Sometimes we like to venture outside of Surrey to see what the bright lights of central London have to offer. With a cool latin vibe, good food, friendly service and some excellent mojitos William Gadsby Peet was very happy with Cubana in Smithfield
Cubana in Smithfield is a wonderful little Latin gem tucked a little bit behind the Lower Marsh High Street. The décor inside is cool without being pretentious and there is a really relaxed friendly vibe to the place. They had a live singer and drummer performing as well, which added a little bit of welcome Cuban flair to the evening.
Having sat down with my brother (on the off chance you read my last review of Counter it's a different brother, I have two) I made what was undoubtedly my favourite discovery of the evening: Cubana have a selection of 9 different variations on the mojito. At the recommendation of my excellent and courteous waiter Quinton, I went for the chilli mojito which I would thoroughly recommend. I also tried a bit of my brothers ginger mojito which was similarly tasty.
Enjoying the feeling of being simultaneously refreshed and made to sweat by my chilli mojito, I took in the surroundings and was a definite fan of the Cuban street feel to the place. There are a number of awnings and covers that help to make you feel like your sitting right outdoors in the middle of a Havana street.
One chilli mojito down we ordered some starters, going for a plate of chorizo (of course) and the mixed tapas sharing plate. The chorizo was delicious and the mixed tapas sharing plate included some gorgeous free range tempura chicken that I was a mighty big fan of.
With the starters down and a second mojito in hand (I went for strawberry this time, I was feeling fancy), we moved on to the main event. I went for the the fresh cod veracruz which was definitely the tastiest thing I tried. The cod was cooked to perfection with some beautiful fresh clean flavours and a lovely little hint of spice. My brother went for the slow roasted cuban pork which I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed by. It was perfectly tasty, but I had hoped that such a cuban delicacy would blow my tiny cotton socks off, but in reality it was as good, if not a little worse, than slow roasted pork I'd had in a variety of other establishments.
We decided to go pirate and drink rum for dessert, which probably wasn't the smartest move for the hangover the next day, but well worth it considering the scintillating selection of Cuban rum they offer. I went for the Ron Caney 12 años which I would thoroughly recommend, it was sweet salubrious and all around tasty.
All in all this was a really nice night out, the food was good, the alcohol even better and the great service combined with some cool live music came together to create a really warm welcoming Cuban atmosphere.
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