If Cuban sandwiches, empanadas and fried pork belly complemented by a hand-crafted mojito or margarita sound good, Tropical Caribbean’s new West Haven location offers authentic taste of Dominican food and drink.   Â
While many people may be familiar with the restaurant’s former location on Dixwell Avenue in New Haven, a new, larger West Haven location at 701 Campbell Ave. recently opened, allowing co-owner Juan Reyes to expand.
Reyes was able to go from four employees in New Haven, which was primarily a counter-service restaurant, to adding 12 additional people to his staff.Â
The new location also has space to accommodate 121 dining patrons and has a full bar. Reyes had to move out of the New Haven space because the plaza it was located in is being converted into a mixed-use development.Â
Reyes, however, hopes to return to the same Dixwell Avenue spot once that project is complete.
The family-owned and operated Tropical Caribbean offers homestyle cooking with signature dishes like mofongo, mangu, arroz con guandules, stewed goat and oxtail and churrasco (skirt steak) that keep diners coming back, according to Reyes.
“We’re an authentic Dominican cuisine restaurant that offers fresh crafted cocktails, live entertainment with beautiful decor and a great staff,” Reyes said.
The West Haven location, which previously housed the Blue Horse Pub, afforded Reyes more dining space, a large parking lot and easy accessibility to I-95. Reyes co-owns the restaurant with his best childhood friend Alex Brito.Â
Both Reyes’ mom and dad work in the kitchen also, creating authentic dishes Reyes himself grew up eating in the Dominican Republic.
Tropical Caribbean is open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. weekends, with a DJ on Fridays and Saturdays and live entertainment on Sundays, karaoke, open mic nights and live jazz music.
Reyes said an official grand opening celebration is planned for Feb. 2, although they’ve been at the new location since late December.