With its mix of African, Caribbean and Spanish cooking, La Cubanita was seventh heaven for Emma Johnson

SPANOPHILE. Sounds odd doesn’t it? Just doesn’t have the same sort of ring to it as Anglophile or Francophile.

However that is what I am. An unashamed Spanophile. At least I am when it comes to food. While I am partial to pasta and not averse to Chinese, it is Spanish dishes that really get my tastebuds fired up.

The less kind among my friends would say that is probably down to my obsession with three foods – meat, cheese and bread. Something the Spanish also seem to share.

The upshot of this fixation is that should any restaurant with the slightest hint of Spanish influence open in Liverpool, then I am there.

So it is surprising it took me so long to find my way to La Cubanita. This Cuban restaurant tucked away in Liverpool’s Campbell Square, opened at the beginning of this year and describes itself as a unique, restaurant and bar where you can enjoy great Latin food and listen to some of the best live bands direct from Cuba.

Unfortunately we went on a Tuesday evening early doors so missed out on the band and the salsa dancing but we definitely got the Latin flavours.

Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish, African and Caribbean cooking, something which is quickly evident when you see the menus at La Cubanita.

There is no getting away from the fact that the dishes on the menu can seem a bit samey – most of the starters and the mains come served with rice and beans. But if you have a problem with that you are going to have to take it up with the Cubans not the management (although it would be like lamenting that everything in an Italian restaurant comes with pasta).

I, however, love rice and I love beans and was won over by most of the mouth-watering descriptions on the menu which made ordering a bit of an ordeal.

Just listen to this: Fritura de frijoles (£4.25) or blackeyed bean fritter served with a plantain crema on a bed of dressed leaves – yummy; or the Cuban speciality of croqueta de cerdo y boniato (£4.95) that’s croquette of minced pork and Cuban sweet potato – double yummy.

In the end I opted for the sabor de caribe (£5.35) – lobster cake with a charred mango and chilli glaze (although when I ordered they informed me this dish was now done with salmon not lobster), while my other half ordered the Vaca Frita (£4.95), crispy strips of beef in a Cuban mojo marinade of roast garlic and lime juice, accompanied by... rice and beans.

To drink I ordered a large glass of pinot grigio (£3.75) while my husband went authentic with a bottle of Corona (£3).

My husband’s entree was quite the masterpiece, a tower of rice and beans topped off with beef and surrounded by a moat of the Cuban mojo marinade. It tasted as good as it looked and could easily have been a main course given the portion size.

There was no skimping on the fishcakes either. They were huge, crispy on the outside and fabulously fluffy on the inside. My only niggle with this dish would be that it required more salad and it was a bit of a mistake to put the fishcakes on top of a paper napkin – cue a bit of picking off.