La Caribena Launches New All-Day, All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

Buffet Caribena, 1704-1710 S. Pearl St. Photo by Jeramey Jannene. For nearly 15 years, restaurant owner Edwin Ordonez and his team have brought the flavors of the Caribbean to Milwaukee through La Caribena, a colorfully painted restaurant along W. Mitchell Street. Now, Ordonez is asking diners,  Why settle for one Caribbean dish when you can try several? On Nov. 7 and 8, Ordonez soft-launched a new name and concept for the restaurant: Buffet Caribena. Trading a traditional sit-down ordering format for an all-you-can-eat buffet, he aims to give customers the chance to sample a wider variety of the restaurant’s authentic Caribbean cuisine. In a conversation with Urban Milwaukee, Ordonez said the success of the soft-launch exceeded his expectations. It was really amazing. Great people, a lot of support from the community. I was surprised by how many people from different backgrounds and different communities came and participated, he said. We had a line of people outside the door. It