Knoxville Cuban Quest: Aroma Café
- Jared Hagemann
- Apr 12
- 3 min read
Our journey for the best Cuban sandwich in Knoxville continues with the most requested restaurant, Aroma Café.
Located on East Broadway in Maryville along a stretch of road of disconnected strip malls that seems stuck in the 1980s, Aroma Café is probably the longest running Cuban restaurant in the Knoxville area.
The first note I'll give is that parking lot is small, so be prepared for that if you try to come during busy hours.
Aroma Café features a wide variety of sandwich options at very competitive prices compared to many of the other restaurants we'll be trying in this adventure, but we're here for one thing - "The Cuban."
Also on offer are a number of sides, empanadas, and platters, including deserts like flan and tres leches.
I ordered a Cuban sandwich with red beans & rice and a beef empanada, because why not.
Stepping into the dimly lit dining area, you enter a tropical paradise on beach, a far cry from the busy Maryville street outside.
I took a seat underneath a tropical palm tree and marveled at my lunch to be.
Jumping right into the reason we're here, this Cuban sandwich is a great example of the classic version of this sandwich - ham, pork, cheese, mustard, pickles - all in perfect harmony between pressed bread.
What you'll first notice is the excellent Cuban bread that really ties this whole thing together, with great flavor and mouth feel, and not dry (unlike some other Cubans I have had).
The meat is a great balance of flavors without anything being particularly noteworthy, unlike the excellent smoked flavor of the Barrelhouse sandwich, though we are comparing two different styles of these sandwiches.
One thing Aroma Café offers that is unique is their take on "mojo sauce," here it is a vinegary brown liquid meant for dipping your sandwich into.
While absolutely not visually appealing in any way, the mojo sauce pairs perfectly with the sandwich's flavors, truly elevating the sandwich beyond just a normal Cuban.
Overall, this is a great, if a little unremarkable, sandwich. I highly recommend trying this if you're on the hunt for a Cuban, and definitely use that mojo sauce.
As far as the red beans and rice go - they were delicious, and included ground beef, cilantro, peppers, and onions.
The real superstar of this meal, for me, was the beef empanada, just absolutely incredible flavor in the pastry and the filling. It's worth stopping at Aroma Café just for an empanada.
For all the good I found at Aroma Café, there was one issue that still sticks in my mind - there is something seriously wrong with their ice maker. I didn't realize it until I was finished with my drink, but the ice has this strong unpleasant odor, almost like a rotten egg smell, possibly from sulfur or something?
This smell isn't present elsewhere, so who knows what it is and hopefully it will be corrected.
CONCLUSION
Ice issues aside, overall Aroma Café truly offers the quintessential Cuban sandwich, and I do highly recommend visiting. I'm going to put them at number one for now, but will that remain to be?
Where do you think we should visit next? Let us know in the comments below!
Here's our current Cuban sandwich ranking:
1) Aroma Café
2) Barrelhouse
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