Alma de Cuba

Alma De Cuba

Atmosphere
Alma de Cuba can definitely be described as a restaurant for date night. The loud latin music, dim lights and small tables cannot comfortably accommodate a group of ... let's say 6 people. While on one end of the table it was difficult to make out the voices on the opposite end of the table. Because of this the table broke off into 2 or 3 mini conversations as it was just difficult to keep a conversation going with the entire table with out yelling. If I were on a date the loud music and dim lights would make me feel isolated from the other tables in the restaurant and allow for a closer feeling with my date. So date good, group bad.

Also to give you an understanding of how dark the restaurant was here is my food with no flash.


Service
The service was pleasant. As we arrived I was not sure if our party would be 4 or 6. I reserved a table for 4 so that if we needed the entire party present for seating we wouldn't need to wait for people who would not be in attendance. As you may have guessed our party turned out to be 6 people and our hostess gave us no troubles when we requested seating for 2 extra people. The waitress was friend and we definitely appreciated the warning she gave to each of us as we ordered our appetizers that they were small. So there weren't many surprises when our orders arrived and we sized for toddlers. You expect this from a restaurant of this caliber. Our glasses were always filled and we weren't left wondering if our waitress had left for the day. She was always a few steps away and never pestered us.

Price
As the case of many upscale restaurants you get a little for a lot. Our party consisted of 6 people. Our tab rung to the tune of $313 including gratuity. Although one person ordered an entree the other members of our group only ordered one app (I'm saying it) each. The apps on the menu were around
10 to 20 dollars each. I decided upon the Tuna Tartare Tacos (pictured above) which were priced at 12 dollars. The pitchers of Sangria were 35 dollars and our table ran through 2. I myself ordered a delicious Mango Martini (pictured above), which I promptly spilled in my attempts to be fancy at such a nice restaurant.

Food
On to the part you have all been waiting for FOOD! I will admit I am not the largest fan of raw fish, but I decided upon the Tuna Tartare Tacos while dining at Alma de Cuba. From the description on the menu, "candied lemon and pickled onion," I was anticipating the taste of pickled onions of which I am a huge fan. I understand Tartare is in a nutshell is mush but this mush was just mush. It was good tasting mush, not very flavorful but still mush. The only thing I could really taste was the Tuna.  There weren't any flavors that really jumped out at me or even tugged at my leg. I would not recommend this dish if you are looking for something unforgettable that encompasses everything that is Cuban. Desert on the other hand was delicious and definitely unforgettable. I am not a frequent smoker but I just had to have the chocolate cigar. Everything from the presentation to the last bite was remarkable! The display included a set of flammable candy matches, which were lit before my plate was placed upon the table, as well as label upon the cigar certifying the authenticity of my chocolate cigar. The chocolate cigar consisted of almond cake wrapped in chocolate mousse with a light cholate crust. The cigar was served with dulce de leche ice cream. As members of my party requested a taste of my chocolate cigar ;-)  I requested that they must have a spoonful of ice cream at the same time. The de leche ice cream complimented the almond cake perfectly. I would definitely recommend getting a chocolate cigar if you ever visit Alma de Cuba.