#GIFTED

I’m a huuuge fan of the tapas dining style – all that mixing and matching and trying little bits of everything rather than committing to a single dish! I love it! And Glasgow is an amazing city for tapas – the restaurants cover a huge range of cuisines – traditional Spanish, Greek, to contemporary Scottish or Indian tapas stylings. That’s to only name a few – there is something for absolutely everyone!

Needless to say, I was thrilled when I was invited along to try out some of the delights at Revolución de Cuba in Glasgow to try some Cuban styled food.

I love the vibe in the restaurant – the TILES! They’re beautiful! They even have tiled mosaic table. The attention to detail is gorgeous throughout. I also love the use of plants and lights everywhere. It’s a beautiful space.

Photo by @kubatova.j on instagram

Photo by @lifeofreverie on instagram

What a spread! When it says 3 each for a main course, they mean it!

Cuban food is new to me as I have never visited the Caribbean, so I’ll quote RdC’s description of the it:

A Caribbean island. A Spanish colony. An American territory.

With such a turbulent and tempestuous past, it’s no wonder Cuban cuisine is a rich fusion of different styles; inspired by America, Spain, the Caribbean and large parts of Africa.

With that in mind, take a look at what we ordered!…

Smoky Chicken Skewers

These were seriously tasty – the chicken was juicy and tender on the inside and had a beautifully smoky and mildly spicy charred crust on the outside. They were served simply with pico de gallo.

Beef Fillet Skewer

These were similar to the chicken, except instead of a dry smokiness they offered a sweet spice as the slices of beef fillet were glazed with chilli jam. The jam was so delicious, and worked beautifully with the sautéed peppers and onions which had started to caramelise.

Seafood Cataplana

This was the dish I was most looking forward to and it was a huge disappointment. I left most of it as it simply wasn’t tasty at all. The dish is a Portuguese stew of red fish, squid and clams cooked in a garlic, white wine and spicy tomato sauce and was served with toasted sourdough. The sauce was very thick and almost claggy, and it had the taste of raw chilli or paprika powder, so it was a bit bitter. Generally, not a nice tasting sauce at all.

Patatas Bravas

I think this is the most overrated dish on the planet – everyone goes nuts for these fried potatoes! With that said, they sure are tasty and I’m glad my friend ordered them! The crispy yet fluffy tatties are topped with a spicy tomato sauce and garlic aïoli.

Charred Halloumi

This photo doesn’t do the dish justice, but it literally does look like this in real life. When I first saw it I wasn’t sure it would taste nice but it was really delicious! A slight shortage of Halloumi for my liking, but it was absolutely delicious nonetheless! Chunks of butternut squash and courgette were mixed with the charred Halloumi and it was glazed with the beautiful house chilli jam to give a sweet and stick finish. An absolutely stunning dish.

Cajun Cream Fries

I don’t know where the cream comes into the title as they definitely weren’t creamy, but they were absolutely delicious. The fries are gorgeously cooked so they’re nice and crisp, and it seemed more like a Cajun butter drizzled on top. They were addictively good!

Aubergine Gratin

This was the pièce de résistance! Oh lord, this was a rainbow dish of sheer comfort food and I wish I’d just ordered three of them! The sliced aubergine is layered with chilli cheese and slowly baked in a spicy black bean and bravas sauce. It was then topped with a gorgeously fresh salsa. Absolutely magnificent. I absolutely L O V E D it!

We decided to make our dessert choices some cocktails, for research purposes of course.

Reina Colada – Bacardi Cuatro rum and Freixenet prosecco with coconut, vanilla and pineapple.

Cucumber & Elderflower Mojito – Havana Club 3 Year Old rum and elderflower liqueur muddled with mint, lime, sugar and cucumber

The food is gorgeous, the restaurant is gorgeous, the staff are gorgeous – very friendly and attentive – and the atmosphere when you hit early evening is amazing as their live band kicks into action with some traditional music. We had a lovely afternoon here and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for anything from a casual drink, casual bite to eat, to a nice meal out and finishing with dancing.

If you’re looking for somewhere that ticks all the boxes – I’d say this place is a really good bet!

*

Revolución de Cuba, 36 Renfield Street, Glasgow, G2 1LU

0141 4040410

http://www.revoluciondecuba.com

@deCubaGlasgow

*