TV Restaurants

What Happened to Jose's Real Cuban Food After Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 12 Bradenton, Florida

Current status

Closed

As of October 2026, Jose's Real Cuban Food has closed — confirmed via Yelp, May 2026.

What the source shows: Google's business profile and Yelp's listing (updated 2026-05) both mark Jose's Real Cuban Food as permanently closed, and tripledlife.com's fan-site page agrees, though its own associated website field points to a different, differently named Cuban restaurant now at or near that address. How we decide a status →

What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Jose's Real Cuban Food for the 'Southern Flavor' episode, aired 2011-09-19, spotlighting owner Jose Baserva's lechon asado, a slow-roasted pork dish served with black beans, rice, and yucca or fried plantains. Jose's operated as a Cuban restaurant at 8799 Cortez Road West in Bradenton, opened by Baserva, who left Cuba for Miami in 1959. Google's business profile for the location lists Jose's Real Cuban Food as permanently closed, and Yelp's listing, updated 2026-05, also marks it permanently closed. Tripledlife.com, a fan site, also lists Jose's Real Cuban Food as permanently closed.

Google's data for the listing also links to thecafehavana.com, which by 2026 showed content for a differently named Cuban restaurant, Cafe Havana; whether Cafe Havana operates at or near the same address was not independently confirmed. No current website, social account, or owner statement for Jose's Real Cuban Food itself was found.

The episode Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 12

Episode 5
Aired
Title: Southern Flavor · What was featured: Jose Baserva's lechon asado -- slow-roasted pork with black beans and rice
How Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants have fared: 27% closed →

Also in Season 12 Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season 12: 20 of 39 still open · 1 renamed, moved or under new owners

All 13 Season 12 episodes →

Nearest open restaurants By distance from 8799 Cortez Rd W

All 277 TV restaurants in Florida →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 3 references

  1. Yelp https://m.yelp.com/biz/joses-real-cuban-food-bradenton
  2. tripledlife.com https://tripledlife.com/restaurant/joses-real-cuban-food/
  3. thecafehavana.com http://thecafehavana.com/
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Record ddd-0444 · checked by Cal Marchetti.