World Bakery And Cafeteria Naples

First the aromas hit you right in the face of authentic Cuban food! That's if you walk in the door on the left 😉 if you walk a little further down to the right and enter that door you get hit right in the face with the aroma of pastries and cakes galore! 😋 We entered door left and was greeted by three beautiful employees happy to welcome us and waiting to serve their specialties, My wife however, was drawn to the bakery side like a moth to a flame clearly instructing me to stay put and peruse the prepared foods and to be ready to recommend items lol. I must say everything looked amazing to me with the exception of the fish which looked like it maybe was ready to be sent off to fish heaven (not in any danger at all healthwise) One of my biggest takeaways from this place is WORLD BAKERY AND RESTAURANT IS IMMACULATE INSIDE/SPOTLESS! YOU LITERALLY COULD GET OFF THE FLOOR IN THIS PLACE! My wife came back with a two thumbs up report for the bakery therefore I had to place my order with that in mind. Yeah right! I asked for the authentic black beans marinated over white rice and a side of yucca which is honestly THE BEST I've ever had in Florida (and my ex from Lauderdale is Cuban and her family taught me how to make black beans and rice and yucca.) I'm telling you I would drive to Naples just for the yucca! SIDE NOTE: yucca is like potato/less starchy. I also got the shredded beef with peppers and onions which was absolutely outstanding! Rebecca, my wife, ordered the black beans with black rice then ordered a side of yellow rice with pork and chicken which was amazing! She too got the shredded beef with peppers and onions also adding an oxtail at my request because I wanted to try it. The portion sizes are outrageous The two orders we received easily would have fed the two of us plus our three children. The service was wonderful and the restaurant side was pleasant a bit boring interior, surprisingly, the tables and chairs remind me of Sunday banquet with my grandparents in an old small church in Kentucky. But don't get me wrong I would have been happy laying in a ditch eating this food! Food wise the only criticism I would have and it's very mild, is the oxtail was a bit dry and I think it's because we got in, no pun intended, at the tail end of lunch service 🐂😋 with tip and two drinks are total was under $40 which was very reasonable for the amount of food that we received keeping in mind that we basically ordered four entrees. NOW like a couple of fools we turned and headed to the bakery side and stood there like children at Christmas time staring in the window at all the pastries and pies and cakes and more.... There was noticeably a lot of people, locals, that we're ordering their after church take home for Sunday dinner desserts. Their cakes and the decorating are second to none The ones in the case alone are ready to carry out for any special occasion but you can order by the slice and of course it's the size of your face lol. 😳😆 Again, we wanted to sample a bit of everything so we got a couple tortes(lemon and pineapple), cream horns and one cannoli (I know). With the exception of the cannoli, of course, all the desserts were fresh and outstanding!. Now, let's rip off the Band-Aid once and for all. One may ask where does the rivalry come from between the Cubans and Italians? I'm going to let you in on a little secret because obviously there is a large cuban population in and around Miami there, however, is not a little Italy. With that being said I know for a fact that a lot of "Goodfellas" always have and always will love coming down and hanging out in Miami and Lauderdale. So as you can imagine at some point some Italian gave some Cuban some s*** over who has a better cup of coffee and bam that's all it took ☕lol. Nobody argues that Cubans make one mean cup of coffee that will light you up for the entire day! Likewise, you do not want to play around with Italians and their espresso. Guys, stay in your lane and let Mama take care of the recipes 😉😋 SIDE NOTE: sandwiches are out of the bakery side.