Revolucion De Cuba
What a fantastic Latino experience, at this extremely well run and cleverly branded restaurant based in the centre of Derby.
It was my first time dining- and drinking at Revolucion De Cuba- A rum bar and restaurant which is part of the Inventive leisure Group, who also own Revolution Vodka- two ingenious ideas with extremely well known and strong brands.
Upon arriving we were shown to the best seat in the house- a round booth in the corner, slightly raised so that we could see everything that was going on around us – great view!
The first thing I noticed was the décor- high ceiling, colourful surroundings with the walls donned with black and white photos of Cuba, maps, memorabilia and the super huge word ‘Cuba’ in lights above the bar.
The second thing I noticed once seated was the music- I instantly felt like I was on holiday. The music was provided by super talented Cuban band ‘Tocha’, who were percussion based and were one of the best bands I had seen live (who I hadn’t ever heard of previously) it was impossible to sit still without having the urge to break into a bout of Salsa.
Our waitress came over with a friendly smile to welcome us and take our drinks order- cocktails, cocktails & more cocktails! I opted for the Black Forest Mojito which contained spicy cinnamon, sweet cherry and of course rum, topped with a dash of soda- yum!
I am not normally a huge fan of Mojitos due to the amount of mint shrubbery I find difficult to deal with, however the cherry in this one really balanced out the flavours for me.
It was now time to browse the food menu and wow what a choice there was- my dinner guest and I really didn’t know where to start, so we thought we would opt for three tapas dishes to share for starters which included Patatas Bravas- a large portion arrived in a lovely tomato sauce –not too spicy, Feta & Spinach Empanada-homemade tortilla shells stuffed with feta, spinach and mango, lightly fried and topped with salsa-one of the vegetarian options which my meat my dinner guest found equally as enjoyable as his Albondigas (homemade meatballs cooked to a secret recipe!). What was interesting was the Rum based special sauce on our table which tasted great with everything.
In fact just browsing the menu it was difficult to miss the innovative dishes many of which seemed to contain rum- my kind of restaurant!
Main course was a delightful experience, as I normally try to avoid starters so as not to fill myself up to much for the main, I opted for a lighter option and I was more than pleased with my choice- The Chargrilled Halloumi was light and tasty beyond belief. The Halloumi (one of my favourite cheeses) was marinated and served with tomato rice and baked in a banana leaf-the first itme I had ever had a banana leaf on my dinner plate and I must say it was rather exciting. The dish was both lovely to look at and to taste. I ordered some sour cream to go with this, as I felt it needed some kind of sauce and this complimented it really well.
My dinner guest enjoyed the Cuba Libre Pulled Pork Burrito with Revolucion De Cuba’s very own ‘Cuba Libre’ glaze made from…wait for it…Coca –Cola (!), rum, lime and spices. The Burrito was jam-packed full of additional ingredients including re-fried beans, rice, onions, sour cream, cheese, served with tortilla chips and black beans.
The idea of dessert seemed a little hard work by the time we had finished our mains, as the portion sizes up to now were pretty generous, and we weren’t sure if we could fit anymore in, so we had a little break and enjoyed browsing the cocktail list again, which is beautifully animated and tempting, then opted to share the Churros, which arrived with two little pots of chocolate & caramel sauce for dipping- well it would be rude not to!
Throughout the entire meal, we were treated to the Cuban sounds of Tocha and as the night grew later, some people got up to dance and added to the entertainment.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Revolucion De Cuba for dinner and drinks anytime for any occasion, it really is a great party venue, with a live and kicking atmosphere, providing an escape from the drizzly UK for a few hours taking you to a much desired Cuban delight of escapism.
Fiona Duncan, RSViP
