Food Review: Revolucion de Cuba

“Salsa dancing? Are you Havana laugh?” the Mrs and I said to each other with a glare. We all stood about awkwardly, only to be led by two feather-clad women and a nice lady with a microphone to a room full of reluctant bloggers and journalists. We were guided through what began as a disjointed shuffle, and developed into a full throng.

Honestly, I thought a ‘salsa masterclass’ was going to involve standing at kitchen stations chopping garlic and dosing lime juice. Believe me, I didn’t think I’d enjoy the dancing much, but in the short session we had, I got quite a nice little workout and developed more of an appreciation for the art form. The instructor was very talented, and I’d say we all got some fun out of the experience. Saying that, it’s definitely not for everyone. Personally, I think I’ll leave the sexy Cuban dancing to the sexy Cubans, and I’ll stick to Oops Upside Your Head.

Next up, we went for a bit of rum tasting where we learned all about the Carribean rum trade in the 1700s, and then sat down to begin the eating. We sampled the new menu and boy, did we sample. There were nine courses, so I’ll keep it brief...

Cauliflower with goat’s cheese and honey, deep fried in mojito batter. Minty goodness – ‘nuff said. Chicken thighs fried in jus with garlic and cashew nut sauce; ‘pretty peng’ I think is what the kids would say. The sardines in garlic sauce left even the seafood haters fishing for compliments to the chef. Pork and chorizo quesadilla – a bit like tacos – with a perfect seasoning of smoky paprika and fennel. Sea bream and patatas bravas was a great piece of fresh fish, lightly battered and fried in aioli. Then came the burrito with black beans on the side. Noice. Everything I wanted it to be – I’d go as far to say the best burrito I’ve tried in our little city.

Then they brought us a little bean burger to share. Now, last time I had one of these was at Wimpy in about nineteen-ninety-ages-ago – thankfully, this one was well better. Finally, our main man, Dom the head chef, brought out the final course – steak skewers. They were proper nice, just make sure to tell them how you like your meat. Churros with strawberries in cheesecake sauce arrived for dessert, bringing a little bit of the latina cantina to the plebby palette of us anglo-saxons.

To sum it up, lovely grub whether you fancy a spot of tapas or a full-on plate of fishy goodness. The atmosphere feels really authentic in the earlier hours of the evening, with a proper party vibe later in the night. The booze was great too, but that’s probably another 500 words and I was too drunk to make notes.

To maintain Fidel-ity, I’ll give this one a 59 out of Castro! Viva la Revolucion...de Cuba.

P.s. They’ve got one in Derby too… but ours is better.