Torta cubana: what's in it, origin and how to make it

What is it?

The torta cubana is the largest, heartiest and most excessive torta of Mexican street cooking. Despite its name, it has no connection with Cuba: it is native to the Centro Histórico of Mexico City and is so called because, according to popular lore, it was invented on Cuba street in the central core of the city. It is prepared on a large telera bread filled with a veritable 'tower' of meats and cheese: breaded beef milanesa, roast pork leg, ham, Vienna sausage, chorizo and sometimes head cheese, all combined with melted yellow or Oaxaca cheese, avocado, tomato, onion, lettuce, refried beans, pickled chillies and egg a la mexicana. It is a three-storey torta that weighs more than half a kilo and is considered 'the most Mexican torta in the world' for its excess. El Financiero and Chilango document it as a chilango identity icon of the Centro Histórico. It is common in historic torta shops such as Tortas Robles, Don Polo and La Castellana, where it is ordered to share or as a single lunch.

Origin and history

The torta cubana was born in the Centro Histórico of Mexico City, probably between the 1930s and 1950s. El Financiero documents two versions of its origin: the first says it was invented on Cuba street, in the central core of the capital, where a torta maker (some attribute the name 'Don Armando' to that first torta) decided to combine all the available fillings in a single piece, creating an excessive torta that he called 'cubana' after the street where it was sold. The second version, recorded by Chilango, claims that the name comes from exiled Cuban migrants who opened torta shops in the area and combined meats in the style of the Cuban sandwich (pork and ham) but adapted to Mexican telera bread and with more fillings. Excélsior documents that by the mid-twentieth century the torta cubana was already an iconic dish of the Centro Histórico, especially on López street and around the Eje Central. The industrialisation of ham, sausages and yellow cheese (Fud, Zwan, Sello Rojo, Bafar) facilitated its spread. Today it appears on the menus of torta shops across the country, although it is identified with Mexico City.

Characteristic ingredients

The telera bread — a flat oval bread, divided in three by two grooves on the surface, made with flour, lard and yeast — is the base. It measures about 20-25 cm to support the contents. The canonical construction of the torta cubana: a layer of refried beans on one half and mayonnaise on the other, breaded and fried beef milanesa, roast pork leg in slices, cooked or smoked ham in slices, Vienna sausage in slices, fried Mexican chorizo, yellow (American) cheese, Oaxaca string cheese, head cheese in slices, egg a la mexicana (scrambled with tomato, onion and chilli), sliced avocado, tomato, onion, lettuce and pickled chillies or sliced jalapeños. Some torta shops also add chicken or tuna. Regional variants: the 'torta del rey' doubles the fillings; the 'torta hawaiana' adds pineapple; the 'torta mexicana' includes nopalitos. Excélsior details the canonical recipe: the amount of meats varies but it always carries at least 5 to 7 different types. The assembly is done by lightly pressing the torta on the griddle so the cheese melts and the flavours combine.

Cultural significance

The torta cubana is one of the icons of the street and popular cooking of the Centro Histórico of Mexico City. Legendary torta shops such as 'Tortas Robles' (operating since 1968), 'Don Polo' (López street) and 'La Castellana' have kept up the traditional recipe with a loyal clientele of several generations. Chilango and Time Out CDMX devote tourist routes to the best torta cubanas of the central core. The 2010 UNESCO declaration of traditional Mexican cuisine implicitly includes the corpus of capital street cooking. The torta cubana has crossed borders: it appears in Mexican torta shops in the United States — especially Los Angeles and Chicago — as a symbol of migrant cooking. Economically, it is one of the most expensive street dishes (between 60 and 120 pesos in Mexico City, according to 2024 data) but also one of the most filling owing to its size. In popular culture it appears in programmes such as No Kitchen Required, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and Mexican series such as Diablero. Chefs such as Eduardo García and Carmen Titita Ramírez Degollado have mentioned it as an example of the excessive but beloved creativity of Mexican cooking. It is the perfect dish to show the character of chilango tortas: bites that can contain anything, all together, without asking permission.

Frequently asked questions