Cubana

I came for dinner last night with a friend. The waitress' weren't extremely friendly and they didn't seem to be very confident; this would have not been a problem if the rest of the night would have been okay. We ordered a sharing plate which was okay and for main course I ordered one of the plates the waitress suggested (Ropa Vieja) and my friend ordered a plate of chickpeas with chorizo.

I couldn't eat my dish as it was too rich and dry and my friend's chickpeas were absolutely undercooked. No one came to ask how our food was at any time and since we stopped eating our main courses we had to wait about 20 minutes (no joke!) to get the attention of one of the waitress'. I mentioned and apologised myself for not being able to eat my food as it was dry and too rich and the only answer I got was:" really?" and she took the plates and walked off. I thought someone would come and ask if I would like something else or they would bring the dessert menu... well, no one came for another 20 minutes and I was about to walk off without paying, as I couldn't believe no one approached us to apologise or just offer some coffee or desserts, as it should be as part of the normal dinner service. When we got the attention of another waitress and we explained the situation, she argued with us saying that we should have said if we didn't like our dish before (really????); we kept saying we already explained that and she kept arguing... She finally decided to speak to her manager just to shut us up, not because she wanted to make us go home happy and they offered a 20% off the meal and they still included the service charge!!! we didn't want to pay for the service charge and again, we waited for someone to come and take the money and explain we weren't paying the service charge, but again, no one came. So we decided not to pay and walked off without saying anything.

I am definitely NOT COMING BACK AGAIN!
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Amaia
1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Had dinner at Cubana on Saturday night. The restaurant itself was good; great decor and a fun atmosphere (though this was down to the other diners, rather than the staff). The food was good, but the portion sizes were pretty small and none of us really felt like we had eaten a two course meal. The service for us was the low point. Both the waitresses serving us were rude. They did not come over once during the meal, to see if everything was OK, or take orders for drinks, in fact there were no pleasantries at all. They didn't even ask if we enjoyed the meal at the end of the evening. The fact that we were still hungry at the end of the evening wouldn't have mattered as much if the staff were more welcoming and friendly. Would not recommend this restaurant.
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Diamond
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Awesome mojitos and not expensive and some more than passable tapas. We'll be back!
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john derrick
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, March 25, 2011

Went for lunch with colleagues and we had a main course each for £4.95 - mine was a sesame tuna dish, the others had a Cuban beef hash. Very filling and tasty. One of us had a lime meringue pie for pudding and the others had a sort of passion fruit muffin/souffle thing with coconut ice cream - all good. Best of all, we were only charged £1 for the coffees! Very nice food and drinks and surprisingly inexpensive.
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ann simpson
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, March 11, 2011

Amazing cocktails and decent, fresh tasting food - very good value. Service friendly, if a bit hit and miss. Colourful and vibrant with some great live music later on.
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daniel harden
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Thursday, March 03, 2011

Overall, a good place. Inexpensive food which appeared to be made to order, judging by the open view of the kitchen, which is a nice thing for a restaurant. Excellent steaks and a very filling Cuban spicy chicken main course - the tapas were pretty good as well, but some of them also very filling. The ceviche and the chicken, chorizo and guava skewer were higlights. We had smoothies, which tasted very fresh and were some of the best I've had anywhere - no Cuban beer was available, which was a shame, but they said supplies from Cuba were not reliable so we had a very good Spanish beer and some house wine, which was good value and very drinkable. Cubana is a good place for an inexpensive and fun night out and the quality of the food surprised me.
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jay redway
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 28, 2011

Awful food. Awful service. Awful experience. Will NOT be going back.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, February 25, 2011

Pre-theatre menu for £12 or so for a three-courser with service was amazing value. Tuna cakes were zizzingly fresh and Cuban chicken dish was lovely, as was the lime pie for pud. Good cocktails too at reasonable prices. We went on a Thursday and it was pretty full at 6.30 so service was a bit slower than we would have likes, but they did tell us they were busy and got us our well within an hour. Very different sort of place and not posh, but they seem to make a real effort and good to see the chefs working in the open kitchen. Noisy!
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susan jordan
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Sunday, February 20, 2011

We went and tried the pre-theatre menu before going to the Old Vic and it wasn't bad for the money. Tuna/chilli cakes were very tasty and the Cuban beef hash main was also good. One of us had a sesame tuna and another a sirloin steak from the regular mains and were also very happy. Nice to see an open kitchen where the food is being prepared. Excellent cocktails too - we had the 6.95 for two Happy Hour Mojitos and I can't see why anyone would want to pay more for less good Mojitos in other bars. Service was reasonable - we said we were in a hurry - I've been before and though Cubana is not exactly Michelin star territory, it's a pretty good place with tasty food.
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daniel harden - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 19, 2011

I'm not sure which place the previous reviewer went to, but it's not the Cubana I recognise - no name, no date of visit - hmm, has someone got an agenda!

Anyway, I've been twice recently and had the tapas sharing dishes and I can't see how anyone can say they are poor value at under a tenner for a big plate of fresh food - it wasn't all to my taste, but no-one can doubt the value. Personally I prefer the specials and mains and the sesame tuna I had recently was excellent and would have cost a lot more in a different restaurant.

I went for the Cantina lunch this week and had a really tasty Cuban chicken dish for £5 and the coffee after was £1. My friend had the dessert too - a lime meringue thingy which was scrumptious - you could taste the fresh lime.

My only complaint is that service can be a bit slow when they are busy, which I guess is the price for freshly prepared food. But Cubana is a very good place for a reasonable value meal and drink.
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nisha natarajan
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 18, 2011