Asia de Cuba

A nice restaurant, but very expensive (good, but no value for money).

140p for two persons is in my opinion not a cheap meal. The food is good, but not excellent. And I hate it that you have to be gone in two hours. For this money I would like to have a nice slow evening! And not a fast-food-tempo....
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Niels
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

I recently went to Asia De Cuba as a surprise for my friend's birthday, having heard good things about the restaurant I was quite excited myself aswell. I was not disappointed at all!

The restaurant ambience is very pleasant and warming. Coupled with the trendy setting of the St Martins Lane hotel which it is located within, the atmosphere that was created was unique and refreshing.

The male receptionist that greeted us was smiley and boisterous. He made an effort to keep us engaged with smalltalk whilst leading us to our table. Out male waiter for the evening was likewise very friendly and had a great sense of humour to go along with it!

Now onto the food! The prices were initially quite a shock but for fine-dining this can only be expected. The King prawns we ordered for starters were big and juicy and marinated with a very original pesto seasoning. We also ordered the beef dumplings which arrived both steamed and fried giving us the 'best of both worlds' so to speak. The mains that we ordered were the seabass and duck. Seabass was cooked perfectly, the fillets of fish were so tender they practically fell apart with the lightest touch! The duck itself was full of flavour although slightly overcooked, if ordered I recommend ordering it slightly more rare than you normally would. Finally the desserts....divine is the word that springs to mind. We ordered mexican doughnuts, a cuban brownie and a banana split between the three of us. Not knowing just how GENEROUS these portions would be, we were quite overwhelmed by how much we had! I shall definitely be sure to order less dessert next time i visit because they are huge!

All in all a very satisfied customer here and it was perfect for the birthday occasion. Highly recommended and I look forward to returning when my wallet allows it again!
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Yin
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 25, 2008

This is a fabulous restaurant. I have eaten there quite a few times and have not been disappointed yet. Asia De Cuba has a lovely vibrant atmosphere and the desserts are heavenly, cant seem to rave enough about it.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 25, 2008

I totally agree with the last two reviews. We went for dinner after the theatre midweek. We were kept waiting for our table (even though other guests who arrived after us where shown straight to the table). Had a flat G&T in the bar whilst waiting (I asked for a fresh one but they said it would be the same because their tonic is always flat!). I think they keep you waiting on purpose so you have to buy drinks at the bar.

Food was extremely average: dumplings were good, crab cakes were overcooked however the black cod was nice but the portion tiny. Can't remember what else we had it was a bit forgettable.

So, we were in and out within an hour and our bill was £188 for TGI-style service, Pizza Express quickness and Gordon Ramsay prices. Very poor value for money and we came away feeling a bit ripped off.

Atmosphere is a bit dated; your dining experience will be to a dance music soundtrack which is too loud for comfortable conversation. Anyone over the age of 35 will feel a bit old for it. Shame, because we used to go all the time but won't be going back.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, December 04, 2007

We went on a Saturday . We had to book for a spot in the bar beforehand. Good cocktails but slow service. Noisy and the records kept stopping halfway through. 7 drinks (including 4 house wines) £72! They put a 15% service charge on and then the card reader asks if you want to leave a gratuity! Onwards to the restaurant. Busy, bustling place. Good service, perhaps a little too much of it for some, and obviously running from "The Manual", twice I turned to order to find the waiters head at the level of my drinks almost on my lap. Food was good but not brilliant. i didnt really have anything that I thought was great. Black cod was good, chickpea fritters with the beef were good, I should be able to say that at least one dish was great, but I cant. We ordered three starters and three mains, with two side orders for four people. Possibly one dish to many. Overall we had a nice time but the prices and value for money ruin it. At the end I asked the waiter to take off the "discretionary" service charge of 15%, which was £45. I wanted to leave a sensible amount. I then had to discuss with the manager why I wouldn't be paying this "discretionary" charge, Outrageous. Just out to make money. Shame because with a change in attitude this could be a great place to go. Wont be returning.
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Dr Mark
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Monday, November 19, 2007

agree with recent comments - poor value for money - i thought the service was way over the top, food was tasty but not exceptional - had the prawns, ribs (good), scalops (disappointing), wasabi tuna (nice) atmosphere was ok - overall, way over priced - spent £500, never again!
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Asia de Cuba in my opinion does not compare to Nobu or Zuma. The atmosphere is nice a bit too bright/white for my liking, but thats down to individual taste.

The food however is not really that tasty. We had the lobster, lamb and also the black cod. The lobster and the lamb were ok, but having spent £60 and £50 respectivley on a dish, you could expect a lot more! The back cod was nowhere near as good as Nobu's.

The service was adequate, but again not great. We waited long for the food and also recieved little help with the wine selection.

There are definatley better places to eat out in London if you want similiar food and spend that kind of money.
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Peter
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 26, 2007

My wife and I have eaten at some of the best restaurants in London from Spoon to J Sheekey and can honestly say that' Asia De Cuba' ranks as one of the best

dining experiences we have had in a long time.......Well Done!!!!!
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R.Gotts
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Friday, September 28, 2007

We went to Asia de Cuba last night for an early 7pm dinner and I must say we were very disappointed. We had pesto prawns and ribs as starters and the black cod for the main course. Prawns tasted quite nice but arrived cold. Ribs were really not good with too many spices. The general flavour of them did not suit our taste. The black cod was a little tastless as well.

All in all, a disppointing experience considering that we paid over 130£ and didn't enjoy the food. Although we used to go back to this restaurant on regular basis, we will not be back anytime soon as it's the second time in a row we found the food very average. Bad value for money.
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Agnieszka
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 1
Thursday, September 27, 2007

This was recommended by one of my colleagues, so we though we would give it a try and take a customer there.

We arrived at 5:20 and as our table was booked for 6:00PM we headed for the empty Light Bar to sample one of their cocktails while we waited for our customer to arrive. Unfortunately we were informed that in order to gain entry to the empty bar either we had to have a reservation or be a hotel guest and a dinner reservation in the restaurant did not count. With a embarrassed colleague and after a discussion with the Manager?, eventually he agreed to " make an exception" and let us in. I was happy to go back to the pub across the road for a good pint of beer and good old fashioned service, which in this case was missing. My view of the light bar - expensive, as you would expect, lots of ice, no atmosphere, won't go back again.

At 6;00PM went to the Asia de Cuba and was told that we were late!. One of our party was not coming, that also appeared to be a problem and we were rewarded with a smaller table.

On to the food. As starters we had the Calamari Salad, Lemongrass Skeward Chicken and Tunapica. The chicken as very tasty, Tunapica was small & fussy and the Calamari Salad adequate.

As main course the Wagyu Beef was disappointing with a poor taste. The potato with it nothing special. The Sea bass was very nice and cooked well, not to dry. The grilled Salmon was a delight and had a great taste.

Overall it was very expensive for what it was. You can charge these price if you have excellent service and food to go with it, but not justified here.

The waiters & waitresses were however good polite and efficient, however the front desk in both the restaurant and bar let it down. We felt unwanted.

I have often found that first impressions count and maybe Asia de Cuba can learn from this
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Mark
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, August 14, 2007