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Kuba Kuba is located at 1601 Park Ave in the Fan.
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Huevos California with eggs, red beans, Kuba bread, enchilado sauce and avocado
Kuba Kuba, a vibrant bodega-cafe at 1601 Park Ave., was conceptualized by accident when its owners, chef Manny Mendez and restaurateur Johnny Giavos, were scoping out Bogart’s on Lombardy Street (today Trouvaille). The area’s traffic flow didn’t appeal to Mendez, but he was drawn to the old Stuart Circle Pharmacy building around the corner, then operating as a coffee shop.
As Cuban-born Mendez waxed poetic about selling staples from his home country — like beef picadillo empanadillas and pressed Cuban sandwiches — Giavos helped turn that fever dream into reality, convincing him that Richmond was ready for thick, authentic loaves cradling pickles, pork and Smithfield ham and slow-cooked ropa vieja (shredded beef flank stewed with peppers and onions over rice).
Chef Manny Mendez
Kuba Kuba opened in 1998, when Mendez was in his mid-30s, fresh off running Moondance Saloon in Shockoe Bottom. Now 64, he still works 80-hour weeks, especially when his kitchen crew — several of whom have more than two decades at the eatery’s stove — take a much-needed vacation. His waitstaff and customers are just as loyal.
“The same people come for breakfast every day,” Mendez says, “and one guy comes in twice a day, at least. He knows we’ll take care of him.”
Breakfast (and dinner) are served all day at Kuba Kuba, where the aroma of espresso crema wafts down the long lunch counter. But Mendez’s favorite dish is the black bean soup: thick, comforting and brightened with a squeeze of Rana’s housemade hot sauce, a blend of habanero, mango and carrot.
Mendez’s mother, Judith, 89, makes the restaurant’s ethereally moist tres leches cake with a baker’s precision, frosting each sheet with an Italian meringue that stands at attention. Portions reflect the family’s generosity. Folks come here to get fed, sometimes for days; I swear my leftover paella gets bigger in the carryout container.
Catering to the colorful room is what Mendez thrives on, delivering plates and swapping stories with customers old and new. “I’m grateful and always happily surprised that people are still going out to eat,” he says.
