The Cuban

Before buying a voucher from one discount sites, I was very wary about this restaurant. However, this was the best experience of London restaurant so far! I was more than surprised (but nice way). The food was excellent, as we had platas (Spanish share-like dishes) and Sangria wine. We chose to have a deal which is 28 pounds but we, totally hungry 2 people could not eat it all. There was so much meaty platas and some interesting dishes I have never tried before. And Cuban sausage...hmmm. it's the best so far. To be honest, I am totally convinced now that I am going to come back there some time with my friends. The atmosphere is a bit romantic as well, and there is a music (which is a rare treat in London bars, caffees or restaurants). So people, sometimes reviews lie, as not everyone probably likes Spanish dishes. However, I did like at all. And the service was alright too (one waiter was very helpful to us and food arrived quick and kitchen made (not freezer-made)). Well, I'd give 5 out 5.  

Good atmosphere, great place for a drink, awful food: bland, boring - the worst paella I've ever had!

I have to be frank for your sakes, this place is absolutely dire. Quite aside from the totally unconvincing faux-Latin "feel" (which in reality leaves you feeling you have just spent loads on a very watery mojito for consumtion in something akin to a school gymnasium but with even less soul), it seems management have been arrogant enough to tell their security to demand photo iD for ALL entrants, which bizarrely meant my 38 year old friend (younger at heart and very easy-going!) was denied entry on the grounds he had no passport and - theoretically - may have been under 21!!   Give this place a miss - vote with your feet and try somewhere genuinely Latin and open-minded like the Latin Corner in Camden Road or Coco Bamboo. The (so-called) Cuban is not worth it... Even if and when you, as a reponsible adult, get through their disrespectful and way overzelous security! They flatter themselves excessively by even having security.

Not being a huge fan of salsa I never used to come here much but visiting the restaurant upstairs I was very impressed, the atmosphere and layout are pleasant and more or less what you’d expect of inner Camden (dimmed lighting, bricked wall with the standard Che Guevara material). My colleague had the Cuban-style arancini with goats cheese-rice silky on the inside with some salsa for sharpness. The aubergines with ricotta was equally good, very fresh and thankfully not so cooked they’d become stupidly slimy. For mains we had a rich and filling beef stew for my colleague and the El Presidente chicken, both with nicely seasoned rice and beans. The chicken was cooked beautifully, very tender, although if chosen again I would have liked a slightly stronger marinade. We finished with a Crema Catalana with a delicious zing to it, all washed down with a good Rioja. Our Mexican waitress was very friendly and attentive and made sure our food didn’t arrive when we were elsewhere (on telephone, smoking etc). All in all, good food, good service and good value. At least enough to push me to the bar downstairs and give salsa another whirl.

Arriving at 7pm on a Wednesday evening to a nearly empty restaurant, to be told that if we didn’t have a reservation we weren’t sitting down is not what I wanted to hear. Clearly if we had sat down it wouldn’t have been worth it. I definitely won’t be darkening their door ever again…

This place is pretty grim. Nice decor, but the staff don’t seem to care, and are rushed off their feet anyway. Good luck trying to flag one down – they purposely avoid eye contact!

The food was nothing special. Despite being ‘cuban’ it was basically exactly the same as you can get at any La Tasca (and La Tasca give you bigger portions too).

Don’t waste your time, and don’t be tempted by their numerous special offers and vouchers unless you want to try ‘authentic cuban’ chicken dippers with tomato sauce. Mmm!

Its good, but not very very!!!

I've been to this place with a bunch of friends on saturday and it was very busy. Actually, some of them were spanish and they forced me tio get in that pub...and I didn't regret it. First, as mentioned in the name, you have to like latino music but it's not a must to enjoy that club. If you do, like me, you definetely gonna have a good time in that pub. The atmosphere is very warmful, a band was singing while I was there. They have a HUGE cocktails choice and they provide SALSA class on Thursday !!!

This place is awful. The worst dining experience I have had in London.

• Seated right next to a salsa class, complete with bright lighting, music and dancers less than a metre away.
• 40 minutes to even be able to order drinks (the first time)
• An hour before our meal order was taken. Then we had to re-order our drinks.
• A further 30 minutes for the entrees to arrive. Then we re-ordered our drinks, again. Frozen food style quality, very disappointing (chicken tenders)
• Mains arrived in reasonable time (as we were finishing the entrees) but was lukewarm, but edible).
• Had to order desert twice, then in took 45 minutes for a piece of cake and pudding to come out. *When desert arrived, they had ran out of cutlery. *Had to wait a further 10 minutes for cutlery, which turned out to be a knife and fork.
  Admittedly this was a Groupon voucher so you win some, you lose some, but this felt like such a rip off - from what was advertised as a 'three course Cuban meal' a set menu appears from which you could chose bog standard bulk catering style British fare like tomato soup, crumbed chicken pieces, grilled pork chop, cheesecake etc. Although the staff kept excusing the wait due to a very busy kitchen the staff seemed poorly organised and very top heavy - many people walking around with headsets and shuffling tables around, and a few half dedicated floor staff, that fluctuated between staring into thin air, hanging around at the bar and being run off their feet busy.
  Don't waste your time. Please - market fare would have been much more tasty, quick and atmospheric!

A small, expensive but pleasant place. I'm glad we had discount vouchers. The cocktails were very nice and portions were about right for 3 courses.

Great atmosphere with salsa classes or live music on certain nights.
That's pretty much the end of the good things, so don't get excited.
Went here twice recently as they're advertising up a storm with the discount vouchers lately. Even when it's dirt cheap it's simply not worth it.
On my first visit we had discount cocktails. I'm not professing to be an expert, but I have had a fair few Mojitos in my time and this was pants compared to all the rest. Too sour and very little alcohol.

On the next visit ( sucker for punishment ) my friend and I had 2 mains and 2 drinks for £10.00. The usual extensive menu looks great, but for the 'special deals' there is a small reduced menu to select from with such cuban classics as a sandwich, or moroccan lamb kebabs.
We had been seated for over 15 minutes before any member of staff approached us to give the menu or welcome us, when the food arrived it was stingily small and definitely like a starter rather than a main course.
Worse still, on trying to eat it, 2 of the 6 lumps of lamb on my plate were entrely inedible due to stringy fat, while the only other thing to eat was a few wilted salad leaves and red onion strips.

To add insult to injury, a week or so after I received an email from the manager telling of some further deals - but he had cc'd everyone on his mailing list so all our email addresses were visible. I then sent him an email back explaining that he needs to use BCC or he's breaching the data protection act, along with an account of my recent visits and some constructive feedback, to which I received no reply.
Do. not.waste.your.time.also.

Not bad - decent live music when we visited on a Friday night and a really good atmosphere. Busy without being absolutely rammed, though with a few of the obligatory customers tripping over everyone else from having a few too many drinks. A pretty good night out.

The first time I tried to come here, I was disappointed that they didn't have cortaditos. I guess they're not as Cuban as the name suggests?

Last night I stopped by after work for a quick drink. The cocktails barely tasted like they had any alcohol in them. We got two BayBreezes and they were made completely differently from each other. Oh, and one of them had little bits of broken glass in it.

Laid back and full of fun. Rockin’ live Indie rock during the early part of rthe week and nice pints to go down.

Great deco but more staff would be helpfull keeping the place tidy.

Either way beats other places in the area by far.

The Cuban is nestled nicely inside the Stables Market, in a large cavernour bar, which somehow retains a nice cosy feeling, probably through the dark panelling and nice booth seating.

Good food, which is of the tapas variety. In the week, I think Wednesdays judging by the other reviews, they have a band, which is really good.

This place is best in summer when the outside area enjoys a nice pool of light amongst the market stalls, and the different Camden makret types all congregate. Good for people watching with a nice glass of white wine, i feel.

A nice bar sitting between the dirty pubs and the poncey bars.

Expensive and very touristy. Note that only half of the garden belongs to the bar and you are better off buying a beer in the off license on chalk farm road and drinking it there. Just round the corner from chinese places where you can get £1 meal after 5 or 6 pm.
I don’t like it, it’s a rip off pretending to be a cool place. I wish they made it into a vintage shop or halved their prices. I’m still shocked that people go there… For rich tourist only. Go to proud gallery if you want quality for money. No go for me!

this is a great place. it plays all different types of music from live salsa bands 2 hip hop DJs. It’s a great night out whether your with friends or just out with a lady its great fun. with a name like the Cuban bar you would expect them to have a good selection of cigars, which they do the only down side is you have to smoke them outside.They also have a nice selection of rum. During the day I think they also do food. so whether your strolling through the market during the day or looking to dance the night away it’s a really cool place. I hope you enjoy the place as much as I do.

This place has the best vib and decor for a pub/bar. Its got this feel and look like a street party that could be happening in Cuba - not that I have ever been there but is ecclectic with good cocktails.

I went and saw a band there which they have live indy rock on Tuesday nights. Easy going and cool people filled the place as well. Service was slow and typical Camden style but a fun time place for sure.

After going to cuba i love this place its great and they play my cuban song! woohoo!!!

Rockin live music nights on Wednesdays. Cool looking place. Not the cleanest but a fun night out with cheap drinks.