Cuba
“small, awesome authentic vibe with a cuban band playing and a dude rolling cigars in the corner.”
“I highly recommend the passion fruit sangria if you're a light drinker but wants something fruity.”
“The calamari and camarones al ajillo were good but the ropa vieja (skirt steak), arroz con pollo and paella valenciana are amazing.”
Cuba
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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If you're craving for something along the lines of Spanish food… then you have to come here! This is THE spot for Cuban food. My friend made a reservation for 7:00 PM on a Friday night and the place was already 3/4 packed! We were seated quickly and was offer drinks right after! We ordered an Ultimate Mojito, Passion Fruit Sangria, Tostones Con Mojo, Choclo, Pollo Guajira, Paella Valenciana and Tamal Cubano.
Ultimate Mojito/Passion Fruit Sangria – really good drinks! I highly recommend the passion fruit sangria if you're a light drinker but wants something fruity.
Tostones Con Mojo – fried green plantains topped with garlic mojo. These were really good! The plantains were crispy but also chewy. The garlic went so well with the tostones!
Choclo – sauteed Peruvian corn. This is not your ordinary order of corn! These corns are a lot bigger than normal and a lot more chewy as well. Highly recommend this side dish!
Pollo Guajira – this dish consists of chicken breast, sweet plantain, mozzarella, mushrooms, zucchini, white wine sauce, rice and beans. The chicken breast I ate was one of the JUICEST! Seriously, one bite and it melts in your mouth!!! It is super hard to find a place that doesn't make chicken dry but this spot really perfected it! I like how they give you a side of black beans as optional to pour over the rice!
Paella Valenciana – this dish consists of saffron rice, chicken, baby back ribs, shrimp, roasted red peppers, fava bean, sweet peas and artichokes. One of the best paella I have ever ate! The saffron rice was super flavorful and soft! The shrimp was SOOOO GOOD and I did not expect it to be! I was slightly disappointed at the baby back ribs though – it wasn't too flavorful.
Tamal Cubano – roasted pork tamale with garlic mojo. One of the best tamale I have ever ate. The pork was super tender.
I wanted to mention the portions of all the food was very generous especially the Paella! We really couldn't finish it so we took it to go. They give you a really nice take out box too! The service here was superb as well. Our waiter always made sure our table and utensils were clean and that our glass of water was never empty! The aura of this place was super romantic as well – candles on every table (dim lights) and a live band!
Overall, I am extremely happy with my experience at this restaurant and definitely recommend it to everyone looking at this page! I will be back!
Mission: Boozy Brunch
Location: Cuba (the restaurant, not the country)
Demographics: College age to young adults mostly.
Setting: Small main level and basement dining room.
Noise level: Shouting match if you're siting in the basement.
Ambience: Not romantic, see above.
Service: Okay, initial drinks took a while to get to us.
Drinks: Unlimited for 1.5hrs at $14/person.
1)Sparkling Mojito – essentially sweet sparkling wine
2)Mango Mimosa – sparkling wine with mango syrup (plain sparkling wine taste better), too sweet
3)Capirinha- strawberry flavor and way too sweet.
4)Red and White Sangria- delicious
5)Te Cabano – a little too sweet, but good tea and lime flavor.
Food: Good
Lechon Asado Con Mojo $14 – Portion was very generous. The chunks of semi shredded suckling pig were delicious and flavorful. Liked the garlic sauce. Loved the Moros-black bean mixed with rice that was flavored with so much butter. Not exactly sure what vegetable the white stuff in the middle of the plate was; it had a bland flavor, was mushy and had too much veins.
My friends enjoyed their Huevous Rancheros and Benedict Habaneros.
Conclusion: Good but not good enough for me to crave. Drinks were sugary. Glad that unlimited drinks can be ordered separately so that people can opt out. Way too noisy in the basement as there was a large table of 12 in the room. We felt bad for the couple sitting near us. Oh, and the room was right across from the men's room, we saw the handyman fixing the out of service bathroom. Will most likely not dine at Cuba again.
Our visit to Cuba was pretty random — we were looking for a local place after checking out a documentary on North Korea at the Film Forum. I guess maybe the theme of the day was dictatorships?
Although we came in around 5 on a Sunday, usually an off time, the restaurant was surprisingly buzzing with energy. We were still seated immediately, happily, and were given brunch menus. That seemed a little weird, but we went with it and began navigating the list full of huevos-heavy dishes and bottomless drinks (and, notably, cheaper entrees) before being informed that brunch was actually over and we had just been given the wrong menus. Bit of a snafu, but NBD. There were some interesting characters dining along with us here… perhaps it was just the time of day. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple break up mid-meal, which was unfortunate and hard to look away from, and there was a lady sitting beside us with a weird doll. Mr. Cigar roller was nowhere to be found this evening.
Because it was dinner, this actually enabled me to try the dish I had been eyeing up: The pollo guajira (chicken breast, sweet plantain, mozzarella, mushrooms, zucchini, white wine sauce, rice and beans). I did think this dish was pretty wonderful; it was my favorite part about my experience here. How could you not love all of those ingredients sautéed and served together? The sweetness of the plantains was treat, in particular, as chicken dishes are often on the savory side only, which is really kind of one-note, if you think about it.
On a whim, I also ordered a side of the yuca con mojo (yuca, garlic sauce). I thought this was tasty, especially the sharp, pleasant garlic mojo, but the dish would've benefited from more of the sauce. In my opinion, yuca is a bit starchy and fibrous on its own and the extra sauce would've made it a bit more palatable.
The bf had something like chicken and rice. I don't remember, exactly, but I wasn't that impressed. Also, his negro modelo wasn't really served cold.
I also had a passion fruit sangria (pisco, passion fruit puree, white wine, a few other things perhaps), which tasted mostly like passion fruit juice to me. Not bad, but not very complex or interesting. If I wanted a drink that tasted like passion fruit juice, I would've ordered the passion fruit juice, know what I mean?
I'd like to make it known that I'm adding on an additional half star for the tastiness of the chicken guajira 🙂
This place looks very small once you enter, but don't be fooled cause there's actually more rooms in the back AND another floor downstairs.
Even with all this room, the place still manages to fill up fast on reservations. Their policy is that if the whole party isn't here, no seating yet. However since it was only one person running a bit late, they were able to seat us fine as long as we ordered drinks/appetizers while waiting.
No problem, the drinks we ordered were pretty good, although I cannot for the life of me remember what the names were. We definitely didn't order the sangria though, but will keep that in mind for future visits.
Now onto our dinner selections-
–
Appetizers:
Salmon Tartar Ceviche- hands down, this was the best and if there was a giant tub of this, we would have ordered that too. The salmon is fresh, the guacamole complements the fillings, lastly the amazing chips that came with it. When we tried to order more of the chips, we were told that the restaurant only makes a certain amount so it runs out fast due to the way they make it. Since it only comes with the ceviches, you MUST order one of them to get these delightful chips.
Camarones Al Ajillo- this was okay, the garlic bread was the good thing about this. The shrimp was by no means small, so the seafood here already looks promising.
Entrees:
Paella Valenciana- This was the dish I got. It was gigantic. Don't know if it's because we had appetizers but I instantly knew there was no way I can finish this dish. In the pictures, it was actually true to size. Not to mention all the delectable meats in the dish, you have shrimp, baby back ribs, and chicken. Accompanied with brussel sprouts, saffron rice, peppers, onions, spices, etc, this dish is a flavor bomb waiting to detonate in your mouth. A couple bites in, and Cuba has made its mark on my list of favorite restaurants. People are raving about this because it's THAT damn good. Luckily I was able to bring the remains back to enjoy some more later on.
Sides:
Maduros- typical fried plantains
–
At the end of it all, both the Salmon Tartar ceviche (crowd favorite as well) and Paella Valenciana were the go to's when you're here. What makes this even better is that the service is exceptional as well. Despite us being secluded and below ground, we were always checked upon and never felt like we waited forever to get our food treasures.
I foresee another trip here in the future, possibly during brunch to check out their brunch menu.
I took my friend here for a belated birthday dinner. The place is cute and cozy.
When we sat down, the waitress came over and asked us if we wanted drinks since it was still happy hour but then it was 7 minutes after so she said nevermind and walked away. She didn't come back for another 15 minutes or so. We wanted to order the Asian Sangria but she said they had run out…so we went with the Passion Fruit Sangria, which was OK (too sweet for me).
She took our orders and here it goes:
– Beef Empanadas: decent and flavorful
– Pork Belly: the chorizo around the pork belly tasted better than the actual pork belly, which in my opinion was bland
– Papas Rellenas: essentially potato ball stuffed with beef..I mean you can't really go wrong
– Yuquita Frita: awful…lacked flavor and were super stringy. definitely not my thing
– Paella Valenciana: it was only OK…kinda of salty. I've had a lot better
Towards the end, I asked for my check and got acknowledgement from our waitress that it was on its way but didn't get it for another 10-15 minutes until I asked again.
Overall, MEH. I feel like there are much better choices of Cuban restaurants around NYC.
My job organized a thank you lunch for the staff so we got a private room in the downstairs cellar with a set menu. The staff was friendly enough if a bit harried in the beginning take 30+ drinks and food orders. To drink, I had the Hemingway which I enjoyed (had ginger rum). For food, we each got to select an appetizer, entree and dessert. From what I was told, their events person was very easy to work with and organized everything well with a great price for groups.
To start, I had maduros, one of my favorite things to eat ever. It was a big plate of them! I would have preferred if they were crispier. For my entree, I had paella valenciana which is (mostly)rice, (2 legs of) chicken, (mostly bone small short) ribs, (don't think I got any) fish, (3 big pieces with head still attached) shrimp, scallops, clams, peppers, and peas. It tasted really delicious with good flavors – I had leftovers for the next day, I just wished it had more of the meat/seafood than rice. Dessert was key lime tres leches cake which was also really good.
While the food didn't blow me away, it was fine enough. Cuba is in a great location and has a nice vibe for a low key lunch or fun night out. I'd also recommend arranging a group lunch here.
I've had my share of so-called, "authentic" Puerto Rican, Cuban and even, Dominican food in Midtown, LES and up in Westchester and all have been doctored up poorly for the masses and the end result, is nothing close to authentic. We went for dinner, no reservations and seated immediately.
In essence, Cuba is really a cute and narrow spot….. Ok, let me cut through the bullcrap… it's tight, up in here. But, It could be a (somewhat) romantic dinner, just the same way it could be a fun and loud, girls night out. Interior, has an "old-country", Cuban appearance of distressed woods, and an accent window with shutters to continue with the Latin Caribbean flair. My sweet, Pasión Picante cocktail, was strong with vodka and hints of cilantro and jalapeño. I went for Tostones and Maduros as our sides and Mahi Mahi, as my entree. I asked our server if I can forgo the original sauce that complements the fish, and perhaps substitute it with a garlic sauce, and quickly gave me the green light….But wait, I didn't ask for stewed fish with tomato sauce! My dish wasn't horrible, but it's not what I wanted, and nor did I want to return it and cause a delay.
But there was another huge hiccup and our server was lost in translation. As I'm trying to enjoy my dinner, there is no sign of tostones or Maduros. However, I lost all etiquette and flagged our server to question him about them, in fact, he looked dumbfounded when I asked. Our tostones arrived halfway though our meals, not a few minutes before our meals or with our meals. The sweet fried plantains you asked? Man, at this point I was so flustered, I told our server to stop the order all together, because they too, were probably not even near fried!
Though Cuba serves as a nice spot for cocktails, it really needs to iron out a few housekeeping points…my dish lacked in taste, but then again, I can comment on one dish. As for the sides? Please Cuba, sides come with your meal at the moment you bring entrees to the table. And for the love of God, please… If you're going for "authentic" Cuban, you just go to Union City. Dominican food? Washington Heights. Puerto Rican food? El Barrio. Lesson learned.
Came for a friends birthday dinner. We had a reservation and it felt like we were asked to wait quite some time still. Their space is quite crowded both upstairs and down so you can tell this is a popular spot but their staff has tight areas to work in.
The food was just okay. We got empanadas to share, some were better than others. Although we were confused about the quantity the server described and initially didn't order enough. I got the ropa vieja to share and I didn't really enjoy it. I thought our friends dishes were yummier. They had the churrasco steak and a seafood dish.
I wanted to like this place but it fell below my expectations. There was an instance when the staff dropped some plates. One broke and slid right under my chair. No one came by to apologize or remove it or check to see if pieces flew anywhere. No bueno.