Cuba Libre Bistro

11/16/2006 Posted by foo_dee

When I arrived at Cuba Libre, the first thing that struck me was the very odd decor for what I expected would be a Cuban (or at least Cuban Fusion) restaurant. Of all the Cuban restaurants that I've ever patronized in North or South America, I have to say that this is the first to have the "Breckenridge-Ski-Lodge" look. Sorely lacking was anything remotely Cuban. No Cuban flags, no cigar memorabilia, and no salsa music, although I didn't mind the reggae. I hoped the food would contain enough Latin flair since they had clearly overlooked that detail when they designed the place. Actually, this building MUST have been home to some other restaurant in a previous life, unless Fidel has some Ski Resorts outside Havana of which I am not aware. I arrived after 9pm on a Thursday, and there was not much of a crowd. After being greeted by the now legendary owner (thanks to lady_port 's citysearch review from 10/7/2006), we were promptly seated in one of the booths. It was no surprise that the list of specialty cocktails contained the obligatory mojito as well as some other ambitious takes on some caribbean libation favorites. However, neither of the 3 drinks ordered by my party was particularly spectacular, nor was their presentation terribly impressive. (This bartender wouldn't cut the mustard on either coast.) The food was by no means the best Cuban food I've ever had, however, I must say that the chef was much more meticulous in his presentation than was the aforementioned bartender. Unfortunately, however, neither the tostones appetizer , nor the lamb and yucca churros (curiously, no hint of yucca was detected) left me anticipating my next visit. While mediocre, the food was at least a sharp departure from the meat and potatoes fare that is the norm in metro Denver. Since that's what I was looking for on this night, the experience was not a total disappointment.

Pros: at least it was not the normal Midwest meat and potatoes

Cons: Not the best cuban food i ever had

10/07/2006 Posted by lady_port

This was my husband's and my second dinning experience at Cuba Libre. The first was in August in the main dinning room and we had a great experience. This time we thought we would try the sushi in I Zen, even though we were not thrilled about eating in a basement. Our server was very attentive and helped us make our selections. We were enjoying our evening up to the point that a rowdy bunch of men at the sushi bar started to disturb our evening. We watched a female Asian women who was working on the sushi bar, do shot after shot with the gentlemen and the scene became more and disturbing as they evolved into a hollering and screaming mob. We asked our server to get a manager to do something about the inappropriate content of the conversation at the sushi bar, but to our astonishment he told us that the Asian women working behind the sushi bar was the owner. At this point we just wanted to leave this drunken mob and were going to give the restaurant another chance until the women flashed the men at the bar to their enthusiastic cheers. This is not the atmosphere that were expecting. Both me and my husband were embarrassed and we will never go back

Pros: Professional staff who maintain their composure under disgraceful circumstances

Cons: ladies may not feel comfortable bring their husbands or boyfriends

08/11/2006 Posted by we2diners

This was our first visit to Cuba Libre but it won't be our last. There was a band playing lively and smooth latin jazz as we walked in the door, and we were greeted promtly. The atmosphere is inviting and romantic, the service was prompt and friendly, the menu had a nice variety and the food was excellent. It's a little out of the way for us, but worth the drive. We highly recommend it.

07/22/2006 Posted by denverdoll

my husband, father, and I all agree on this review. Have eaten all over the world and know good food. So, sorry to say this resteraunt was not good. But, the atmosphere was fabulous. We all enjoyed overly priced bland generic cuban food. We read the reviews before visiting. But, are a gluton for punishment. That's exactly what we recieved. 30 minutes of waiting to order. Then 45 minutes waiting for our food. While we sipped on a horrible Mojito. Which is hard to mess up. We ordered the sampler platter at 20$ a pop. Not one thing on the platter flared my taste buds. If you want to eat here I suggest not. But, you can visit the cigar lounge or patio for some drinks, and a smoke =)

Pros: love the decor

Cons: bland food

06/23/2006 Posted by annette777

Our friends and us (my husband and myself)went to Cuba Libre for a special date and were very dissapointed. We made a reservation and when we arrived had to wait over 30 minutes for our table. While we were waiting, we went to the bar and ordered mojitos and they were really bad. They put syrup in them instead of real sugar so they made them syrupee and extremely sweet. After the wait, we were seated and coming from some Cuban influence in our families, I have to say we were very biased. None of the foods the 4 of us tried were genuinely Cuban. The paella was wet, the red snapper breaded with plantain, I am still looking for the plantain in it, the calamari was extremely breaded, takes the flavor out of it! I don't really know how they called themselves a Cuban restaurant with half of the menu having guacamole, I am sorry but that is not Cuban, it's Mexican! I don't know what book the chef or the bartender read in this case. Don't recommend it at all. On the other hand, they had some salsa lessons, that were pretty good, although too loud for the good atmosphere.

Pros: salsa lessons

Cons: food, service

06/18/2006 Posted by mccseanp

What we thought would be a special Father's Day brunch, descended into one of our worst restaurant experiences ever. So, where should we start? First of all, The food was sub par and had no resemblance of anything Cuban. In no way does the actual food match the creative and tasty looking dishes on their website. They couldn't even produce a proper serving of eggs benedict: the Hollandaise sauce was lifeless and starchy and the portion was microscopic for the outrageous $7 price tag. Likewise, the mango crepes were candied, artificial and didn't appear to contain a piece of real fruit, or even mango flavor. The selection in the buffet was extremely limited for $20. In fact, the only food item we had which was palatable was the Lechona (Pork). Service was nearly non-existent, as our waitress showed up to take our order after a long wait and to grab the bill. And the Manager, when we voiced our opinion, was combative and argumentative and tried to convince us that we were wrong. No attempt was made to remedy the situation. These people are crazy to think they can charge the prices on their menu for the quality of the experience. I'm sure that we will never return to this restaurant and suggest you do the same. Although the mojitos were good, they were expensive ($8) and only partially authentic. For a much more enjoyable experience, we would suggest the Samba Room which has excellent food, authentic mojitos at $6 (plus good happy hour specials), more affordable prices and spectacular service.

Pros: The Lechona (Pork), Mojitos, Hostesses

Cons: Overall service and management, the food, the presentation

02/26/2006 Posted by jackfl

a beautiful restaurant with very nice live entertainment; initial service was fast and attentive; great mohitos; we tried the tapas sampler platter, and most of it tasted like the deep-fried breading, which was a shame since calamari and shrimp were buried under it; 45 minutes after placing our entree orders we had to track down our server to have him hunt down our food; one of the 4 entrees was served cold and had to go back to the kitchen to be heated; portions were on the small size, considering the price of 2 of the entrees ($34); the manager picked up our desserts to offset the wait and cold food; not sure i would try a second time...

Pros: ambience, parking, hostesses

Cons: inconsistent service, cold food, value

01/27/2006 Posted by daddyb

For those longing for the tastes of South Florida this place is one of the best. I would highly recommend this place to anyone interested in getting away from typical chain restaurants.

01/21/2006 Posted by tcarman11

First of all, the owners have spared no expense to open this place. The sushi bar is beautiful and restaurant is gorgeous and romantic and the cigar bar is wonderful. The owners are great people and the food was 1st class. You must try this place!!!!

Pros: beautiful place, cigar bar

Cons: none