Last night my family celebrated my sister's birthday at Cuba Libra in Philadelphia. My husband and I drove down Saturday but got to the restaurant an hour early. We were going to go in for a drink at the bar, but the entrance was mobbed so we decided to go to Bleu Martini next door. I enjoyed a Strawberry Blonde, and my husband ordered a vodka and ginger ale. I really enjoy fruit flavored, sugary sweet martinis, and my Strawberry Blonde definitely hit the mark. It was a delicious drink and went down easily. Just out of curiosity, my husband checked the menu at Bleu Martini, and it looked good. If we lived in the area, we would definitely give it a try.
When the rest of my family arrived, we went back over to Cuba Libre. We were seated immediately (right at our reservation time). The bar was still crowded, and there were no open tables in the dining room. My parents and brother and sister all had different types of mojitos. I am not a fan of mojitos. I don't like the mint taste in them. Trying to keep with the spirit of the restaurant though, I tried a Raspberry Caipirinha. It was definitely yummy. The sad part though is that at least for me it was the highlight of my meal. The worst part is that it wasn't that my food was bad, it was that the portions were so small that I left hungry but the bill was still substantial.
Back though to what I had to eat. I started with the only salad on the menu, really the only item with vegetables on the entire menu, the Ensalada C L T. The salad was fairly uninspired. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. For dinner, I had the Camarones con Cana. This is definitely where portion shock came into play. My plate had six shrimp in total. Six shrimp for twenty-six dollars is a little ridiculous if you ask me. I had also asked to have white rice in lieu of the pepper, but when my plate came out, there was no rice to be seen. The sauce on the shrimp was spicy but tasty. I did enjoy what little food I had, but as I said, it was definitely a little bit of food. The rest of my family felt the same way. My Mom and sister had the paella which they said they could barely see on their plate. My husband had the salmon. My Dad and brother split the Plato Gaucho for Two (which looked like Plato Gaucho for 1.5 if that).
One thing I have to say before I go on is that while my family definitely enjoys good food, they are not large people by any stretch of the mind. When they go out to eat though, they like to leave satisfied. At Cuba Libre, everyone left hungry.
For dessert, my Mom and sister each had flan, and I had berries with cream. Again it was nothing over the top, but I think my dessert might have actually been bigger than my dinner.
The restaurant itself did well with the Cuban theme. The room was decorated as if it was a courtyard surrounded by Spanish style villas. The ambiance was great. However, the bathroom left much to be desired. There were only two individual bathrooms for the entire restaurant, and they both reminded me of a bathroom at a dive bar, not a restaurant that charges twenty-five dollars for an entree.
All in all though, the company was great. I was happy to be able to celebrate my sister's twenty-second birthday with her. My husband and I learned that it is only an hour and fifteen minutes from our house to downtown Philadelphia. The drinks were delicious. So, the night was definitely a great time. Nevertheless, without good food, all of this fades to the side. I do not plan to return to Cuba Libre.
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