La Cubanita, Campbell Street, Liverpool

Feb 29 2008 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

Ben Schofield samples the food - and the noisy salsa band - at La Cubanita

IT WAS the day Castro announced his retirement, and the Cuban humidity was still an ocean away. But a five-piece salsa band pumped its rhythm into Campbell Square and the wintry night beyond.

La Cubanita is in its sixth week of trading and not since Havana, by Harrington Street, closed its doors has Liverpool had a restaurant offering what's billed as genuine Cuban food.

Once through the front door, it seemed it was going to go one of two ways.

If the food was as good as the band, we were in for a cracker.

The yellow rag-washed walls, lime green Cadillac on the bar and evident Che Guevara idol worship - scores of Che pictures cover the walls: Che smoking a cigar, Che playing golf, Che with Castro, Che in a grump - said this could be more Costa Brava than Puetro Padre.

Two companions had beaten me and the rest of the party there and were lounging on a large red banquette under the stairs sipping drinks.

The waitress asked if we would like to drink more under the stairs or go to our table, a huge round chaise-bowl, just over half enclosed.

One of our party hissed at me that we'd better take our table: something had gone wrong with the cocktail list - it was still at the printers - and we'd have little with which to douse our whistles. It was to be only the first of the let-downs La Cubanita's management would treat us to.

We were later told that half the wine list was missing, the tuna was being replaced with halibut and the drunken prawns - one of the "from the grill" house specials - were also unavailable.

Downtrodden but undeterred, I convinced three of the group to try a couple of the cocktails which appeared on the main drinks list a La Cubanita (£6) and a mojito (£6).

Having tasted those and realised someone behind the bar could squeeze lime into rum the way it was intended, we missed the full cocktail menu all the more.

From the truncated wine list, we plumped for the Temperanillo (£13.95) - a drinkable and popular red.

And then onto the food, but with expectation being the mother of disappointment, I should have known better.

To start, four of us shared the Tapas Platter (£9.95) and a mountain of food came out.

The stars were the Costilla Asada - baby ribs smothered in a sticky chilli, which hit home as intended. The meatballs, or Albondigas, were boulders of meat and herbs which stood up as best they could to the ribs' pungent sauce.

The same could not be said for the three patties - one of pork and potato, one corn fritter and a lobster fish cake, they were left floundering and forgettable after the ribs and meatballs.

A companion tucked into the Ropa Vieja (£4.50) - tangy shreds of beef atop a base of rice and beans. Again, its flavour didn't announce itself as you may have hoped and the beef - which according to the menu represents shredded rags in Cuban peasant kitchen folklore - was leathery rather than crispy, as had been promised in the blurb.

When we came to share our impressions of the food, it became apparent that none of us were convinced this had arrived on the latest flight from Havana - trade embargoes aside. We were also driven to shouting across our table to make ourselves heard over the band.

The music is meant to be one of the selling points of La Cubanita, and management coo about salsa nights and how table space was traded for a small dance floor.

It is one of only two venues in the UK who fly musicians in from Cuba to entertain their guests. I'm told the other is in London.

But having asked for the volume to be turned down during the first set, there was relief when the musicians took their drinks break.

Atmosphere is one thing, but our shouting over an emotive rendition of My Way - an ode to Castro? - only emphasised that we were the only table in the restaurant.

It was also fast becoming apparent that the band was far noisier than the timid food.

Onto the main courses, and my chicken and Chorizo and Beef skewers (2 for £11.95) arrived dangling embarrassingly from a wrought iron frame. The pathos was moving, but I don't think I'm meant to empathise with my meat. And, after braving the chill breeze wafting through like an eerie wind chime, they were possibly the only things colder than me in the restaurant.

In fairness, when I noted the cold with a waitress for a second time, we were offered another table across the floor and away from the patio doors.

The Sugarcan Chicken (£12.75) was also short of the mark. A layer of mellow pesto attempted to hide a breast that seemed like it had been allowed to linger in the pan for a fraction too long.

However, the fried fresh tilapia (Pescado Frito, £12.95) with a zingy fresh fruit salsa that cut well into the fish's flesh scored high and maybe stole the mic from the band for a bar or two.

With five desserts on offer and six in our party, I fulfilled a childhood dream and ordered every sweet (each at £4.95) on the menu.

My companions cooed over the Flan de Queso, a thick and well-balanced strawberry cheesecake with a crumbly ginger base. The Queso Cubano - a cheese selection buried in salad with home made Cuban bread - was also hotly fought over.

But the highlight for me was the Fantasia de Chocolate. Two chocolate mini-fiestas and a spiced berry compote. The warm over-sized thimble of chocolate sponge had a fondant centre that made me wish it was bigger. But the gooey "chef's special" mousse - thick, dense globs of intermingling white and dark chocolate - easily stole the show.

To say the Fantasia was merely a fig leaf covering the indignities of the rest of our meal would be unfair. But I would settle for the more generous banana leaf.

Maybe it was optimistic to ask for decaffeinated coffee in a South American restaurant - whatever, our request was denied and sharpened our appetite for a cab home.

But not before Moira - the glamorous Scottish hostess and owner - chatted to us about her new venture and a love affair with Cuba that started when she travelled there for salsa college.

La Cubanita certainly has all the promise of the country's spirit, it is only a shame the Cuban food did not measure up to the Cuban band.

benschofield@dailypost.co.uk

La Cubanita, Campbell Street, Liverpool

Tel: 0151 709 5335

Atmosphere: Bit frosty on our visit, but probably vibrant on a busy night

Interior: Cuban themed

Bill: £179.90 for six people

Value for money: Not overly pricey