Revolucion de Cuba

[Paul2412]

Has anyone been here yet? Went in Saturday afternoon and then returned later on, thoroughly enjoyed it and may well pop in for food sometime.

 

Does anyone know whether this is part of Revolution bars or an independent?

[Jared]

I spoke to one of the old bar staff when it was Bia Hoi and aparrently it's part of the revolution chain. I hope to be visiting soon as I'm a fan of a nice rum :-)

[Clare_11]

Went in last night and the place looks completely different, really good bar almost feels like being on holiday, probably helped with the live cuban music but the lightsing and food menu looked good too. Will definitely be going back.

[whiteroses]

I went in for lunch and I'm disappointed to report that it's not up to much - especially when compared to the excellent places nearby such as the Old House and the Wick at Both Ends.

 

The food tastes like any sort of mass produced beer and burger, or "Mexican-style" meal that you'd get at any of the big chains. The enchiladas and burritos didn't have much of a bite, while the halloumi salad a friend ordered was dull, uninspired and nowhere near as good as one you'd make at home.

The only thing I can really recommend on the menu was the deep-friend jalapenos, which were brilliant.

 

The staff were also slow, quite offhand and apparently out of their depth. I don't know if this is just bedding-in problems - I hope so, because such a good space deserves to be used well.

 

On the face of it, Revolucion de Cuba should be far better than Bia Hoi - it certainly looks pretty and the drinks menu is inspired. However, the prices are a bit too steep for those on a bar crawl, and the food isn't good enough for it to be considered somewhere "special."

 

Hopefully things will improve once they've become a bit more established...

[Ladybird1986]

I've been twice in the past couple of weeks, I love it!!

 

Food is great, staff are lovely and very accommodating.

 

Service was a bit slow at times but I think it's because everyone is finding their feet.

 

They are starting some salsa lessons/evenings soon......will definitely be there for that

 

Cocktails are awesome - try the teapots!!

[shoelace]

I was sadly disappointed; as a lover of rum I had been looking forward to going here since I heard about it. I love the place decor-wise and think it looks really good, HOWEVER I do think a venue specialising in cocktails should be able to make a pretty fine cocktail. We ordered Caipirinhas which sadly were lacking in sugar - seriously, pure acid! I don't like to complain and knew they were probably all still finding their feet, but it was impossible to drink so I asked a barmaid if she'd mind putting a bit more sugar in them as they were so sour. She looked fairly peeved and put a tiny squirt of sugar syrup in whilst teling me 'They are MEANT to be sour' and rolling her eyes. Now don't get me wrong, I know it should taste quite sour (I've drunk enough in my time!), but it shouldn't dissolve your oesophagus - they had definitely DEFINITELY left the sugar out. Anyway, even if I was wrong would it really have been so difficult to comply with a smile, not a patronising response?!

 

I guess one more visit from me, hoping they've ironed out their problems - if not I will be found in the Wick at Both Ends, drinking nice cocktails served with a smile by friendly staff!

[DAlonso]

The decor and feel of the place is excellent, though high praise ends there.

 

The food menu is generic and uninspiring, hardly fitting the "authentic'" label they've graced it with as it's quite 'Westernised', and the staff I spoke to on Friday night didn't seem to know a great deal about the dark rums beyond the standard set of tasting notes a rep would give you, no recommendations on mixers, no explanations of distinct characteristics etc. I'll visit again in a few months when they've had the time for a few tasting and training sessions to see if it's been smoothed out, as I appreciate that rum is a massive knowledge base to cover.

 

Then there's the ethical aspects of naming the place after an event that has given nothing but poverty to the citizens for the last 55 years...

[hever]

Went here on Saturday night and thought it was excellent. Service was a bit slow but it was a Saturday and the place was heaving so it was to be expected really. Not usually a fan of Mojitos but theirs was excellent as was the Zombie cocktail. They were, however, a little on the expensive side with the mojito at around £8 and Zombie at £9ish. As for the music, I was very impressed! They played some great latino music along with some recent chart stuff (still in keeping with latino theme though) which even the lads were dancing to and all in all, a great time was had by all!

[jamesogt]

Have been a few times, until last night one of our group had shorts on. Apparently even though it was touching 80 all day you can't wear them. Their loss, went to forum that was heaving (a lot of them in shorts!)

[SuperDave]

I had that same problem last night there as well we would have spent about £30 on drinks as a group maybe £60 if we had 2 rounds. Not too bothered though was happy to go spend my money elsewhere. Their loss!