MARATHON — A family-owned Cuban restaurant opened recently in Marathon by owners who have years of experience in the business with locations in Key West and Stock Island.
According to Gerson Batista, his brother Julio de la Cruz bought the original El Siboney Restaurant at 900 Catherine St. in Key West from the Martin family in 2004. That original restaurant opened 42 years ago. A second El Siboney Restaurant is located at 5501 5th Ave. on Stock Island.
Recently, the family pursued an opportunity to offer a new option in Marathon with El Siboney at 3574 Overseas Highway.
“After you have a good product, it’s all about getting good people,” Batista said. “The menu is plain and simple.”
Among El Siboney’s highlights are the special sangria recipe, as well as extra goodies including lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on their Cuban sandwich. A traditional Cuban sandwich consists of Cuban bread, butter, yellow mustard, roasted pork, glazed ham, Swiss cheese and dill pickles, according to purists, but the Cuban Mix Sandwich is a big hit, Batista said.
El Siboney’s signature offerings include Paella Valenciana, for which guests must call at least one hour in advance to reserve this specialty dish, ensuring it is prepared fresh and ready upon arrival. Additional favorites include the roast pork and Siboney strip steak.
The Batistas have been in the Keys since 1999 and their family originated in the Dominican Republic. The Dominicaln Republic’s cuisine is “close to the same background. There’s some of the same basics,” Batista said.
The brothers’ restaurant experience is varied. Julio de la Cruz worked at the International House of Pancakes in Key West for years before buying the I-HOP in Marathon. Batista started his culinary career in 2000 while working for Wendy’s.
The restaurant’s name is explained on their elsiboneyrestaurant.com website. “Before 1492, Cuba was populated by at least two distinct indigenous peoples: Taíno and Siboney. … These two groups were prehistoric cultures in a time period during which humans created tools from stone, yet they were familiar with gold (caona) and copper alloys (guanín). The Taíno agriculturalists and the Siboney were a self-sufficient society, although their development was not limited to fishing and hunting, farming and production of wooden structures. … Today Siboney is a town in Cuba east of the city of Santiago de Cuba.”
The phone number of the new venture in Marathon is 305-517-6274. Orders also may be placed online.
Dining and Cooking