DC Restaurant Review: Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar

As you all know, I am very much addicted to food. I would not be going out on a limb if I said that food is one of my passions. I enjoy sitting down and enjoying a good meal, whether it be a home made meal or at a restaurant. That is one of the reasons why I enjoy living in the nations capital. The diverse cultures here afford me the opportunity to indulge and sample many different ethnic foods from across the world. I can have Thai, Greek, Indian, Caribbean, or Mediterranean. The list goes on and on. That is why I try my best to get out and try new restaurants in DC.

One such restaurant that I was looking forward to checking out was Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar. If you know my family, or me, then you know that we enjoy drinking rum. Since we are Jamaican, the rum of our choice is usually Wray & Nephew white rum. Normally we mix it with Pepsi (in Jamaica Coke is not served since Pepsi acquired D&G which was the major distributor of soft drinks in Jamaica). Anyway, back to the review at hand. So, I wanted catch up with some friends and I decided that Cuba Libre would be a good spot to check out since none of us had ever been there.  I was very excited to check it out. Can you imagine, good Cuban food with rum? It was like my little foodie heaven come to life.

I get there, and was thoroughly impressed with the decor. I've never been to Cuba but I felt like I was in Havana (Still disgusted that my family and friends in Toronto get to vacation in Cuba). The decorations, the paintings on the wall, the furniture all went along with Cuban decor that was emanating and oozing out of every nook and cranny of the restaurant.

We were all seated by the host and started perusing over the menu to determine what delicacies we all would be selecting. Before we could even delve into the menu in detail, the waiter went into his spill about how they are famous for their 14 different selections of Mojitos. I mean 14 different types of Mojitos. I was like WOOOOOOOOOOW, Its about to be on. 

Okay, so after the waiter gave his spill about their selection of mojitos, he went on to explain the menu. He explained that the menu is divided into your typical entrees, soup and salads, and appetizers. He also explained that the menu also contains a selection of small tasting plates aka tapas. I don't know about you guys, but it seems that every new restaurant is either a full tapas restaurant or has a selection of tapas as part of their menu.  Are tapas the new craze? 

Well back to the review once again. So, we all decide to do the small plates aka tapas, since we were all a little short on time due to the tardiness of some. We all placed our orders, which consisted of the following:

1. Batata con Camarones: Cuban-pesto marinated shrimp with roasted sweet potato and arugula salad.
2. Tortica de Cangrejo: Jumbo lump crab cake, crema de yuca, and blood orange mojo
3. Yuca Frita: Cassava Cuban fries

I also ordered the passion fruit Mojito to wash everything down. Well, I must admit that I was thoroughly disappointed in my meal at Cuba Libre. The food seemed to lack any type of authenticity. I couldn't really detect or taste the Cuban flare of seasoning that I have tasted in Cuban food in the past. To me Cuban food has certain distinct flare based on the spices used to prepare the food. This is what I felt was lacking from the food at Cuba Libre. I mean one of my best friends in College was Cuban and he cooked all the time. I think the owners put more into setting the atmosphere than investing in the authenticity of their menu selections. I wouldn't even classify it as good Cuban food for DC.  

As for the their mojitos, which I had three, they were very weak. The drinks were tasty and sweet, but I could barely taste any rum. I might of well have just ordered a regular passion fruit drink.

To wrap it up, I wouldn't recommend Cuba Libre to anyone looking for a good Cuban restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I think the restaurant looks very nice, and that the food is pretty okay, but my expectations are much higher than what they strive to achieve. The restaurant is probably always buzzing with a crowd, but its because of location and its a new spot that people can go out and hang out to be seen, sort of like Art and Soul. I did a review on Art and Soul back in Feb 2009, another big disappointment. Since this is DC, sometimes the look and feel of a place goes a long way, but I am at a restaurant to eat. If the food does not meet my expectation, then I feel as if it was a waste of my time and money. I did enjoy the company of my friends. Well, I might go back another time just to make sure I wasn't completely off, but check it out for yourself and let me know what you think. Until next time, Eat, Drink and make Memories.