La Tropicana is a small neighborhood market and restuarant, located at 5001 Lindenwood, St. Louis, Mo.
The restaurant/market sits smack in the middle of its neighborhood, and sits on a corner. Driving up on it, and even up close from outside, did not give my wife and I a great first impression. We were meeting someone for dinner here, our friends Rick and Cindy, so we proceeded in anyway.
Sites and smells of the market surrounded us immediately. The door opened into the market side of the place, and the it was abuzz with shoppers. We were greeted right away, and spotting Rick and Cindy, were led back to their table.
The feel of the place is that of a corner deli and market. Seating was informal and sparse. There were about five tables for four out front of the glass case. No barrier stood between the eating area and the market. the menus were photocopies on every color paper under the rainbow, but were easy to read, with black lettering.
Rick and Ciny were ready to show us the ropes on the menu and ordering. There are little tricks in this place. One, you can order any drink they have in the market. Two, they don’t really do the formal check thing. Three, all deserts and drinks are basically the same price. When you ring out, you tell the cashier how many deserts and drinks you had, and they add it to your bill. Very trusting.
Down to the choices…. the fair contained several Cuban specific dishes, including a St. Louis famous Cubana Sandwich. Beyond just Cuban dishes, were many South American standards, such as empanadas and croquettes. We’d come to try the Cuban food, our first time ever, so we stuck to those items.
Sharon had the Cuban sandwich, while I had a dish called Ropa Vieja, or “old clothes.” Rick ordered the same as myself, and Cindy ordered another one of the Cuban dishes. The waitress spoke both english and Spanish, making ordering easier.
Our waitress was very attentive and was ready to take our order right away. After that though, it was about a 15 minute wait for the food to arrive. This was perfect, as we had time to visit and catch up with our hosts. While we waited, a carafe of water was brought to our table as three of us just drank water.
Our dinners arrived and we were not disappointed. My wife’s Cuban sandwich was warm, the bread fresh, but crusty, and the meat was tender and juicy. My “old clothes” dinner was very tasty also. It had the simmered beef over rice, served with a side of yuca and a surprise treat, glazed plantains. Quite yummy overall. The sample bites of Cindy’s dish were also quite good.
Deserts were another matter, as they had several choices, all from local pastery and desert makers. We settled on a couple of chocolate covered cheesecakes to share. Scrumptious!!!!!
This restaurant might be out of the way, and definitely casual, but it was a fantastic find. We both enjoyed our food, and the pricing was great. Overall value is 5/5 on this place, with a great variety. Service was also very good, the desert choices were all mouth-watering.
As an added bonus, La Tropicana is considered the number one Hispanic and South American market in St. Louis. It carries ingredients for food from Peruvian to Cuban and Brazilian, all under one roof.
Highly recommended if you are down that way.
Final Rating: 4 Star(s)
