Cubana

Before the launch of this Cuban-themed bar’s sister venue on Lower Marsh in the ‘90s, no one in the UK drank mojitos. Seriously. Not a single person.  We know this because it says so on their website. Nope, don’t Google it. Definite fact.

Now, 20 years later, they’ve set up a second branch in Farringdon. And, well, it’s a bit odd. The set-up suggests they want a relaxed ambience: low, lounge seating scattered around the venue, palm trees indoors, cutesy painted mural of Cuban life (elderly men smoking cigars, while chickens nestle atop their panama hats). But it’s also table service only. And the lighting is interrogation-chamber bright – anyone with a bald patch risks turning into a human disco ball. Perfect chill-out conditions, these are not. And as for the kitchen supply-filled stack of cardboard boxes dumped in the seating area? No idea.

Booze-wise, there’s a short selection of imported Cuban beers, plus plenty of cocktails around the £7 mark (the two-for-one happy hour between 4-7pm is not to be sniffed at). A small restaurant at the rear serves Latino food. And as for that fabled mojito? Warm, watery and with a layer of crunchy, undissolved sugar at the bottom. Fine for the price, we suppose. But not great. Presumably tastes were different in the ’90s.