- Restaurant: Revolucion de Cuba
- Address: 138-141, Friar Street, Reading, RG1 1EX
Our latest outing saw a visit to Revolucion de Cuba, a Cuban tapas restaurant and cocktail bar in Reading. Located on Friar Street, near the center of town, this restaurant benefits from having a number of car parks in close proximity, providing ample parking. The downside being, driving to and into Reading is never that much fun!
Revolucion de Cuba is a big restaurant so you have plenty of space, regardless of the size of your party. We visited on a Monday night, so the restaurant wasn’t as busy as one would assume it can be towards the end of the week, which may explain why we didn’t see many staff working. However, we were greeted quickly and shown to our table by a very friendly lady who, it transpired, would be our server for the evening.
Menus, interestingly in the style of a newspaper, were quickly provided, and with none of our group being aficionados of Cuban cuisine, we settled in to select our dishes. Our drinks order arrived, much to our amusement, accompanied by a small blow-up flamingo. Given we are all north of 25 years old, we couldn’t fathom why, and our server was equally nonplussed as to how this “tradition” had come into being. However, were she, and presumably the other servers, shone, was with her knowledge of the menu; from the drinks to the main courses and through the desserts, she was full of recommendations, and with a friendly table-side manner, helped create a relaxed and enjoyable environment.
With a menu including burritos, enchiladas, tacos, tostadas, quesadillas and nachos, all the dishes we tried were well cooked and seasoned, spicy with out being overpowering, with the dish of beetballs being both a recommendation from our server and a highlight of the menu. We are always loathe to leave any restaurant with at least sampling the dessert menu, and, after an evening of unfamiliar tastes, it was nice to find the seemingly ubiquitous churros on the menu.
From our experience, the menu, whilst minimal by some standards, is proof positive that sometimes less is more, while the servers are knowledgeable and friendly without being overly so, helping to create a welcoming and relaxing environment. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience of something a little different.
| Ed | Graham | Les | Total | |
| Lomito | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 |
| Revolucion de Cuba | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| Prime | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| Bull Rodizio | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 |
Next up, Steins in Kingston Upon Thames.