Cubano Lito – Restaurant Review

Monday evening, we were invited for a food tasting at Cubano lito, This restaurant is in The Ibis one central hotel, lobby level, at World Trade centre area and probably one of the only restaurants in Dubai giving you a Cuban experience. There is daily live music to rock your mood all the way to Cuba. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – Rock your nights to the live tunes of Kimbara. On Thursdays- move your hips to the Latin beats of DJ Faisal.

Cubano lito has been featured in Exclusive Experiences and Live entertainment.

I and my wife arrived at 9.30 pm and were greeted by our very charming and friendly host Mr Sandor, who is also the bar manager here.

We started our evening with their signature cocktails. We first tried the Mojito which is quite differently prepared here. Mr Sandor explained to us that just like the juice of the sugarcane is in the stem and not in the leaf, similarly, the flavour of the mint leaf is in its stem. He mentioned that at most bars the mint leaf is crushed in mojitos to extract the flavour which is the wrong way to do it. The mojito indeed was pleasant to taste. Next, we tried the CHI CHI cocktail, infused with the tanginess of an orange and the sweetness of a pineapple. This one was again one of my favourites.

Next, we tried the starters, the first one was an empanada filled with halloumi cheese and turkey ham which was quite a mouthful and quite cheesy and meaty at the same time. The next one was plantain chips topped with sautéed prawns and a side of pineapple.What I loved the most was that the blending of sweet with savoury, since Cuba is a tropical country, Pineapples are in abundance here. You will find pineapple blended in most dishes.

For the main course, we had the grilled chicken breast, served with a side of steamed rice, a char-grilled lemon and pineapple. there was a side of some date paste that added a  touch of sweet to the bland breast.

The overall experience was amazing, do watch my video log posted here to get a full experience of Cubano Lito. I highly recommend this place for a feel of Cuba. Go for it.

Here with Mr Sandor, Bar manager, Cubano Lito and our Gracious host for the evening.