich and it's been over two months now. Maybe this will get their attention?? I love this place and their food but that kind of customer service is a major turn off.

Very good sandwiches if you like meat. My favorite is one called the Scarface (if they still have it) . Great place to go after a night at the clubs. Only complaint is that they got rid of the Ciders :(

Absolute worse customer service waited over hour to be told we shouldn't have order fromKiosk then after inquiring about the food which was only suppose to take 45 mins this place has went way down hill!!!!

A great place to get a bowl or tacos. The pastries are also fresh and served with love. Highly recommend!

Dank Cuban, would recommend you eat it. They sell alcohol too, so why wouldn't you go?