Cuba Norte
- Food served: Mon–Sat noon–10pm; Sun 12.30–10pm
- Bar open: Mon–Sat noon–10pm; Sun 12.30–10pm
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 4
- Private dining: Up to 60 covers
- Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of main courses), Wheelchair access
- Capacity: 70
- Largest group: 60
- Open since: 1998
- Average price 2 courses:
£11 (set lunch)
£11 (evening meal) - House wine: £10.95 per bottle
This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.
Spread over two floors, Cuba Norte is heavy on the fun factor, which is not to say that the many after-workers who frequent this bustling establishment cannot find ample space to enjoy a quiet drink, while sampling the reasonable array of food found on both the tapas and à la carte menus. Laid-back, attentive staff are quick to bring you the wine list, and an impressive choice of Spanish and South American tipples provide a well-priced addition to any meal. The tapas selection is basic but perfectly adequate with patatas bravas and chorizo al vino proving to be firm favourites. Fish fans will enjoy the pimiento con camarones – a tasty, if somewhat small, portion of mini prawn and red pepper kebab. The à la carte menu boasts a few more surprises, including hearty helpings of Catalan stew, served here in suitably succulent juices, alongside interesting twists to the norm in the guise of the surprisingly filling and tender barbecue duck and chorizo enchilada. Those looking to continue the evening should reach for the cocktail menu with both the Cuba Libre and Mojito special highly recommended.
- High point: Good wine menu
- Low point: Small tapas portions
Comments
- 1. Paula, Cuba Norte – 14 April 2008, 11:59am
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After arranging a group booking at Cuba Norte we were 'told' to order tapas as they would not have enough al la carte for us all. That said, we duly order 3 tapas each, to be given only 2! When we queried this the waiter/manager indicated that he had misheard us and we were now too late to order more food as the kitchen had 'run out of food'. We thought he was having a laugh as it was 9.30 at night! His manner then became aggressive, blaming us for ordering 1/2 hr after arriving etc etc..
The service was appalling, our water jugs were not refilled, were not asked if the meal was ok etc... perhaps this was due to a lack of staff. The food which arrived... well some arrived clearly overcooked. My advice, there are a lot of better places to eat tapas in Edinburgh!
- 2. Carla, Cuba Norte – 25 May 2008, 5:32pmReport
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Salsatastic! We go to Cuba Norte regularly as the atmosphere is great in their salsa cellar, the music and dancing is great. The cocktails are pretty good to.
- 3. Jon Senna, Dudley – 16 June 2008, 10:01pmReport
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What a travisty, lovely big bar with a good selection of drinks..............overpriced restaurant serving confit duck and seafood liguine for extortionate prices. We visited on saturday night having followed recommenations from thelist.com and were angry to discover the the South American theme to the menu was non existent at what stood in its place would'nt have been out of place in a 1970s nouveau cuisine restaurant. The service was bordering on intrussive an we waited a good 30 minutes for the bill. What an expensive waste of time!!
- 4. Liz MacMillan, Cuba Norte – 16 June 2008, 10:32pmReport
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I have just read your review Jon and I must say I totally agree with you! I had dinner at Cuba Norte with my girlfriends the other night and expected to have a really nice time but ended up almost having an argument with the waiter as our food arrived really late and part of it was cold! We complained and at least were offered a free bottle of wine but still it was a disappointing and unsatisfactory evening.
- 5. moda, cuba norte edinburgh – 24 June 2008, 5:01pmReport
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i agree the food was nice but the service was very bad shame
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