Cuban treats are coming to downtown St. Augustine, just in time for the Nights of Lights.
Paladar Cuban Eatery, a Crescent Beach-based restaurant owned by local businesswomen Isela Gonzales and Nelly Santiago, is opening a holiday-themed pop-up bakery for Nights of Lights in partnership with Tasting Tours LLC.
“We’re the only true, authentic, 100 percent Cuban restaurant in St. Augustine,” Gonzales told The Citizen.
The temporary bakery is nestled in downtown St. Augustine at 47 Cordova St., a historic building that was constructed in 1900 as a commercial bakery and is currently for sale.
Tasting Tours, a local food and wine tour company, is sharing the temporary space to host their signature holiday horse-and-carriage rides, where guests can sip on specialty wines as they take in the sights. They also offer character rides with the Grinch and other Christmas figures on their electric vehicles.
The pop-up bakery gives carriage guests a warm place to nibble on Cuban delicacies and traditional sweets and sip cocoa while they wait for their ride. Both businesses will be open seven days a week. The interior is is decorated with Christmas lights, reefs and a roaring fireplace.
Paladar will also host a kiosk in the Colonial Quarter Christmas Market, which will offer small Cuban staples like empanadas and American treats like cake pops and gingerbread cookies for St. Augustine patrons strolling through the decorated streets.
Gonzales describes it as a winter wonderland. “It’s completely Christmas and beautiful,” she said.
Gonzales and her family have lived in St. Augustine for 10 years. Before that, she called the Miami area home, living in Hialeah, a city with a large Cuban population. She’s the first and only member of her family to be American-born. As she likes to say, she’s “American born, made with Cuban products.”
Born in Cuba and raised in Puerto Rico, Santiago has lived in St. Augustine for more than 30 years. “We’re true Americans, with the Cuban culture,” Gonzales summarized.
They opened Paladar Cuban Eatery off A1A in Crescent Beach four years ago, and they’ve been serving up authentic staples of Cuban cuisine ever since. Gonzales’ favorite is the classic Cuban sandwich. “It’s top notch,” she said. But they’re also known for their empanadas and Cuban coffee.
“It’s an espresso dark blend,” she said. “We have our own roasters we work in Miami. … It’s organic and very highly sourced.”
In the mornings, visitors can pick up pastries and a steaming cup; in the evenings on Fridays and Saturdays, they can dine in Paladar’s more elegant nighttime atmosphere.
“All these recipes are our mom’s or our grandma’s recipes. They are all very authentic,” she said.
The Cuban word paladar describes a small, family-owned and -run restaurant — Gonzales and Santiago’s venture certainly fits that description.
The Cuban entrepreneurs are happy to be in St. Augustine. “We are grateful. We love this town. We’re not going anywhere ever,” Gonzales said.
Visitors can sample Gonzales’ goods from Nov. 15 to Jan. 11 during the Nights of Lights in St. Augustine at their pop-up location.
Paladar’s brick-and-mortar location in Crescent Beach is open Tuesday through Sunday.
