I just love to find small 'Mom & Pop' type restaurants.  You can find some great local places that have charm, great service and the best food.  Unfortunately...my trip to Candela Latin Restaurant didn't quite hit on any of those qualities.

The restaurant has been open for maybe 6 months and is located in a small strip mall at 2909 NE 6th Ave in Wilton Manors.  In the past 6 years...this is the 4th eatery to open in this same location.  I just wish a great place would take this location over and stop the restaurant turnover.

I went on a Saturday for dinner....about 6:00 or 6:30 PM.  All of the dining tables were empty (about 6 tables in all) and the only person in the place was one of the owners.  He was behind the counter working on preparing food (come to find out it was for a party the next day).  We stood there for about 5 minutes...waiting to place our order.  He kept cutting away.  Then...someone else (his wife) entered the restaurant.  He motioned to us to wait a minute. I guessed that he was wanting his wife to take out order.  She shuffled up to the front counter...(coughing like she had the worse cold of the season).

I ordered the Pork Steak.  It's served with 2 sides.  I chose black beans and rice.  Jeff ordered one of the steaks with a double order of sweet plantains.  We also ordered the fresh french fries with Parmesan cheese and truffle oil as an appetizer.  We ordered this 'to go' and waited outside at one of the café tables.

The owner came out after about 10 minutes to say that his wife pulled out the 'wrong' steak for the dish Jeff ordered.  It was pounded but shrank back to the original size once cooked.  He said... "It's still a good piece of steak...just a different size.  I can make another one if you want."  Jeff said it was 'ok' as is (how bad could it be).  About 15 minutes later and the food was done.

Here is a summary of the dishes:
The pork steak was ok.  Just ok.
The black beans were actually hot and tasted very good.
The rice was horrible.  Dried out and bland.  The rice at Pollo Tropical is 100 times better.

The steak was fatty and actually quite small.  It was also kind of bland. (The owner should have just made a new one, without asking.)
The 'double' order of plantains was more like 5 pieces.

The french fries were soggy.

I hate giving such a bad review...but I'm being honest.  I strongly suggest that if you are in the mood for Latin food...look elsewhere.  Lets hope that the party they were cutting the fruit for had a better meal than we did.

Candela Latin Restaurant is located at:
2909 NE 6th Ave
Wilton Manors, FL

FTLToday's Restaurant Grade:  D
-food was 'ok'
-service was horrible