It all began with a small food market and winery in 1930’s Cuba. This storefront was the meeting place for locals to visit, and catch up on the latest news. With the rise of Castro’s Cuba in 1968, Diosdado Padrino sent his wife, Candida Rosa and two children to the United States.
This was a milestone year for the Padrino family as they opened their first restaurant in Hialeah. The same recipes that Rosa cooked in Cuba were now being enjoyed by many immigrant cubans in Miami. Seeing the opportunity to bring the tastes of Cuba to everyone, they moved to a larger restaurant in Broward County. Padrino’s Hallandale Beach opened its doors in 1981.
The tradition was passed on to their son, Mario. With the desire to share these authentic Cuban recipes to an even larger market, Mario and his wife Nayade opened restaurants in Plantation in 1992, Boca Raton in 1996 and Orlando in 2008.
Within the last few years, the third generation of Padrino’s (Laura, Mario, and Eduardo) had come on board, bringing fresh energy and a deep love for the family legacy. Together, they opened a new location in Fort Lauderdale in 2017, blending their own vision with the traditions that had shaped Padrino’s from the very beginning.
The family continued to nurture and grow the Padrino’s legacy. In 2019, they opened a new restaurant in Dania Beach. In 2020, they remodeled the Boca Raton location. In 2023, they re-located and re-opened the doors to their Plantation location, and in 2024, they brought new life to the original Hallandale restaurant with a full renovation.
