Impeccable service for a truly classy corner of Cuba in London. Tapas served in a cigar box, awesome champagne and bellinis, perfect mains and don’t get me started on those Cuban doughnuts!
Nickie C.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 London, United Kingdom
Not one to normally go into town on the weekend, I miss out on the great brunch offerings London has to offer. So when I had to be at a work thing in the late afternoon anyway, it seemed like a great chance to come try Asia de Cuba’s Bottomless Brunch. For around £50, you get unlimited cocktails(from a choice of 4 — mimosa, bellini, mojito, bloody Mary), a selection of starters for the table, a main course, and unlimited doughnuts. I’m not much of a drinker but I do love a mojito, so I started with one. Holy cow, it was so strong — I think they missed something out(it had no lime taste or sweetness). When the waiter saw I wasn’t drinking it, I explained I don’t drink much alcohol and he immediately offered to start bringing me virgin cocktails, which I accepted. The best one was a quite sweet one with hibiscus flower(not floral, just delicious!) The food came quickly, with some black bean dip that’s lovely. Then some ceviche which just isn’t my thing. I tried it, but the fish was a bit thick and it was a bit much. Then the warm apps came, and the ropa de viejo spring roll was the best — so delicious — but everything was good. The mini Cubans were tasty(but not as great as the full-sized one my husband had for his main!). I didn’t eat the chicarones as I’m not a fan of skin/fat but the taste of the bit I tried was spot on. By this point, I’m completely full. Then my main came — eggs Benedict Cuban style, with pulled pork. The 2 bites I managed were delicious. Then they brought doughnuts, which I somehow managed. They then brought more, which I did not! They were good, but not amazing enough to make myself sick over. ;) The service was FANTASTIC. I didn’t catch our waiter’s name, but he was friendly and charming and deserved the big tip we left. We did arrive quite late due to not being able to find it — apparently it’s a corporate decision by the hotel to not have any signs outside denoting the hotel(it’s the revolving door by the GymBox). Not sure why the restaurant didn’t have any signs(come in to the hotel and walk to the back left of the lobby). Worth seeking out, if you have a couple of hours and a bit of cash to through around at a weekend!
Brian C.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Pinner, United Kingdom
Saturday funday! Ok, so that doesn’t work as well as Sunday funday but seeing as we had brunch and I got to have a Bloody Mary, it seems quite apt. We had some trouble finding the hotel and the restaurant due to the lack of signs — I always just thought it was some offices above the Gymbox. Even once inside the restaurant it doesn’t scream Asian/Cuban fusion… more library than anything else. But the food was good, as was the cocktails(apart from the first dodgy round). But the stellar thing here was the service. Probably amongst the best two or three waiters I’ve ever had serve me. Five stars on his own. We’ll be back again, because the food/service makes the prices worth it. Also a Bloody Mary bar. Awesome.
Mari I.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 New York, NY
«Loved it!» The new menu at Asia de Cuba is excellent. Loved the Ropa Vieja Spring Rolls, the Fried Calamari Salad with sliced bananas and the Fried Rice! The Shrimp Churros were bland though. The ambiance is also great and it has a trendy and fun vibe and the music was never loud. Love this place!
Patricia A.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Washington, DC
I was extremely excited when I learned about the best place — it combines my two favorite cuisines and the menu looked fantastic. But I was overall not as impressed as I wanted to be with the actual food. My impression is that many of the dishes do successfully combine both Cuban and Asian elements(and ingredients), but there is a difference between putting different things on a plate together and actually creating a different dish that combines the two cuisines. I had the red snapper ceviche, which was amazing. It was properly bathed in lemon juice and the chili added(only ‘Asian’ element) gave it a perfect kick. It was not an interesting new creation, but I would have it again any day. The second dish I had was the plantain fried rice. With a name like that, I was looking forward to having fried plantains cut up and mixed into the rice, but my imagination got the best of me. The plantains were not ripe enough and three slices were laid boringly on top of the rice. Looked pretty, but didn’t live up to its name. The avocado ceviche that topped it as well is undermentioned in the name and was by far the best part of the dish. Service, once it got started, was excellent. The décor is interesting, but apart from the fantastic array of chairs and the bookcase, doesn’t say much else, especially nothing else to do with the theme. I was hoping the books would at least be in Spanish or Asian languages, but that was not the case. Maybe some more artwork could do the trick. The centerpieces were lovely, so points on that. Overall, the place is overpriced for what it offers. You are paying more for atmosphere and location than for the actual food. Nevertheless, there are very few places in the world where you can find Asian and Cuban food in fusion, and I hope this place lasts and improves. Maybe I would go again.
Alex L.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 London, United Kingdom
Food was delicious. Would recommend the tasting menu as received a really nice mixture of all different specialities which makes a change from ordering just one of 2 dishes each. Atmosphere was all very nice
Dema J.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Newport Beach, CA
Live restaurant. Great unique food the salads are amazing. Specially the calamary banana salad. And the beef salad . Great service.
Tal A.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
If you are up to a nice new experience of two cultural fusions, then you should visit Asia De Cuba. The food was delicious and not very heavy on the stomach. The dessert was great and comes in big portions too. So, if you are up to something new, ready to pay for quite an expensive restaurant, and have a sweet tooth, then you should try it. It’s an experience worth trying.
Oliver M.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Birmingham, United Kingdom
I booked a table here as part of a recent trip down to London. The trip was part of a birthday celebration so I wanted to eat somewhere a little bit special. I picked Asia de Cuba for three reasons: the menu of Asian and Cuban fusion food sounded interesting, the location is great(wanted somewhere close to theatreland) and, of course, I’d read good things on here. On arrival the restaurant makes a great impression, sitting at the back of the extremely stylish lobby of St Martin’s Lane hotel. The décor of the restaurant is clean and contemporary, the dining area dominated by rows of huge columns encased in black and white photos and old books. The service was great from start to finish, with really friendly and chatty staff who were attentive without being overbearing. Our waitress recommended a few dishes to us and talked us through the menu, she was always on hand if we wanted something. On to the food! We both ordered from the pre-theatre menu, which is quite the bargain at around £27 for three courses(bearing in mind that main courses alone on the a la carte menu are £21 and up). I went for the calamari salad, a house speciality, to start. It is really worth a try! Heaps of crispy salad sprinkled with lightly battered calamari rings, cashew nuts, banana and a zingy orange dressing. Adam S. went for the crab croquettes and whilst these were also very tasty the portion size was tiny in comparison to my salad. My palomillo of beef main was also very tasty; pan seared beef topped with fried onions and peppers and salad, with a peppery sauce. To finish I had the Cuban opera, a layered chocolate opera cake served with coffee mousse and icecream. We washed down our food with a couple of cocktails. I started off with a raspberry cloud caipirinha, which was bursting with raspberry flavour and really refreshing. After that I had a similarly refreshing triple berry mojito, perfect with my food. All in all, a really nice dinner in a lovely setting. I think that the pre-theatre menu is excellent value for money. I’m not sure, however, that I would be totally happy to pay full price. The food was tasty but for £25-£30 for a main course I would expect more wow.
Hugo R.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 Madrid
Gran decepción este tan conocido Asia de Cuba, no ha habido nada que diga… merece la pena repetir. Para empezar el ambiente neutro, triste y apagado. El sandwich cubano normalito y el coffee steak nada del otro mundo… De precio altito, 45 pounds cabeza…
Lou P.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Longmont, CO
Typically, I avoid restaurants in the lobby of any hotel. In my experience they are overpriced and often feature mediocre service. This is not the case here. My recent visit was my second. I was actually looking forward to eating here again. The service was great. I’d been in the UK for a week, and was getting used to lethargic service. Not here. Although it appeared that the server was covering a third of the restaurant, he was helpful and quick to respond. The food here is great. The rib eye is exceptional, although I beleive coffee is used in the preparation, which might have explained why I couldn’t sleep later. However, I’d get it again. The calamari side is also quite good. While in general I think of this hotel as being a little over the top(no sign outside, really?) this restaurant is well worth the visit.
Candice M.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 San Carlos, CA
What a cool place. This is in a hotel, and my colleagues had visited it before and kept raving about it. The décor is really cool, with interesting art and bookcases. It’s unexpected and gorgeous. Our waiter was so sweet and funny. Get the calamari. Seriously. Just get it and thank me later. The rest of the food is kind of a blur for me, but I loved everything. Warning: There is coffee on a beef dish they serve. This didn’t affect me because I only tried a bite of it, but my colleagues said they had a hard time sleeping. :) We also had awesome desserts. They are architectural and worth getting if you also like to take pictures of food.
Ameena D.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 New York, NY
We celebrated my MIL’s 60th birthday at Asia de Cuba last night… here are my thoughts: Service: From start to finish, everyone was friendly and helpful, thoughtful and welcoming. This was a nice change from the LA location where servers /hostesses can be quite snobby. Our waiter handled our party or 12 with ease, and was chatty and kind the entire evening. Ambiance: This restaurant is gorgeous. The décor is minimalist with a quirky twist. Food: Fabulous from start to finish. We ordered so many things so I’ll just note the highlights(for me). Scallops appetizer, salmon, lobster mashed, plantain rice, and the sticky rice. I don’t eat chicken but the BBQ chicken received rave reviews, as did the ceviche. We brought a cake from outside, which the hotel cut and served for us. For this service they charged 5 pounds per person, which seems high but maybe for London it wasn’t? This was the only minor criticism I had the whole evening. Bottom Line: This restaurant is NOT inexpensive but the great food and service justify the high prices. I’m sure we will visit again soon!
Sophack S.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Buena Park, CA
Another really hyped place. Specializing in Rum based drinks and the asian-latin fusion food. Portions are very large here when compared to other places. Plus it’s the restaurant in the hotel and it was only a matter of time before getting a meal here. Started out with two dishes for the group: SCOTTISHSALMONANDSALTEDAVOCADOHELADO — nice and well balanced. A great starter to have. SPICYHAMACHIANDPLANTAINTHREADS — plantains were not as crunchy as I would have preferred as it would have been a great texture to have with the hamachi. My main was the CUBANBBQCHICKEN which was recommended from our waitress. It was a solid dish. Chicken was moist and bbq of the tamarind had nice flavor. Like I mentioned above, huge portions here and this is was huge. Definitely a good recommend. Props to her. Desserts equally are huge. Mexican doughnuts were good with butterscotch filling and sauce on the side. The Cuban Opera cake was also quite good, but you must be a chocolate fan for it. Overall a good spot but one of the more pricey places around. Weekdays are days when you can walk in and get a table. Weekend, then you’ll need to plan ahead and reserve.
Raveena P.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Vancouver, Canada
Chic décor, lovely ambience and a delightful menu This restaurant is wonderfully decorated with the right amount of lights and framing. There are large pillars covered with pictures(of what looks like Cubans) and random pillars with flower pots hanging. I loved the single hanging lightbulb as the light for every table(I tried to pull an Albert Einstein kinda picture by sticking my head under one to take a picture… Lol it did NOT turn out so well haha) Anyway, back to the topic… Food! When I first heard Asia de Cuba. All I actually heard was CUBA… And my face turned to a look of disgust. If you’ve been to Cuba, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The food in Cuba is horrible. Overcooked, tasteless, spiceless. But I gave this restaurant a shot and boy I’m glad I did! It’s definitely not traditional Cuban. We took all the waiters recommendations and started off with the Triple Berry Mojito and regular Mojito. I loved the triple berry more than the regular(less taste of alcohol) — tip: order it with a little less ice… They come served in Mason jars overflowing with shards of ice! Loved the drinks so much we decided to have another round of the same! As our starters, we got the Crab Croquetas and Thai Beef Salad. The salad I personally could have done without… But the crab croquetas and green mango slivers were amazing(remember to eat them while hot!) As our main, we shared the Cuban Coffee Crusted Rib-eye with sides of Lobster Boniato mash, Yuca Mojo fries, Bok Choy with roasted garlic. Our Coffee Crusted Rib-eye came perfectly cooked and had the right amount of flavor(although I couldn’t taste any coffee…)… The lobster mash was amazing! Definitely worth getting! The bok choy was probably next and the yuca mojo fries(cassava fries) didn’t get any points in our books! For dessert we ordered tea(I got the camomile) and carrot cake… I usually love carrot cake and was really excited when dessert hit our table! Unfortunately… It looks much better than it tastes! It has some weird ingredient in it that gives it a really odd after taste… After EVERY bite. I was not a happy camper. For two people our total came to just over £210.
Emma M.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 London, United Kingdom
I took a friend here for her birthday after we saw Twelve Angry Men at the Garrick(Great play, grotty theatre). We started off with a drink in the Light Bar(ginger and lychee Champagne) before going for a 6pm reservation into the restaurant. The restaurant is impossibly cool with trendy décor and extremely fashionable, yet friendly and fun waiting staff! We had the tasting menu, which I thought was extremely good value for money — through Top Table we got it with a glass of champagne for £55 a head.(If you don’t book through Top Table, then it is £60 each with no champagne). It was a LOT of food, and we had added in the ceviche tasting course too. We started with an amuse bouche of tuna tartare and sesame seeds on crackers, which were delicious. We then had the ceviche tasting plate — three different types of fish in different sauces with giant prawn crackers and plantain chips. This was actually my least favourite course, it was a bit too doused in lemon and coriander for me(coriander tastes like hand cream to me!) I love plantains, but the chips were a little like very very hard cardboard. The starter was calamari salad, crab croquetas and Braised oxtail and kimchee dumplings. My favourite was the crab croquetas, with a delicious dipping sauce. The salad was very nice, and I wasn’t so keen on the dumplings, as the pastry was a little too crispy and felt just a bit underdone. We then cleansed our palate with a phenomenal mojito sorbet before moving on to the main course. Seared tuna on wasabi mashed potato and Cuban BBQ Chicken. Both glorious, although the tuna on wasabi potato was a revelation — absolutely perfect and soooooooo tasty! If I go back again, I may well just have two portions of that… We had a dessert plate that involved chocolate brownie things(a little too sweet for me_some banana cake(yummy!) some ice cream(also yummy) and some Mexican doughnuts(my favourite). We washed it all down with the best viognier I have had in ages at a really reasonable price. Altogether it came to just shy of £200 for two of us to eat our own body weight in fantastic food and drink quite a lot of champagne and wine. It’s not for an everyday experience, but for a very special occasion, it’s absolutely fantastic.
Paula M.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 London, United Kingdom
Been wanting to go here for a while having walked past this pretty much every day for 3 years. Asia de Cuba is inside a hotel which is known to be frequented by the rich and famous. Along with it’s location, it can be a place to spot actors from the local theatres. Had a early booking at 6:30 pm and was warned that there was a 2 hour turnaround on the table which I am never keen on as, if they don’t have a busy night they will happily let you sit there(which indeed they did) but if they were busy, we would have been kicked off which I feel makes a restaurant look like they are only interested in the financial aspect rather than the customers experience. Any how, we chose from the set menu. I had the crab croquets which were tasty. Lovely and crispy on the outside with fluffy insides served with a small fruity salad which helped keep it light. The starter was cosmetically pleasing also. I then had the sticky chicken which was nice, of a decent size and with a light salad served with it also. Again served cosmetically pleasing. Seeing that we were not being kicked off, I squeezed in a dessert which were half a dozen little donuts with a sauce. My dining partner was not having dessert but we had the usual two plates and two spoons so we could share. SHARE!!! SHARE my dessert??? You must be crazy(told the waiter this also!). They were tasty little light donuts and enough for just one, let me say that again, ONE person to eat :). Our waiter was very nice. He was friendly and helpful and had a little banter with us which made for an enjoyable evening. Sometimes in ‘up market’ restaurants, the waiters can be a little ‘aloof’, but our waiter was great. Although I didn’t think the food was spectacular, I’d come again as we both enjoyed all of our dishes and the waiter made it an enjoyable experience and the atmosphere and décor of the restaurant that night made for a good dining experience.
David H.
Évaluation du lieu : 5 Edinburgh, United Kingdom
I love places like this. Call me a design snob, but I appreciate the style detail in this place. I’ll get to the food in the minute, and it is worth the wait in my view, but the style of this restaurant in the St Martins Lane hotel is what first hits you. It was designed by Philippe Stark which should tell you what it’s like if you know anything about his incredible design work. It has different visual and tactile textures, it has sharp lines, impressive lighting and simple but powerful objects around the well designed seating to always give you a visual backdrop with lots of contrasts. The food is Asian fusion and is designed to be shared. There is a high percentage of fish in the menu, but there are good combinations of ingredients to provide some contrasts in the food as well. We had 3 starters between 4 of us, smoked salmon on thin Spring Onion pancakes along with some crispy octopus and some crab croquetas. All were delicious, the salmon was on wafer think crisp pancakes that made your mouth water. Mains we had Miso Black Code with Edamame mash(I’ll come back to that little delicacy), Seared Ahi Tuna(«I don’t like Tuna unless it’s excellent» complained one of our crowd. He wasn’t disappointed), and Cuban coffee Ribeye. All were incredible, cooked to perfection, enough to share with a little left over to tempt you with one more mouthful. the Black Cod was divine, and the edamame mash was something so simple, yet so incredibly yummy. The sort of thing that has you making little noises with each mouthful to give the game away. All in all, a stylish hang out with food that fits perfectly. For us it was £360 for the meal which also included deserts, water and wine for 3 of our party of 4. It isn’t for everyday, but if you want a great meal in stylish surroundings in central London, you can’t really go wrong.
Geoff And Jenni G.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 Sarasota, FL
The whole experience was fabulous… great food, excellent cocktails(even the virgin ones)… fabulous environment… very unique… Dessert was a bit boring unfortunately… shame to end on a low note… Would recommend trying it… but skip dessert!
Alex S.
Évaluation du lieu : 4 London, United Kingdom
Asia de Cuba is one of those places that may get some hate for two reasons: the fact that it’s trendy and the price on the menu(which does, by all means, make your eyes bulge out a little bit.) However, there are ways to fight the price and the trendiness is not understated. This is a very cool spot for a drink or a meal. I came here a few months ago with friends. It is not easy to find. Asia De Cuba is in the St. Martins Lane Hotel, which has no sign outside. Yes, even the hotel is hard to find(again, with that whole trendy bit.) Look for the giant glass building and revolving door and you’re in the right spot. Walk past the giant chess pieces in the lobby and the rows of golden teeth seats(I kid you not) and enter into Asia de Cuba, a large, comfortable restaurant with things like pillars filled with books and rows and rows of black and white portraits. Yes, the food can be a little crazy expensive(tasting menus run you about £60 and your a la carte dinner menu’s main entrée starts at about £30 with cocktails running from £10 to £15. However, I came for the pre-theatre sample menu, which gave us three courses to share at about £30(or two for about £20). We tried the crab croquets, which were warm and crispy and soft on the inside and laying on mango. Damn. Also the short ribs were were soft and tasty. The only one we weren’t thrilled with was the chocolate cake for dessert but that’s because it was too sweet for us. We should have went with the doughnuts, as I will point out later in the review. The service was fast and attentive. There was a line at the bar for people just drinking and it was a little hard to make my way through to the bathroom, so maybe it’s more of a food spot than a drinking spot. And famous people hang out here, so that’s something(if you’re into that something.) The bathrooms in this spot are crazy. Dark and wood panelled, with secret doors that you have to find to open the stalls(they’re built into the wall and you just push on them.) Neat. Yesterday, I was also lucky enough to be invited to sample their new dim sum Sunday brunch menu. I can’t talk about service here since it was an invite event but the food was solid, with the stand out items being the Dragon’s Twist cocktail with fresh lychees, dragon fruit and elderflower liqueur(woah and at £12.50 it better be woah) and the Mexican Doughnuts, which were filled with butterscotch sauce. Seriously woah and absolutely worth it. Is this place cheap? Oh god not. You’re going to pull out your wallet and be ready to pay — but you’ll be paying for something delicious.
Mashael Z.
Évaluation du lieu : 2 London, United Kingdom
First, it’s hard to find this place because it has no sign outside, so I was expecting it to be nice inside. It was alright in terms of atmosphere and décor, but not that special. The service was good though although they do take a long time to bring the food. We tried the salmon pancake with ginger and scallion ceviche and it was ok, although the salmon wasn’t particularly fresh and the pancake was thin and hard like a cracker. It was spiced interestingly though with latin-asian fusion way and we liked it although it wasn’t that special. We had the scallions and the duck for starters and the scallions were spiced nicely too but the duck was not very memorable. I had the rib eye steak for the main and it was terrible, I had to search for meat because it was mostly fat, and it was really bland. The bok choy with garlic was decent and the yucca fries, but the steak was so bad and the food so expensive that I really don’t think it’s worth coming here just for a few spices drizzled together in an interesting way. Ok but not worth it.
Stephan S.
Évaluation du lieu : 1 Frankfurt am Main, Hessen
Das St. Martins Lane Hotel und seine Einrichtungen wie Bar & Restaurant haben ihre besten Zeiten hinter sich. Hier war es einmal sehr hip, aber heute versucht eine seltsame Mischung von Leuten etwas von dem Glanz vergangener Zeiten zu erhaschen. Das Design ist immer noch sehr schön und lohnt einen Besuch. Service, Qualität des Essens und der Getränke lassen allerdings sehr zu wünschen übrig. Die Bedienung ist nachlässig und das alles bei sehr hohem und unangemessenem Preisniveau. Das Restaurant ist sehr laut, u.a. auch weil die Clientele nicht(mehr) sehr elegant ist. Das Essen war früher ein sehr kreativer Versuch der sog. Fusion-Cuisine(daher Asia & Cuba), aber ist heute ein undefinierbares Mischmasch asu halbfrischen Zutaten und liebloser Zubereitung. Ich denke, ich werde hier nicht mehr hingehen.