Lidia’s Cuban Kitchen is a small, quaint restaurant located on North Avenue in Cranford. Despite multiple other Cuban restaurants in the area (most notably, Cuban Pete’s and Cafe Havana), Lidia’s quickly set itself above the curve. It’s a BYOB restaurant, but has a bar, which is a bit unusual. However, they will make you sangria out of the liquor you bring in.

Back to the food: Out of a wide selection of appetizers, the best by far is the Cuban Nacho’s, which are plantain chips smothered with cheese, picadillo, tomatoes, jalapenos, gaucamole, sour cream, beans and salsa. My mom and I could have each eaten our own order. For entrees, I chose a Cuban sandwich, which was longer than my arm. It was delicious, and easily enough for two or three people. The only complaint would be the rice and beans that accompanied it, which were generally tasteless and most likely canned Goya black beans, judging by the cans that were propping open their back door.

Mom ate the chicken with smothered onions, which was flavorful and filling. Do yourself a favor and order the maduros, sweet plantains, for your side dish.

After eating all of that, we were too full for dessert. I am not a flan lover, and unfortunately, my lactose intolerance prevents me from eating Lidia’s tres leches dessert, which I’ve heard is excellent.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Lidia’s.

Food: 4/5

Service: 3/5

Cleanliness: 5/5

Price: 4/5