Cuba

What a great place, just like Zagat 2006 mentioned it. "Caribbean authenticity comes to the Village via this new Cuban" Really the best Mojito's, Ropa Vieja, Live music & the hand-rolled cigars. I had great time with my friends. Thank you CUBA!!

Pros: excellent

Posted 08/08/05

this has been the best cuban food,the live music,the best mojitos in town,the sangria rocks,,service is great,they make you feel part of family,go to cuba you wiil love it.....

Posted 08/08/05

Went here for Valentine's day this year. Food was very good. Live music was excellent (purchased the CD). Romantic and lively at the same time. Hot and sexy.
We both had a really great time.. too bad we eventually ended up breaking up anyway, lol.
Resevations are recommended as they have become fairly popular.

Pros: great food, service, music

Posted 08/08/05

Went here for a birthday party and felt like I was in a cave. Nothing is CUBAN about the rest. The food is average, "anywhere" spanish food. The tostones with mojo were probably the best thing. The Sangria is awesome. Cool that you can take your own cd's and play them yourself! not sure if this is the case on the weekends. Will come again, but not expencting extraordinary service.

Posted 08/07/05

It's Saturday night, about 10:00, and my girlfriend and I are waiting for a table. Cuba is a small, crampt, cozy ;), place and when the hostess offered to seat us at the table next to the hostess stand/front door/manager I asked politely that if it weren't to much trouble I'd wait for the next table. She glared at me and said it would be a long wait. My outrageous request translated into her refusing to give me a table. When I left the manager gave me lip service. It must feel good to them to look down upon people.

Pros: Music, Decor

Cons: Hostess, Manager, Attitude

Posted 08/06/05

It was well worth the wait, the best Cuban food and Mojitos that I had in a very long time. (I had the Red Snapper). Most of the Cuban restaurants are the same, Cuba's food was very unique, out of this world!! I really recommend it.
The live music was enjoyable and the hand rolled cigars made the experience authentic.
I will go back this week

Pros: Inexpensive, excellent, bes mojitos

Posted 07/24/05

I just wanted to send an email to say thanks so much for making my sat. night dinner wonderful! I was visiting a friend in NYC last week, and we decided to try out your restaurant with a few friends. Being from New Orleans, we have many great restaurants down here...but I loved Cuba!!! The music added an extra touch also!

Thanks for serving such a great mojito. It was absolutely the best I've ever had!

I was wondering if there was any way that I could get the recipe for the mojito?

Thanks again for a memorable dinner!

Pros: Mojito, Service, Food

Cons: Not at all

Posted 07/21/05

Just to warn you, reservations dont mean anything. I had a reservation and ended up waiting over an hour to be seated! The place is so tiny, you couldn't wait anywhere but outside. And if you don't keep checking up on the hostess, then you will have to wait longer. Once seated in my very cramped area, I managed to enjoy an "ok" meal until I accidentally burnt my wrist. The waiter failed to mention that the plate was piping hot & didn't have anything for me to put on my burn. I wouldn't come back here again. Such a bad experience!

Pros: Live music

Cons: Crap seating, Hostess

Posted 07/21/05

I LOVE this place!!! The band is AMAZING and can really get the crowd going. The bartenders and servers are all great and super friendly. They all look like they are just having a good time and enjoying themselves, even though they are working. This effervescence transfers itself over to the customers who look like they are having an equally fun time. Just a warning that the sangria and mojito can knock you OUT! My only complaint is that the area is too small, so that you can't just get a drink or shake your booty a little. Definitely get a dinner reservation so that you have a seat to listen to the band.

Pros: Band, Ambience, Service

Cons: Very small space

Posted 06/23/05

After seeing an ad in Gourmet about private parties, I booked one for a friend of mine in the downstairs private room. The food was great - and what a value! Perfect atmosphere for a party.

Pros: Food, Value

Posted 06/23/05

Best mojitos in the city!! Maybe even best mojitos north of Havana. Great live salsa music. A lot of fun and the food was excellent.

Posted 06/14/05

Despite having a reservation, we waited for over an hour for a table. Lucky for them, the food made up for the wait. Great food at good prices. Would return, but probably wouldn't bother to make a reservation.

Posted 06/13/05

Cuba is a GREAT restaurant, in capital letters. I was there with my wife and son and I was promptly seated. I ordered Solomillo de Vaca and Paella Valenciana for my wife and wow were they delicious!!, no wonder the place was packed. The site was marvellous, the service, the music, the ambience, everything makes this place worth visiting many, many times. No wonder people keep telling that this restaurant is NUMERO UNO in New York!!

Pros: Excellent Food, Excellent Service, Excellent Ambiance

Cons: None

Posted 06/11/05

The terrible service more than erased any positive impression I might have gotten from the food which was ok at best. I made a reservation weeks in advance for a party of 10 (which I confirmed about 3X with the manager). When we got there, the waitstaff ignored us and then gave us the runaround about who to speak to have our reservation honored. When we were finally seated, the waiters proceeded to stare us down so we could order quickly. Ironically, however, we had to flag people down to even get drink orders filled. When we were done, they tried to stare us down presumably to rush us out asap and started clearing the table before we even finished getting up from it. This is NYC and there are so many good restaurants to spend your hard-earned money at; this is not one of them.

Pros: Good mojitos, Traditional Decor

Cons: Rude Service, Cramped space, Reserv not honored

Posted 06/07/05

Although we waited for an hour past our reservations, I still enjoyed Cuba. There was a live band playing Cuban music and the drinks were great, if you can get the bartender's attention. The hostess was apologetic about the wait time. However, the food and sangria certainly made up for it.

Pros: Food, Drink

Cons: Crowded, Long Wait

Posted 05/21/05

we had a wonderful meal and a wonderful experience all thanks to our waiter tony.
i would definitely go back the food was wonderful and very reasonable.

Posted 05/15/05

I made a reservation for a Friday night at 9 pm. We didn't even get seated until well after 10 pm. Once we sat down, it took forever for the waiter to take our order. He never refilled our drink order and we had to go the bar and get drinks ourselves. The food was delicious, but the service was possibly the worst I've ever experienced in a restaurant that charges as much as it does. Don't go here unless there's no crowd. The food is good, but not worth the bad service.

Posted 04/17/05

One of the best places in NY to eat Cuban and Spanish food. The ambience and the people who serve are really great. You gotta try the Paella and the Solomillo de Vaca, great taste!!!. Mojitos are readily served, so you can't complain about service. For me, it's the best Cuban restaurant in town, go and see it for yourself!!!

Posted 04/12/05

After going for dinner at Cuba. I understand the fascination that New Yorkers have with the Cuban culture.This place has a really nice warm ambiance and the night I went with some friends the place was full of beautiful people.I wish that they had some of those cds for sale cause that music was really good.We were so happy with our food and man those mohitos were out of sight.In one word, this restaurant is THE BEST in town, you gotta go and see it for yourself.

Pros: Location, Ambiance, Food

Posted 04/10/05

After making a reservation and then waiting by the bar for 40 minutes, we were then seated only by myself approaching the hostess to remind her we were there. Ordering at the bar, the bartender pretended to make a drink with contents I requested and turned the bottle around so I wouldn't see what he really put in the drink. I knew at this point we were heading for disaster. We were then seated in the highest traffic area, and the food was marginal at best if you eat a lot of Latin food. The greatest thing about Cuba is the live music which I can listen to cheaper on the other side of town.
I do not recommend getting sucked in to all the hype!

Posted 04/09/05

Unfortunately this cute little place has the rudest servers I have ever encountered in NYC. Our server was a rude older gentlement who didnt even think we deserved a simple HELLO. And dont even think that anyone else will want to help out if your server is chit-chatting with the bartender for 15 minutes or more. If you dont mind bad service this is your place, if not there are great other latin restaurants in NYC with great service!

Pros: Decent Food, Nice Music

Cons: Rude Servers, Long wait for food, Worst Customer Servic

Posted 04/02/05

I was in "Cuba" for a romantic dinner and everything was perfect. We tried the mojitos, and really are the best mojitos in town as everybody says. The food was exelent, the "Empanadas" with tomatillo sauce were great. we tried the "Paella Marinera" perfect.
The live music great very romantic. And the prices really afordables.
I reccomend this place

Pros: Price, Paella, Music

Cons: No, No, No

Posted 03/30/05

Real cuban food at very reasonbale prices. The atmosphere was electric w/ latin muisic playing..live and via DJ.

Pros: Great Food, Reasonbale prices, Lively atmosphere

Posted 03/22/05

We were a goup of 10 people out celebrating a birthday. My friend made reservations and called to confirm twice. When we got there, they made us wait 40 minutes for our table. The hostess was rude and the manager was no help at all. In fact, I saw him get chewed out by another angry customer outside the restaurant. We were finally seated in an area that should probably only fit 6 people - everyone felt pretty crowded. On the plus side, the food was good (not very expensive, too) and our waiter was great.

Posted 03/17/05

After making reservations two weeks before and confirming 3x by phone, we went to Cuba for a birthday dinner for ten; eight of us showed up five minutes before the reservation and stepped into CHAOS. We were told by a frenzied hostess to wait at the bar. Five minutes later, the remaining two of our party showed up. Forty minutes after THAT, we still hadn't been seated though we could see a lot of large tables available downstairs. We were told that those downstairs tables were "reserved" (!!!) by the MANAGER (!!!).

Overall, food was pretty good, our server was fun, and it was affordable. But we waited way longer than anyone with a reservation should have (with only attitude provided by management), and it was CRAMPED upstairs. I wouldn't go with a group ever again!

Posted 03/15/05

My friend and I ate here last night. The hostess seated us downstairs, which was great 'cause the main floor was chaotic. The food was absolutley wonderful and portions were just enough. Also, the drinks were awesome. My mojito was just right. My only gripe was the delayed service in taking our order.
Overall, good dining. I definitely plan to return.

Pros: downstairs seating, food, drinks

Cons: a little slow service

Posted 03/09/05

i'm cuban from miami and the food at this place has gotten the closest to tasting like back home....in true cuban fashion the portions could be a bit larger. i'm a tough critic, and yea i've been to the other places in the city. it's a good date place, has a good vibe, and the sangria was primo.

Posted 03/06/05

I was thoroughly impressed by the service and the food at Cuba. I went last Saturday night for dinner with a group of girlfriends and we had a great time. Although a bit small, the live music, food and the bartender added to the great ambience of the restaurant. I recommend the restaurant to anyone who wants to have good Latin/Cuban cuisine and a great coconut mojito!!!

Pros: Food, Price, mojitos

Cons: no, no, no

Posted 02/22/05

DON'T BOTHER MAKING A RESERVATION THEY DO NOT HONOR THEM. I MADE A RESERVATION FOR MY BIRTHDAY FOR 14 PEOPLE. WHEN I ARRIVED THE RUDE HOSTESS GAVE ME THE RUN AROUND FOR THE FIRST 15 MINUTES THEN SHE GOT COMPLETELY RUDE AND SIMPLY IGNORED ME. NOTHING WAS READY AND THE MANAGER WAS DIFFICULT TO GET A HOLD OF AND WAS NOT CONCERNED WITH MY COMPLAINT. THE SERVICE IS SLOW AND THE FOOD HAD NO TASTE. I EAT A LOT OF CUBAN CUISINE AND WAS UTTERLY DISSAPPOINTED AND RECOMMEND THAT YOU RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

Pros: INEXPENSIVE

Cons: NO TASTE, RUDE STAFF, BAD SET-UP

Posted 02/19/05

After booking a birdthday party reservation we were ushered to our table, which turned out to be a mistake, were told we couldn't sit anywhere until our whole party arrived. After asking to speak to the manager (hostess was extremely rude) he continued to be rude and suggest that we were late so therefore they gave our tabke away. We were on time if not early..they had us waiting at the bar for 45 minutes and refused to olet us sit at an open table. Besides the waitstaff being rude the manager was even worse. We left the place without dinning there. Who would want to dine at place with such a rude staff? It was really un-called for and such a shame. We told all our friends about it and none of them will be dining there. If you want to have a bad time i suggeest Cuba!

Pros: none, none, none

Cons: rude manager, rude hostess, rude waitstaff

Posted 02/06/05

I went to "Cuba"the last weekend and I have the mos wonderfull time in NY, the ambiance was great, the food was really good , It was the best cuban food that I ever tried in NYC. The appetizers were perfect, the mojito has a great taste. All the people smile all the time and really I enjoyed be there. I really recomend this place

Pros: Service, Mojito, Appetizers

Posted 01/12/05