At Lunch Now: Free Food Craziness at Sophie’s Cuban (Updated)


You didn’t think a little rain would keep us cheapos away, did you? It’s 12:01 and the line is already stretched down the block at the newly opened Sophie’s Cuban on 40th btw. 7+8th… but it moves quickly. And they even have oxtails.The inside crowd, what I got, plus the ultimate Sophie’s surprise (for anybody who didn’t take their food to go), after the jump…

12:10 – Didn’t take too long to get into the restaurant

12:17 – Sitting in the top balcony eating my food.  Not a bad wait at all.  I’ve had almost everything else on the menu, so I went with the fish.  My favorite part was the sticker on the container that made it clear these were “sample” size portions.  Let that sink in.  They are saying the normal portions are larger than the massive amount of food you see in the container above… and then the greatest thing of all time happened:

A guy started walking around the balcony with a tray full of fried pork skin.  Um… are you shitting me?  Did I just die and go to some sort of free food heaven?

For more on Sophie’s multiple Midtown locations, go here.

9 Comments

  • I can confirm they have oxtail and pernil.

    Went there at 12:30, the line is out the door and stretches toward 8th ave. I jumped in line next to the parking garage and it took 20 min to walk out with my food (to give you an indication of how long the wait is). They are fast though and efficient so the wait breezed by and you have your food in no time. Hell,

    IT IS FREE FOOD PEOPLE!

    thanks for the heads up Zach.

  • We call the fried pig skins ‘scratchins’ here and a better partner for a pint or 7 of Herefordshire 11% cider hasn’t been invented! Well, apart from a Vindaloo.

  • Thank you SO much for posting this! This grand opening was perfect timing; I forgot my lunch at home today. I went with a few coworkers. I had the ropa vieja with rice/beans and it was all flavorful, especially with the green sauce they provide on the table. The sample sizes really were huge. The passing out of chicharon was fabulousss! Plus we all got a free coke. And who doesn’t love live music during their lunch hour. All the staff members were cheery despite the large volume of non-paying customers. Worth the walk and the wait today. But… a little bit out of the way for me for a full priced lunch. For their standard menu, I would prefer smaller portions and cheaper prices.

  • It’s a little far for me but I’m glad that you found some more free samples on top of ur free sample lunch!

    Is this one going to eventually turn into Tina’s Cuban or whatever the other locations turned into? It’s a bit confusing to me!

  • This is why I wished I worked in Midtown… I even missed the Sophie’s Cuban that opened down here on Fulton (kind of a hike for me, but worth it for free food!) – because there is no such site that would announce free food details for Downtown! Are you listening, people-who-read-this-site-and-work-downtown/financial district??? Are you listening!

  • Tina’s is the other 1/2 of the family that decided to go a different route. We stopped by, but the queue was far too long. May try on friday when the hype has died down a bit. In the mean time, the Jamaican chain around the corner, Golden Krust is having a $5.99 stewed/curried chicken special for the time being..

  • Actually, they will be closed on Friday, because of Good Friday.

  • omg, chicharrones! and i missed it? good grief…i took mine to go

  • I missed the opening? OMG! I’ve been walking past the storefront waiting for the restaurant to open for *forever*.

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