Rum Cake Lady Cuban Cafe -McCaysville

Food was authentic and very delicious and came out quickly. Desserts are divine

Recommended dishes: Empanadas, Cake

Located on the Georgia–Tennessee border near Blue Mountain, this café serves flavorful Cuban sandwiches and rum cakes that live up to the name. The atmosphere is relaxed, the service is attentive, and the food is consistently fresh. Like many nearby businesses, the café closes early on weekends (5 pm on Saturdays), so timing a visit is important. A solid stop for Cuban comfort food and a sweet treat in McCaysville.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Sandwich

Had lunch here on a busy Saturday afternoon. The service was friendly and efficient and the restaurant was very clean. The food was hot and tasty. We sampled several items and were happy with everything. The beef empanada was our favorite, although not pictured!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Pretty good. Big sandwiches.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Good food but a bit pricey,however it's unique food worth trying and exploring another cuisine...criollo yum

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 5

Customer and HORRIBLE Owners response below:

We placed an order for bowl rice, beans and ropa vieja. In our hispanic culture our portions are traditionally large. We were highly disappointed with the very small bowl portions. The authentic restaurant name is a deception. We advised staff and server and was offered two chimichurri sauce barely filled. Definetely do not have bowl if your truly hungry. The rum cake was good not authentic either! We've had rum cake in Bahamas and nothing compares.

Response from Elizabeth C (owner) on yelp was horrible and defensive. Stating the meals are not meant to be filling. She said quality over quantity. However, the quality was tasteless disgracing the Cuban community. The price for the tiny bowl is $18.00. I’ve never had a business owner react so unprofessional in her response. Stick Cuban sandwich and they’re still over priced. Don’t be fooled if you’re not familiar with Cuban food this place is not authentic. The quantity and quality does not come close the Authentic Cuban style food! There are way better restaurants that are truly authentic and aren’t stealing your money.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

Always great!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great cuban!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Such friendly staff & the rum cake is sooo delicious. Cuban colada always hits the spot. Even bought some merch! 10/10 recommend and you better take some to go. YUM!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food and a great find in the mountains!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We came on the train and everyone recommended to stop at rum cake. We didn't have much time on our layover so we wanted to get something quick to eat. We ordered the tostanos nachos, one beef empanada and yuga fries. We came in pretty much the same time the crowd came in. We ordered pretty quickly from the cashier. We waited, then waited some more. Many of the other people that came before us and after got their food. 35 minutes later I walked up to one of the runners and asked them where our order was, we gave him our ticket because we were running out of time. He came back to tell us something happened with the system and some how our order was made but they are making it now. By 45 minutes we were ready to go, so we got a refund, no apologies or a really explanation and a really bad experience that left us with no time to really explore and we ended up getting sandwiches from the grocery store.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

I should have gotten the cuban sandwich that everyone raves about, but I went for an empanada. It was OK, but the cuban would have hit the spot.

What i really came here to write about is the lemon rum cake. I dont know what kind of sorcery is involved, but The Rum Cake Lady is a wizard.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Tampa Cubano Sandwich, Bundt Cake, Rum Cake Bites

Staff was very helpful and food was AMAZING! I got the chicken and rice bowl and a dessert. Was under $20 and so delicious. Will be back!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious food.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Skip it. Food is not good. Dry tasteless and expensive.

Update and response: Thank you, Liz, for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your commitment to improving. The main concerns from our group of seven were that the food overall lacked flavor and moisture. The rum cakes tasted mostly of sugar with no noticeable rum flavor, which was a letdown for several of us.

Personally, I had the black beans and rice—a meal I grew up enjoying in Florida as an authentic Cuban favorite. Unfortunately, it was quite dry and lacked the rich flavor I expected. I tried the green sauce to help, but it was oily and had a sharp taste that did not complement the dish. Others in our party had sandwiches and felt they were also dry and missing something to tie the flavors together. I also ordered a pork tamale, which had very little meat and was mostly cornmeal.

When I asked for more green sauce to moisten the tamale, I was given a very small portion—about a tablespoon—and the staff seemed unconcerned when I shared that my meal was dry. I truly wanted to enjoy the experience but felt the food and service fell short of expectations.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 2