El Sapo - Silver Spring, MD

El Sapo is very atmospheric with background live music. If you've never had a Cuban sandwich this is a great start. The layers of pork/ham, cheese, and pickled cucumber are juicy, generous, and come together so well.

Rating: 5 star plates 🍽️ 🍽️ 🍽️ 🍽️ 🍽️

If you are into Cuban food you may just have a new hangout spot. It's very atmospheric with background live music. They added a mojito garden to enjoy the weather in the warm months. Get the platter to share with friends and try the variety of Cuban street food - from beef empanadas and chorizo sliders.

The yucca fries are crisp on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. Once you have these you will side-eye conventional fries.

Nothing better than a fresh, mint stuffed mojito on a hot, humid day. El Sapo in alignment with it’s social club status has a wonderful mojito garden dedicated to the drink and perfect for happy hour. Get a pitcher, you will not regret it.

Get the sampler! In a group this is the most ideal way to get a taste of much of the street cusisine Cuba has to offer. With empanadas; salt cod croquettes, puerco asado on grilled bread, tostones (plantain patties), spicy beef burgers, fried yuca batons, and Cubano sandwiches with hot pressed ham, cheese, roast pork, pickle, mustard and french fries; nothing is missing here.

One of the juiciest, simplest, most flavorful sliders out there. Worth getting alone if there aren’t enough of you for the sampler. Chorizo has that ability.

A pleasant surprise and unique little sweet treat good as dessert but would do well as an afternoon coffee snack. This puff pastry stuffed with guava cream and some whipped ream as a compliment is very desirable.

It seems impossible to conceive of a restaurant with Spanish roots not to have churros on the table as a dessert item. These are soft and warm and will be a great end to your meal.