Café El Sol

For $17.95 the all you can eat buffet of Fried Cod Fish also featured baked Cod Fish and other food options as well. Arroz Gandules and pinto beans and chicken fajita and cheese enchiladas. There was also purple cabbage Cole slaw. The food was fresh and was very flavorful. My wife is from the Dominican Republic and is not easily impressed, but she was very pleased with the meal. My 8 year old ate for the price of $8.95. The Friday night fish fry starts at 5 Pm. If you arrive at 6:30 Pm they feature live music. Cafe El Sol Is located inside the UCC. The service was good from both the waiter and the cooking staff. Will definitely return again.

Finding Cafe El Sol is like a treasure hunt because it's in the basement of a community center. Trust me you won't be sad when you eat the food.We went for the Friday fish fry because we wanted something different. The only downside is that the buffet was the only available option. The options were plentiful and I really enjoyed how they prepared the fried cod. The breading was thin and had great flavor and was not bland. I think I got four pieces of fish! The rest of the buffet had some healthy options. There was as vegetable medley and rice, etc. You didn't feel like you were eating only fried things. They also had baked fish option but I didn't get to try it but my friends loved it!I definitely will be back for the fish fry buffet but want to try out their other options as well.

This is a rare find. It is a fusion of Mexican and Puerto Rican food. The food is excellent. They offer daily specials and "guisados". I had Puerto Rican pasteles and they were amazing. I've eaten there several times and have never been disappointed. Restaurant is affiliated with a school next door that is independently run and It supports the surrounding community and delivered meals to home bound during COVID pandemic. They kept restaurant staff employed. They have live music on Friday nights. I plan on checking it out soon. And to top it off the prices are so reasonable. Find it and try it out.

Looking for a unique Friday fish fry experience? Look no further. This place is great. It's in the basement of a community center, so the ambiance is, shall we say, unusual, but the food ...! I've never had Puerto Rican rice and beans with my fish fry, but it was delicious! The cabbage slaw was lime-y with a hint of jalepeño and I couldn't pick between the fried cod and the baked cod - both were incredibly tasty. They also had beef, pork and chicken, if fish isn't your thing. And the music ...! Last night, it was a 6-piece Latin jazz outfit called Latin Sound System and they wer terrific. Check their schedule on their Facebook page. It's an all-you-can eat buffet for about $15. Full bar, too.

Looking for a different sort of Friday fish fry? Here's your place, an oddly placed restaurant hidden in the basement of the UCC, a school and community center on the near south side, your meal won't be expensive and your money goes towards one of the best community based organizations and programs in the Midwest, so you can feel good about eating too much. Open only Mondays through Fridays, you should go a little early to check out the little art gallery upstairs, it's always interesting, same with some of the little history displays in the lobby area. The food is partly Mexican, partly Puerto Rican. Their breakfast and lunch is delicious, but the best part of the week is the Friday fish fry. There's no one there when it starts at 5 (not sharp), but that's when the fish (served buffet style, with rice and beans and a couple of other sides) is best, and you know you can get a table. Make sure you order a margarita before you start, and get a good Mexican beer to go with. The fried fish is unique, with Latin seasoning, they'll (eventually) bring you tortillas to go with, although it's all you can eat, be careful with that. Maybe it's just me, but when food is served this way, I eat one or two more pieces of fish past comfort. The fish that isn't fried is somehow even less healthy, as it is served swimming in butter, but it's even more delicious. Then at 6 or 6:30 (not sharp), some very talented musicians start playing, and I should have mentioned earlier, although the restaurant is in a school basement, the decor and ambiance is quite pretty, you'd pay twice this much if the restaurant weren't part of a not-for-profit community center. A couple of drinks and the fish fry comes to slightly over $30 for two, add the music, the friendly atmosphere, and I can't imagine a nicer Friday evening. It's an early Friday evening though, the music and food cease by 9. Parking is easy except during school hours (don't even try to come here by car when school lets out), there's a little neighborhood park right out in front with parking on the street on all four sides. Don't let anyone frighten you off by telling you this is a bad neighborhood, the couple of blocks surrounding this community center are pretty, old houses occupied by working families, and besides, there's a beautiful Mexican-Catholic grotto right next to the restaurant, so if you're a believer, that will protect your soul. http://www.unitedcc.org/index.htm

I have been wanting to try Cafe El Sol ever since reading in the Milwaukee Journal about what a great fish fry they have on Friday nights. I was super excited to try it out when coming up to Milwaukee to take a friend to dinner. Similar to what another reviewer said (I wish I'd have read these reviews before going, but I took the Milwaukee Journal at their word), I took a look at the buffet style fish fry and was like, "You're kidding, right?" They have no regular menu items available on Friday nights. Overly shredded lettuce with a few random other vegetables here and there; some plain white rice; plain pintos; some carnitas; chicken thighs; some version of Spanish rice; some broiled fish and at the end of the buffet line, a bin of fried fish that looked like it'd been sitting there for an hour. Everything was cold. I tried a bite of the fried fish and it was stale and chewy, difficult to break apart with my fork and knife to even eat. I barely took more than two bites of anything on my plate. My friend tried a bite of his fish and didn't eat any more of it. The best thing there was to eat on the entire table was the tortilla chips and salsa, and even that was meh. Sigh. The service was pretty sparse. If they offer other drinks besides water I would not know because they never asked to take a drink order. They did ask a couple of times if everything was okay. My friend and I decided not to complain and just enjoy our conversation and pay $30 + 15% tip for a lesson learned -- to read Yelp reviews of a place before heading there. I threw in an extra star just because I don't want to be mean, and since I didn't give them an opportunity to comp the meal. As we left and made plans for a next time, my friend said next time I make the drive he'll take me to Guadelajara instead.

Milwaukee's got plenty of great Mexican restaurants. But Cafe El Sol is something different. It's a Latin restaurant. It has great Mexican AND great Puerto Rican, the latter more hard to find in Brew City. Cafe El Sol is located in the basement of Centro de la Communidad Unida, otherwise known as the UCC, a community center on Walker Square that features a school, health clinic and other services. Cafe El Sol is a money-generator for this great organization. So, not only do you get authentic, top-notch Latin food, you're helping support one the most important non-profit organizations serving Milwaukee's Latino community.

Oh wow... Cafe El Sol is definitely a hidden gem of Milwaukee...turns out there are quite a few of 'em in this small big city of ours. I recently visited this medium sized cafe -- located in the basement of the community center -- for their Friday fish fry, which was described by fellow Yelp-er Jessica O. as a "fish fry with a twist!"For just under $12 you get an all you can eat buffet which includes salad, rice, refried beans, baked fish, and some of the most delicious, tender fried fish I think I've ever had -- seriously yum-tastic. The fish flakes away ever so slightly and combines well with rice and beans in a (provided) warm flour tortilla!The service was polite and as accommodating as service for a buffet can be; the waitress was especially nice towards the baby of my dining companions. What makes this place even more unique is the live band that apparently plays every Friday evening! Last Friday's selection was a duet with keyboard and bongo -- hearing a Latin-themed instrumental version of "Jingle Bells" was a nice touch. It wasn't too crowded either, which definitely cut down on the noise level, but I imagine on a nicer night we might have waited quite a bit for a table.I will definitely return to Cafe El Sol and highly recommend you visit as well!

Cafe El Sol is sensational! Their Friday buffet has a wonderful lemony coleslaw (or salad) along with Puerto Rican or white rice, shredded pork, fried and baked fish, chicken, and several other items. This buffet is all you can eat and costs less than $14. Frozen margaritas are delicious and relatively inexpensive ($6). The frosting on the cake however is their live entertainment featuring great Milwaukee LatinX entertainment who were astonishing and a great treat!

I ate there last night with my daughter and granddaughter, after a program at the Latino Arts Center. I read the yelp reviews which say the buffet is small--which it is--but I don't see that as a negative. The food was really good! I especially liked the cabbage slaw with cilantro and a very acidic vinaigrette. Yum! The "pork stew" was delicious and even the chicken quarters were great. I had some Spanish rice, as well. And the salsa was spicy, but not overpowering. Yum!My only complaint was the service was confusing. We wanted to order some margaritas, but couldn't figure out if we had to go to the bar, or if there was table service. The waitress was at our table for water several times, but never asked! Someone finally asked my daughter as she was on her way back from the buffet. Kind of weird. But the margaritas were tasty!The music was fun, but a little loud for talking. But all in all a good meal. I will come back!