Juan's Black Bean Cafe's lunch and dinner menus are three pages long, with appetizers like ham croquettes, Cuban tamales and beef empanadas; garbanzo, black bean, and chicken and rice soups; five different salads; a long list of Cuban specialty sandwiches and platters at lunch, with steak, pork, chicken, fish and seafood entrees at night; and exotic desserts like guava in shells, papaya and cream cheese, and flan, all served on heavy china with polished silverware.
Prices range from $5.79 to $8 for sandwiches or platters at lunch and from $8.95 to $25 for entrees with salad and two side dishes at dinner.
The restaurant's wines are from Chile, Spain, Germany, France and California, by the glass for $4 to $6.25 and by the bottle for $22 to $60. There are also draft and bottled beers, specialty drinks (wine-based margaritas, daiquiris and pina coladas) and dessert wines from Spain.
The decor looks like something straight out of Ybor City - or Havana - with dark woods, tile floor, windows etched with palm trees, trompe l'oeil brick patches in the golden ochre walls, a deep wine-colored ceiling and arched doorways. A fenced patio along Main Street has tables shaded by large umbrellas, facing Nebraska Avenue is a brick patio with tables some under roof, others under arbor and still others under umbrellas, with ceiling fans and a tinkling lion's head water fountain and flowering vines and bushes giving the feel of a tropical haven. One other thing: Be sure to visit the powder rooms, each of them with its own special hand-painted murals (look for the black cats lurking in the bamboo in the men's room) and decorator items.
As for the food, Juan keeps close watch. "What I don't actually cook, I supervise and make sure it's my recipes that are done," he says.
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday; closed Sunday.
Parking on the street, in front of the restaurant or in the public parking lot behind Richey Suncoast Theatre. (Caution: Do NOT park between the restaurant and the Karl Reef, or you will be towed). Call (727) 844-0678.