When my friend asked
me to try this Cuban place she had heard about, I was intrigued. I couldn’t
figure out what it would be like or where it was and I was excited at the
opportunity to discover something different.
She booked a table on
a Saturday night and we met there at 8 pm both starving and impatient to find
out a bit more about the restaurant and the food.
The first impression
was magical. It was like stepping into a real Cuban café. Everything had been
carefully designed to provide an authentic Cuban atmosphere: the luxurious and
extravagant chandeliers, the paintings picturing Cuban men smoking cigars, the
beautiful mosaics on the ceiling and the tables each individually handcrafted.
We felt instantly romanced by these warm and festive surroundings.
First of all we
ordered cocktails, which the café was famous for. I had the Che Guevara, which
was an elegant and delightful combination of Havana Rum, Angostura Bitters,
lime and Ginger Ale. It was honestly the best cocktail I ever drunk! It had
everything I love in a cocktail: a bit of strength, delicate flavours without
that over sweet aftertaste or thick pureed texture. As for Katie she picked the
promising Bon Voyage combining tequila, sugar syrup, lime and Chambord. It
was delicious as well even if slightly to syrupy for me.
As we were perusing
the menu, I was literally drooling…the food sounded unbelievable and we decided
to order different things so we could share and sample more.
So, between the two of
us we asked for the ballotine of chicken and the ham and egg.
The chicken was
sensational, it basically melted in your mouth, delicately infused with chorizo
and served with Mesclun salad, a tomato to die for, roasted with olive oil,
herbs and bread crumbs and golden and crispy chicken skin which was the icing
on the cake. We couldn’t have enough.
The ham and egg was a
very satisfying starter as well. The runny quail eggs had been expertly cooked
within a sort of ham and potato croquette. It was divine even if slightly less
extraordinary than the chicken in terms of flavors.
We had struggled to
select our main courses and finally opted for the slow cooked pork belly and
the slow roasted beef. The pork belly was perfection to my tastebuds, beautifully prepared, caramelised and tender without that sensation of fat. It came with a
potato croquette, black pudding crumbs (I only regret they were not giving away
more of the texture and taste of the black pudding that I love so much) and a
crackling. The presentation blew me away. Elegant and delicate, it had nothing
to do with café food and definitely reached the standards of fine dining.
Katie’s beef was
served in a rich black pepper sauce on a bed of luxurious garlicky buttery
mushrooms: heavenly combination! The side of fat duck chips was unreal, I
simply couldn’t resist them, both fondant and golden crispy with that extra kick
brought by the duck fat! It is a shame though but the beef that was a superb
piece of meat was slightly dry at core. Except from that, the whole experience
was a huge success.
I actually forgot to mention that the waitress brought us
amuse bouche before the starters, a surprising association of mashed garden
peas, hot smoked salmon and Parmesan crisp. It was a great start to our evening
and made such a positive impression on both of us.
With such refined
food, I would have expected the wine list to be quite expensive but I was
wrong. The selection of wines was short and sweet but nothing above 17 pounds.
We ordered and Italian red wine that accompanied beautifully our dishes and was
really good value for money.
My friend who usually
doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth was impressed enough by the whole dinner to
want to try out one of the desserts. We then ordered the very enticing and
promising “best chocolate recipe I know”. It was a chocolate cake served with a
delicious puree of fresh red berries and topped with a scoop of homemade
whipped cream. I can’t say that it wasn’t good but we maybe expected a bit
more after such spectacular starters and main courses. The cake was a sponge,
which, in my opinion tends to be a bit dry. I always have had a sweet spot for
rich buttery chocolate cakes as we often bake them in France and this one was
definitely not that kind of dessert. However, the balance of flavors was really
nice and the homemade chocolate sauce unbeatable.
Well, as you must be
expecting, I would highly recommend this young and vibrant restaurant. It truly
is a gem and has so much to offer. The food was unbelievable, incredible value
for money, the service was warm and efficient and the surroundings exotic and
charming: what’s not to love about it?
For info:Café Havana also
offers free tapas with your drinks every Thursday and Friday night and hosts
Salsa nights for those who enjoy a bit of Latin dancing.
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