The legendary Cubana opened a new restaurant in Smithfield earlier this year. We had heard tales of fine Cuban cuisine served at their Waterloo site (these are supposedly the people who popularised the Mojito in the UK, back in the 1990s) – so we sent out our Jack to investigate. Verdict? Most definitely worth it!
Rating:
Cuisine:
Cuban / Latin American / Creole
Appeals To:
Those in search of the party vibe in a restaurant context. Cubana is colourful, musical, somewhat loud, the staff are lovely and the place is a lot of fun. This you can tell from the second you walk in…
Those who wish to learn more about the foods of Latin America. Cubana don’t just focus on Cuban food – there’s some Creole offerings and things from other parts of South America to be had as well. Needless to say, people who want to see what Cuban food and drink is about.
Anyone who wants to eat inside a bakery/coffee roastery. For freshly made, you can probably do no better…
In a Word
Vibrant
“¡Patria o Muerte, Venceremos!”
The brainchild of businessman/former Tory treasury minister Phillip Oppenheim, Cubana is a Cuban bar-restaurant chain (and by chain I mean two restaurants, they seem to be in no rush to expand…). The first has been in Waterloo for almost 20 years, and seems to have established itself in British culinary lore. I’ll talk about Cubana’s history in a bit more detail before I talk about their relatively new site at Smithfields…
So yeah, the first Cubana was opened back in 1998 and can quite be possibly credited with a few things. The first is popularising the Mojito in the UK (they obviously did not invent it!). The second is being one of the first restaurants to really get aboard the Street Food movement – as in, taking their food out onto the road (Glastonbury) and onto the street (they still do this in front of their Waterloo store I believe!).
The third comes down to their sourcing – they claim to be one of the first restaurants to have gone 100% free range (and have the awards from Compassion In World Farming to prove it). Phillip was also a founding member of the Waterloo Food Festival (of which I know positively nothing…).
If you’ve been to Waterloo you’ve probably seen the original Cubana, it’s the restaurant located just across the road from the Old Vic with the huge mural of the Cuban lady, the tropical plants (which I think are real, and somehow alive, despite the weather), and the glittering array of lights…
Anyway, onto Cubana Smithfield. It took them almost 5 years to convert a derelict Smithfield warehouse into cafe/bar/restaurant/bakery/roastery that you see before you – and for that, you can blame London bureaucracy, not a lack of enthusiasm. This site focuses on a lot of things, (a small bakery amongst them) but what they seem most keen to emphasise is the coffee offering.
As of I’m not sure when they have a coffee brand (also named Cubana), which they sell and roast onsite (in a 15 kilo batch Giessen roaster). I am assured that it is single origin, Cuban (obviously) and sustainably sourced. Philip was also involved in launching Alma de Cuba coffee, though I don’t think he spends much time with that anymore.
The Drinks
The bar, obviously, serves Mojitos and tropical themed cocktails – and there’s also a reasonable selection of Latin & Spanish wines, plus some cuban beers.
The Food
As for the food, breakfast and early afternoon is a little more European – waffles, pancakes, french toast, omelettes (etc). In the evenings they transition more towards Cuban, Creole and Latin-American dishes (which is, presumably, what you’d expect) – plus ‘barbacoa’ food grilled on the robata grill. I’ve been told that you can also hire Cubana Smithfield out on weekends for Salsa dancing, gelato making masterclasses and coffee roasting.
I think they’re thinking of expanding a little further, but as you can probably tell, Phillip is in no rush. Apparently it’s more difficult to expand in a hurry if you’re committed to ethical sourcing of all your ingredients. And does London need any more massive chains, anyway?
To quote something the man himself said to other publication: “…what we will never do is try and become a huge chain which sells out on its principles of ethical sourcing and quality like so many others have.”
What we ate
Starters / Tapas
Camarones con gabardina y salsa de mango y chilli
Falafel Cubana
Mains
Ropa vieja
Parilla mixta con ensalada
Desserts
Most of their desserts come with a serving of Cubana’s very own home-made gelato (choose your favourite!). This, I think, is made daily, and so the flavours available change on a daily basis.
Sticky toffee banana pudding with hot caramel-molasses sauce and a pistachio crumb
Chocolate commodante
What we drank
(quite a lot by the looks of it…)
Cristal (Cuba) 4.9% ABV – 35Cl
Estrella Galicia 1906 (Spain) 6.5% abv – 33cl
Mojito Anejo & Chilli Mojito
Café Caney
The Verdict:
As good as I had hoped it would be, and as its reputation hinted at. This place is a lot of fun, there’s plenty of new food and drink to try out, and even if you don’t go for a full meal, you could spend a good few hours here sampling all of the coffees, rums and mojito variations. Whilst watching some live music!
Next step – to visit the Waterloo site and see what happens…
