Miami Master Cantinero Julio Cabrera Opens La Cumbancha

Miami's master cantinero and cofounder of Café La Trova, Julio Cabrera, has opened a new Cuban restaurant in Miami Lakes.

Miamians and tourists alike are intimately familiar with Café La Trova, known across the city as a Little Havana staple thanks to its retro Cuba atmosphere and its drink-slinging cantineros, or Cuban bartenders.

Now, the restaurant's master cantinero is offering a new place to experience that same Cuban-inspired entertainment further north.

"I have lived in Miami Lakes for years, and I am close to the community," says Julio, who opened the establishment alongside several partners, including his son Andy Cabrera, as well as members of Café La Trova's bar team. "My friends always tell me they want a place [closer to Miami Lakes]."

Julio tells New Times he didn't want it to be a repeat of his popular restaurant in partnership with Miami chef Michelle Bernstein. Instead, he hoped to create something new with La Cumbancha.

The restaurant opened its doors last week, offering guests a lively atmosphere, plenty of live music, and those stellar cantineros, the name a nod to Julio's Cuban roots, a phrase that means to gather with friends and family to have fun, drink, and dance. A typical dinner at La Cumbancha will have staff interacting with the band, and managers and servers will dance to live music alongside guests who will pause their meals to join a conga line or dance between bites.
"With that kind of music, of course, you have to dance," says Julio. "The restaurant is an extension of myself. Since the beginning of my career, I have danced while working, I feel the music, so I want people to feel that too. I want my employees to work but have fun and be part of the show. It's natural, it's Cuban, it's La Cumbancha."

The Cuban-American concept takes inspiration from 1970s Miami, which Julio describes as an important period for Cubans. He says he wanted a space that represents the first generation of Cuban-Americans in Miami and all the good things brought by them.

The references are all around the restaurant, from colorful walls to the decorations, and sayings like, "¿Qué Pasa, USA?" printed on the piano, an ode to the old TV show that portrayed the older generation of Cubans and their kids raised in the U.S., with half speaking English, the other half Spanish.

The dining experience is a blend of Latin and European flavors, so expect to find influences from Cuba, Italy, Spain, and France on the menu created by chef Carlos Hidalgo and Yoel Suarez, who also helped curate the restaurant's wine list.

Signature dishes include picadillo a la habanera and maduros served with chimichurri; Spanish sausage croquetas with orange marmalade; rabo encendido with wood-fired oxtail; tostones chilindrón de chivo with braised goat; and filet mignon with walnut and anchovy sauce.

The in-house wood-fire oven adds three pizza options to the menu, including the "La Cumbancha," made with sweet onion, mozzarella, aged goat cheese, tomato sauce, bacon, oregano, and homemade rustic bread.
"We wanted Cuban-inspired dishes and an international menu," says Julio. "A month ago, we were doing a La Trova pop-up in different bars in Asia, and when we were in Thailand, there was a popular dessert with sticky rice and mango. I thought it would be awesome to have a dessert called arroz con mango, which means a mess in Cuba, on the menu."

Andy explains that the dish started as a joke, but it turned into a variation of the dish Julio had in Thailand. The arroz con mango is a vegan arroz con leche made with coconut milk, rice, and mango and toasted coconut on top.

The highlight of La Cumbancha is the specialty cocktail menu. It offers a mix of signature drinks, classic cocktails, and a tropical array of non-alcoholic beverages. Andy describes the selections as vibrant, colorful, and full of character.

Each cocktail has its own story. Take the "El Caballo" daiquiri, one Loiver created and dedicated to Julio for the Bacardi master daiquiri competition hosted by Café La Trova, while Andy crafted the "Mabuya" in dedication to Loiver and the region where he grew up in Cuba.

The rest of the after-dinner menu includes desserts made in-house by a pastry chef paired with cocktails and dessert wines, Café El Sacrificio coffee, and Sacrificio Cigars (Julio's coffee and cigar brands) that can be enjoyed in the outdoor seating area.

"We wanted tropical Latin flavors with an artistic style of 1970s Miami," says Andy. "And that's exactly what you'll get at La Cumbancha."

La Cumbancha. 6743 Main St., Miami Lakes; 305-456-5972; lacumbanchamiami.com. Wednesday through Sunday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.