CAO Bakery & Cafe 1973 Northeast 163rd Street, Miami, FL 33162

"My friend and I are visiting from Maryland. I grew up visiting my Cuban family in the Miami area, but my friend had never tried any Cuban food, so I wanted to take her to a Cuban bakery. She wanted to try several different things, and the selection was great, so we spent several minutes looking at all of the options before approaching someone to order. One of the employees greeted us at the counter. My friend started going through what she wanted, but she couldn't remember all of the things she wanted to try, and she had to keep going back to the case to look before telling the employee. That seemed to annoy the employee very much, and she was all but rolling her eyes every time my friend pointed at the case. At the moment, we were the only ones at the counter ordering anything, so I'm not sure what the problem was. In any event, my friend finished her order and paid, and the employee started putting everything together. After the employee brought everything to the counter for my friend, she looked at me and then called out a number. Apparently, you need to take a number to put in your order. However, the numbers are to the right of the door, at the end of the counter, so you wouldn't see them unless you knew to look there. We're not locals, so we didn't know to look there or take a number. In any event, I had to wait for 3 people to put in their orders before she called my number, despite having taken my friends order without a number, I had to wait about 10 minutes to place my order. I actually knew what I wanted, but the employee still seemed impatient with me. So maybe that's just their default? She did smile when I put several dollars in the tip jar. I ordered a medianoche, capuchino, guava pastelitos, and chicken croquetas (mostly to go). Everything was very tasty. My friend ordered a variety of pastelitos and empanadas, and her favorite was the beef pastelito. We both agreed that the medianoche was very tasty, and our favorite of everything we got. I originally planned to go back to order a bunch of pastelitos to take back home, but after our experience with the service, I will try somewhere else for that."

"Yesterday I went to pick up my online order that was supposed to be ready at 8:45am. When I got there, I was made to wait while no one attended me or even acknowledged I was there, then had the wrong tray given which made me late to work. When I got to work I realized the ham in the bocaditos looked gray and slimy. Upon further inspection, they were FULL OF MOLD!! I’m so glad I noticed before anyone took a bite and had gotten sick. I’m so disappointed in my experience, and had to throw my money away because I was too far away to go back and get a return."

"We had a great response from server handling a nasty customer today. Staff was very professional and on point, letting the rude customer know our rights. We celebrate business like this!! It is not about racism or discrimination but, being educated and polite. High five to CAO administration for keeping America free. The cake and tray of mixed pastelitos were super fresh! First time visiting you guys at this location and my experience couldn’t be more positive. Keep it up guys!!!"

"Cuban American Original (COA) was a great quick fix for that post running hunger! I ordered The Original and some pasties to give this cafe/bakery a real taste. The Original was broken down between the dish, bread and coffee. The dish was a 7/10, the eggs were a little lacking but it was eggs with ham and it’s hard to mess that up. The coffee with milk was a 7/10, I expected the coffee to taste stronger. The Cuban bread with butter was a 9/10 with a good amount of butter and toasted and the bread was still soft which was nice. The pastries that I picked were the tequeño with cheese (Colombian) and a baked and fried empanada (both ham and cheese for grading fairness). The all the pastries were a bit on the colder side and the tequeno was not melted which was a let down. The empanadas crust was on point but the inside goodies were a bit of a let down so it earned a 4/10. Overall the restaurant/cafe looks nice for a quick meal and the presentation is great too. The food experience was nothing out of this planet but for a quick fix, it hits the spot. Overall a 4/5 star is well fitting and I would recommend AS A QUICK FIX! But I’ve been to better places in Hialeah if I am being honest. Happy eating :)"