| Ambiance: |  (3.5 / 5) |
| Service: | (2.5 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (3 / 5) |
| Toilets: | (3 / 5) |
Searching online for ‘best bars in Angel’, Cuba Libre was recommended as being in the top ten and the fact that it had happy hour from 12pm– 8pm was a big selling point. It also specialised in Latin tapas which I was very keen on trying out.
The Menu
It was pretty easy to find, from Highbury & Islington station, it’s a direct ten minute walk. The outside looked pretty similar to Desperados, in that it was a bright yellow, hard to miss type design. Walking inside, we were greeted by someone who could easily pass for a member of the Russian mafia and were told we could eat tapas by the bar. We passed a fairly empty restaurant in order to get to the busy (no free tables) bar. We ordered our cocktails (2 for £10) and decided to be cheeky and try and sit in the restaurant. This didn’t go as smoothly as we hoped and caused much confusion amongst the staff, leaving us standing wondering what was going on for a good five minutes. We ended up being given a table, complete with menus from which we ordered calamari cooked in its ink and some bread as ‘it’s the nicest bread in London’, so our Italian waitress told us anyway. Quite a claim, I’d say!
The food didn’t take long at all to arrive. The calamari was actually quite delicious, served with the tentacles and everything and was very well cooked and not chewy in the slightest. The accompanying sauce was a little too rich for me though and I’d go as far as saying I probably wouldn’t be able to finish a whole portion by myself. The ‘best bread in London’ was probably a bit far-fetched in description. It was nice enough, with crispy edges and a soft inside but needed a little more seasoning before it’d be in any of my lists for top doughs of London! Wow I’m becoming such a dough snob, who knows what I’ll be like when I get back from London.
I’d definitely go back to Cuba Libre, and for more food as I do believe the quality and value is pretty good. However, I’d probably make sure to book in advance to save the service confusion.
Recommendation
On food alone, I’d probably have given Cuba Libre slightly higher points but unfortunately the service and restaurant atmosphere let it down slightly. However, this could have been because it was a Saturday night so if you’re in the area and fancy a quick bite to eat, I’d definitely give Cuba Libre a visit.
