Pretty interesting space in the heart of downtown Palo Alto. With lavish like interior. Two sides for dining inside and outdoor seating. Wish we could have sat on the bar side but still great service. The food was different. Definitely the Cuban flavors and a hint of different textures. Definitely a niche cubano space in the area that's a must try if you haven't been.

Hands down one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area. There's only a handful of restaurants I'd recommend to people if they want a nice meal that won't disappoint and this is one of them. Ordered the potato croquetas, ropa vieja, and the mezcalito. POTATO CROQUETAS: they were nice a crispy on the outside but super soft on the inside. A mix of a little sweet and salty. Very tasty and came with a delicious dipping sauce. ROPA VIEJA: had my mouth watering! The beef was so tender, juicy and flavorful. Paired really well with the rice, which was cooked perfectly, not hard but not soft and full of flavor. Me trying to describe it does not do it justice.

Went with some friends to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday was amazing , we had sangria, delicious , Ropa Vieja delicious . Service was amazing , I ask the host was amazing so Grateful for him , atmosphere was so much fun , thank you to everyone there ! !

Came here on a Tuesday night (date night!) for dinner and did outdoor dining. Very nice ambiance since we choose seats that enabled us to see the street of downtown Palo Alto and live music playing at Terun --it's a vibe y'all. It was a bit of a chilly evening so we ordered seafood ajiaco, which is an like a seafood stew. This dish was delicious --very savory and buttery! It included x2 lobster tails (4 half tails), lotta mussels, shrimp, and yuca/plantains in mildly spicy tomato cream sauce. It came out in a pan w/ a side of rice and your choice of salad or slaw. There was so much food, we had to take some home with us. We also ordered drinks, mine was the "hemingway" - was a bit sour for me, but overall decent. Came here on a Tuesday night (date night!) for dinner and did outdoor dining. Very nice ambiance since we choose seats that enabled us to see the street of downtown Palo Alto and live music playing at Terun --it's a vibe y'all. It was a bit of a chilly evening so we ordered seafood ajiaco, which is an like a seafood stew. This dish was delicious --very savory and buttery! It included x2 lobster tails (4 half tails), lotta mussels, shrimp, and yuca/plantains in mildly spicy tomato cream sauce. It came out in a pan w/ a side of rice and your choice of salad or slaw. There was so much food, we had to take some home with us. We also ordered drinks, mine was the "hemingway" - was a bit sour for me, but overall decent.

We had a great girls' night out at Boguedita del Medio. It's so nice that you can reserve a table and not worry about crowds or a wait - the indoor/outdoor seating is nice, too. My friend and I got margaritas and shared small plates together - the ensalada de yesica, croquetas (yummm) and plantain chips. Everything was filling and flavorful without being heavy. Our server was very warm and attentive and made sure to check in on us as we stayed a while catching up. Looking forward to coming back and trying more dishes!

On a whim, my SIL decided to have her bday dinner in the sunnier & warmer part of the Peninsula vs. San Francisco. We browsed around Stanford Shopping Center then hit our reservation at 6pm. We called that day and found out that it only had a spot for outdoor seating at 6pm, otherwise 5:00 or 7:30pm inside. The weather was nice so we didn't mind sitting outside. When we parked and saw that California Ave. was blocked off for just foot traffic, we saw booths and bands playing! We found out it was one of the 3rd Thursday on California Ave. events! We were lucky to have chosen this area and ended up having a live band playing music across the street. It was an 80s almost all Women's "punk-infused" 90's Rock band--The Hyperdrive Kittens. It may have been a little loud and at times hard to hear our waiter, Hernan but we all went with the festive atmosphere and laughed it off! To start, we had some Cuban Beer, Sangria, Cuban Sidecar and a Basil-Ginger Mocktail. We also ordered appetizers: Fried Yuca, Croquetas and Shrimp Ceviche. I also ordered the Crab Cakes and our waiter asked if we wanted 4 instead of 3 since we were a party of 4, but I told him 3 was fine. We were brought bread and an orange colored dipping oil. Loved the Croquetas as they were soft and savory on the inside. Fried Yuca seemed like a healthy alternative to French Fries and were definitely not greasy! The Shrimp Ceviche was in a small glass container and didn't really stand out to me. It's Cuban inspired food so it's def not a Peruvian tangy flavor. For entrees, I ordered the Tierra y Mar as the photos and reviews were mostly good. It had asparagus, sofrito mashed potatoes which were buttery and flavorful but not greasy, 3 crispy Coconut Shrimp and the skirt steak topped with an Avocado-Cilantro Pesto. The end pieces were tender but as I got to the middle, the meat was sinewy and not very tender. It probably needed to be marinated a bit longer. I had to spit out 4-5 pieces of tough pieces of meat because it was not tender. Unfortunate since the plate looked enticing, but the meat didn't deliver. Other dishes ordered were the Cubano Sandwich which had lots of meat and very good bread; the Pollo a la Plancha was the special and my SIL thought it was a good portion with tender pieces of thigh meat. The Ropa Vieja tasted like braised Pork that's in Mexican burritos but it was actually braised & shredded skirt steak with chilies & tomatoes. It came with soft plantains and yellow rice. We never got our Crab Cakes so I told Hernan to forget bringing it. He apologized. For a celebration dessert, my SIL was brought a Key Lime Tart that we split in 4 after she blew out her candle. All in all, it was a good meal except for the tough meat & no crab cakes which I really wanted to try. To note, there's a 5% Dine-In surcharge tacked on to your pre-taxed bill. Disclaimer says: "La Bodeguita Del Medio applies a surcharge of 5% on all items. This is to offset rising operational costs and is not a service gratuity."

We keep coming back and have enjoyed pretty much all of the dishes! Shout out to Richard for the good service. Good vibes inside and they have fire pits outside for heating, though it can get pretty cold. I also can't wait for their dine-in surcharge to get banned.

Came here on a Friday dinner for Mother's Day weekend. We called earlier to make a reservation, but they only had outside seats available. We walked in and they had bar tables open, so we sat there instead. We got the Seafood Paella, Chicken Empanadas, and Fried Calamari. Seafood Paella 4.5/5: Huge portion, good enough to feed around 3 people. The rice was delicious and flavorful. The mussels and clams all around it were alright, could have used more flavor or sauce for them. Chicken Empanadas 4/5: Quite large, comes with 3 for each order. The insides are very hot so be careful! It was also slightly spicy. They were pretty good and a generous amount of meat inside. There was also red cabbage below it but didn't really add anything to the dish. Fried Calamari 4/5: Your typical fried calamari. It wasn't on the menu but we saw people post pictures of it so we asked if they had it, and they could make it for us. The calamari was crispy and their tartar sauce went amazing with it.

This spot is my favorite Cuban restaurant in South Bay! I've been going here for years and have never been disappointed. The ambience transports you when you walk in! It's a great lively restaurant for date nights, anniversaries, or even a post work dinner with coworkers. Whether you're sitter by the bar or their more intimate dining room, the vibes are immaculate and the servers take good care of you! We sat by the bar and went an hour after they opened on a Wednesday night- they weren't too busy quite yet, but soon picked up. They brought us house bread and we ordered the croquetas and shrimp ceviche to start. The ceviche is good balance of tanginess and spicy. It's served on bread soaked up with the sauce, but somehow not soggy, which they nail every time! The shrimp was cooked to perfection and had great flavor. The pollo croquetas were a special that night and absolutes melted in your mouth. The aoli was an excellent addition to this dish. All the flavors come through even without the sauce. For our main course we ordered arroz con pollo served with my favorite, plantains! The chicken was tender and melted in your mouth. It was well seasoned and as always the flavors were dancing on my tongue haha. We got the plantain crusted goat cheese salad with delicious sherry vinaigrette! It was light and fresh and a great way to end our meal. I absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone wanting to explore authentic Cuban food :)