Restaurant: Casa Cuba - 99 Church Road, London SE19 2PR
Cuba is an Island east of Mexico and south of Florida. Its capital city is Havana.
Cuban cuisine is very similar to Spanish, Caribbean and African cuisines. Many Cuban dishes consist of foods such as: rice, plantains, beans and root vegetables (There are a lot of these as the climate in Cuba is perfect for growing crops). There is, however, only a limited supply of meat in Cuba, therefore it is rationed; meaning Cubans will make do with many meat-free dishes. The most popular method of preparing food is frying or deep-frying. Any foods from vegetables to meat can be deep-fried in Cuba.
We easily found a very authentic Cuban called Casa Cuba. It said at the top of the menu: 'The most authentic Cuban experience this side of Havana' so we booked a table straight away!
Our Orders:
Starters: Stuffed Plantains - Plantain shells stuffed with shredded beef stew
Black bean hummus - Hummus made from black beans with green plantain fries
Cassava Chips - Fried cassava cut like chips (cassava is a vegetable grown in Cuca)
Iberico Pork Cheeks - Pork cheeks with black pepper potato mash and guava sauce
Mains: Roast Chicken - Slow roasted chicken in Cuban mojo, rice and beans cooked together and fried ripe plantains
Cuban Beef Burger - Cuban style burger with creole sauce and cassava chips
Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ .5
This restaurant was a very good discovery as it sold lots of very authentic Cuban dishes and was decorated in a very Cuban way. The food was very good; we were surprised that the Cassava Chips were so nice as our previous trip to Burundi had made us rather dislike cassava, but now I think I could even eat cassava chips instead of potato chips! The best dish would have to be the Iberico Pork Cheeks, they were so delicate but flavoursome and amazing, you really have to try them. As well as every dish being very good, the waiter was also kind and helpful. The only thing that we were slightly disappointed by was the desserts; they didn’t serve any Cuban ones. You may wonder why I’ve given it three and a half stars but in my ratings this means it was a very good meal but something may have let it down slightly, in this case the desserts.
Altogether this is a very good Cuban meal experience which I definitely recommend that you try. Just be careful that you pick the Cuban dishes and not the Spanish ones as there are quite a few on the menu.
