Mint Condition?
Should we get ready to rumba?
Pro It's as relaxed and friendly as Havana.
Con It's not selling Cub cuisine as well as that.
Pay
€€€
Per Person €23-27. Shared: Starter, dessert, bottle of ribera. Solo: Main course. Gratis: apertif pickles. El Tenedor offers may be available.
Find
Website Via El Tenedor
🛈 Dietary Info Not on menu
Access Steps down from street into eating area.
In Short
Hopes. Something Cuban. And tasty.
Reality. Food wise, nothing much to complain about, but not a lot to get excited about either.
First Impressions. Space.
The offer in three words. Very safe introduction.
Service! Very informative and amiable Cuban chap.
Friend friendly? You'll be eating cheese and salads
Rating for dating. Two ongoing near us. Choose your table wisely.
Tip? Friendly service earnt a small one.
Change one thing? Furniture.
Revisitability. Not for us.
Compare & Contrast
Borax and Havana Blues are selling the cuisine to its best.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
If you want to try something Cuban, Hierbabuena will give you a worry-free introduction, but, while it's doing that, a first-timer might wonder if it's worth the effort. It is, but you might not learn that here.
It's a short menu. And looks like everything on it can either be heated, toasted or served cold. There doesn't seem to be cooking going on, on site. Eschewing the salads and most of the Spanish offerings - plates of cheese and coldcuts are about as Cuban as fish and chips - we went for two classics, and a light if entirely unCaribbean starter.
At least tomato salad is light and, in this case with decent oil, rock salt and peeled tomatoes makes a solid starter choice. A bread basket was welcome but not freshly cut, so this taste of Spain wasn't sold to the best of its merits.
And so to the Cuban courses. it's Picadillo & Ropa Vieja. Ready for a game of spot the difference? Let's play.
Answer? Yep, That's picadillo up there and RV down below. You're not alone if you're thinking they looks like two pre-prepared plates, with yucca and rice & beans ready to go, with the meat segment added as required. In fact, the RV is on offer on a couple of other dishes too. In terms of presentation it's simple, effective, but doesn't look the slightest bit like cooking to order.
Portion size is reasonable for €12, although that rice segment is easily the biggest. The picadillo felt light on non-meat components. It wasn't as spicy - not that it should be hot - or deeply flavoured as we want. Sadly, much the same applied to the beef, which is a big shame as, from cooking it, we know RV improves majorly given a night's flavour development time. This one had hints of potential, but just wasn't rich or juicy enough. That meant, as with the picadillo, the rice and yucca didn't have much complimenting to do, with not a lot of cooking juice to enhance them. The near-identical twins are pleasant dishes, but there's not a lot of the passion, energy and sheer oomph you'd hope for. We've been there. We've tried. We know it can be brilliant.
A coconut-infused pudding! finished things off. At least there was no splodge of cream, but I'd not have bothered with the treacly stuff either. It doesn't do much for coconut, which did at least add some distinctive texture to the dish.
Service is friendly, in line with the standard Cuban restaurants tend to reach in Madrid. Our chosen wine wasn't available, so we had to shell out an extra €4 for the only other red on offer. Tables are a motley mix of standard dining and low-level cocktail options. Book early for a proper one. Not that it will necessarily help. A Grindr date was monosyllabically grinding to an end, nearby, while one dater at another was wearing a jumper clearly inspired by a Star Trek uniform. Neither were thriving. Think Beam me up, Scotty! not Take me home, hotty. Back on Earth, the low tables, where we ended up, are predictably rubbish for eating at. It's like the Goldilocks story, albeit in furniture. Chair users are left looking down from on high, bench squatters are at worm's eye level. Result? One of you spends the evening with your fellow diner's midriff in your eyeline. It's not over though, the Furniture Asymmetry (yep, a Keane album title waiting to happen) means they enjoy the delights of the top of your head. No wonder dates prebook standard tables.
However we look at it, love doesn't live here, which is not helped because there's not much love in what's on offer. Bottom line? If you're after a cuban dinner experience, there are places around where the food will feel as special as it should.
Service 🟊🟊🟊 Environs 🟊🟊 Food 🟊🟊🟊
Should we get ready to rumba?
Pro It's as relaxed and friendly as Havana.
Con It's not selling Cub cuisine as well as that.
Pay
€€€
Per Person €23-27. Shared: Starter, dessert, bottle of ribera. Solo: Main course. Gratis: apertif pickles. El Tenedor offers may be available.
Find
Website Via El Tenedor
🛈 Dietary Info Not on menu
Access Steps down from street into eating area.
In Short
Hopes. Something Cuban. And tasty.
Reality. Food wise, nothing much to complain about, but not a lot to get excited about either.
First Impressions. Space.
The offer in three words. Very safe introduction.
Service! Very informative and amiable Cuban chap.
Friend friendly? You'll be eating cheese and salads
Rating for dating. Two ongoing near us. Choose your table wisely.
Tip? Friendly service earnt a small one.
Change one thing? Furniture.
Revisitability. Not for us.
Compare & Contrast
Borax and Havana Blues are selling the cuisine to its best.
In Pictures
On Google Images
What's the story?
If you want to try something Cuban, Hierbabuena will give you a worry-free introduction, but, while it's doing that, a first-timer might wonder if it's worth the effort. It is, but you might not learn that here.
It's a short menu. And looks like everything on it can either be heated, toasted or served cold. There doesn't seem to be cooking going on, on site. Eschewing the salads and most of the Spanish offerings - plates of cheese and coldcuts are about as Cuban as fish and chips - we went for two classics, and a light if entirely unCaribbean starter.
And so to the Cuban courses. it's Picadillo & Ropa Vieja. Ready for a game of spot the difference? Let's play.
A coconut-infused pudding! finished things off. At least there was no splodge of cream, but I'd not have bothered with the treacly stuff either. It doesn't do much for coconut, which did at least add some distinctive texture to the dish.
However we look at it, love doesn't live here, which is not helped because there's not much love in what's on offer. Bottom line? If you're after a cuban dinner experience, there are places around where the food will feel as special as it should.
Service 🟊🟊🟊 Environs 🟊🟊 Food 🟊🟊🟊