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Frita Batidos is a fast-casual Cuban street food concept founded by chef Eve Aronoff Fernandez in 2010. It got its start in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and expanded to Detroit and, most recently, Brooklyn in 2025.
After the success of the Brooklyn opening, Frita Batidos had its sights set on its first Texas outpost. It’s slated to open on Monday, Aug. 17, at 4620 McKinney Avenue. It shares a row of retail spots with Pearl Sushi, Mamaka Bowls and Kith Treats.
The concept is rooted in two Cuban foods: fritas and batidos based on Fernandez’s childhood.
The frita
At the heart of the menu is the frita, a burger traditionally made with spicy chorizo, topped with shoestring fries and set on a soft egg bun. First, you pick your frita: Housemade chorizo with sweet chili mayo; black bean with chipotle mayo; chicken and local Gulf redfish with lemon-scented mayo; and beef with sweet chili mayo. Any of them can be customized with toppings like Munster cheese, tropical slaw and thick-cut bacon.
The New York Times named the Chorizo Frita one of the “NYC’s Best Burgers” in July 2026.
Batidos
The other pillar of the menu is batidos, tropical milkshakes traditionally made with fresh fruit, crushed ice and sweetened milk. Frita Batidos makes them with fresh fruit, crushed ice and vanilla bean ice cream from Guernsey Dairy, based in Michigan.
Choose from coconut cream, fresh lime, hibiscus, passionfruit and others. You can add a splash of dark rum to any of the flavors for $2.
Now that both your hands are full, it’s time for vegetarian-only sides. Plantains can be ordered three ways: crisped, twice fried or loaded. Then there are shoestring fries, garlic cilantro fries, black beans, coconut ginger rice, salads and something Fernandez calls “the best snack ever,” which is layered coconut ginger rice, black beans, melted muenster and cilantro-lime salsa.
There are a few sandwich or bowl options, a kids menu with a mini frita or grilled cheese, churros and cinnamon sugar plantains for dessert, and perhaps the most exciting detail, the frita bar.
There aren’t many fast-casual concepts that serve booze. Fritas serves specialty drinks like margaritas, sangrias, frita coladas and mojitos, plus beers, tropical sodas and juices. All are made with housemade syrup, fresh-pressed juices and hand-squeezed citrus, and can be ordered without the booze.
Most of it is included in the happy hour, which runs from Sunday to Thursday, from 4 to 6 p.m. and the last hour of service every night. Deals include $1 off beers, beer buckets where you pick 5 for $18, $4 shaken frita daquiris and special prices on food.
If you don’t see your favorite drink, they encourage you to order it from the bar, and as long as they have the ingredients, they can make it for you. They also encourage you to bump up your cocktail order to a ‘fishbowl’, which is an extra-large cocktail that serves 4-6 people. It costs $30, but saves you the price of two drinks, and “makes it a party” as Fritas says.
Both the food and drinks were created to complement each other, which is why Fernandez made a pairing guide to make ordering seamless. We imagine we’ll all be walking in and starting with the chorizo frita, which Fernandez recommends pairing with a tequila ginger-lime, Frita mojito, Dos Equis or the coconut or passionfruit Batido.
Frita Batidos will open on Monday, August 17, at 4620 McKinney Avenue. It will serve its beloved Cuban street food Sunday – Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday – Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
