Cuba Libre

I used to love this place but now… I can’t quite figure it out. I used to love walking in and feeling like a queen when the curtains opened. The other night the curtain just stared at me like, «What the hell are you thinking, I’m not going anywhere!».
This place is now hit or miss. The bar is either PACKED or EMPTY. I can’t quite figure it out. Although, I keep stopping in thinking one day I’ll come across it as it once before– where you could sip on a few mojitos in the front then head back to back room and break it down to a Bad A DJ.
Hang in there Cuba…

Had a pretty good time here. The food was really good. The boyfriend had an amazing sandwich. The drinks were great. Kudos to the bartender.
We went to the club in the back. It wasn’t busy at all. The DJ was decent.

Damn it, Cuba Libre. You forced me to do this. So the honeymoon period is over. The glitz and glamour has worn off. You didn’t have the swishy curtain! And the leather ottoman/​footstool things we sat on have multiple rips in them… and the food was definitely off. Soooo off. I ordered calamari, as usual, and my friend ordered something that wasn’t really memorable, so I’m going to skip writing about it because I don’t remember, and I ordered the ribs. Calamari tasted of Wal-​mart freezer aisle… but the ranch and marinara disguised the freezer burn? For some reason, their ranch sauce is really good. Onto the ribs. First of all, I’ve been watching Kitchen Nightmares a lot. This reminded me of the part where Chef Ramsey goes into a restaurant, orders a bunch of dishes, and then gets super disappointed and starts cussing up a storm and the owner gets super defensive and then there’s a voice over that goes «stay tuned for the most shocking episode of Kitchen Nightmares yet!» But uh… none of that happened. What happened was I looked at the plate and saw a fort. I guess someone was reliving some childhood memories by pretending the ribs were Lincoln logs? The center of the Lincoln log/​rib fort was a ginormous portion of mashed potatoes, and sticking out of the center of that were two dried plaintain slices. The whole thing was then drizzled with BBQ sauce. The ribs were disgustingly dry and kind of burnt and overall not very palatable. The mashed potatoes tasted like the powdered kind. Not even going to start in on the dried plaintains; I think they speak for themselves. I totally agree with Andrea C. about the cougar atmosphere. Shit, I felt like I was in the wild cat area at the zoo. I think this place has become the sort of place where douche-​bags with soul patches, bad tans, Ed Hardy shirts, and roided out bodies go to die. Also where fratty business boys go to wine and dine.
I’m gonna need some space, CL.

This is such a great bar! With over 100 types of Rums to choose from! The service was great. We ordered a pitcher of Mojito and Cuba Libres. I couldn’t get enough of the scent of fresh mint! Yum! The Cuba Libre was one of the best I’ve had. This bar is located on such a great location to begin your night on downtown Austin!

I used to love Cuba Libre — The Rosemary Grilled Chicken with asparagus was a giant plate of perfectly cooked chiken along with 5 stocks of thick asparagus wrapped in bacon and grilled to perfection.
Not so much last night. My wife and I hadn’t gone downtown in about 9 months due to a new baby, so we got a babysitter and headed down to one of our old favorate places for some good Mojitos and good food.
We were greeted immediately by a nice hostess who directed us to one of the tall tables in the center near the bar as the regular food tables were taken — no problem. The food and drink order was taken quickly and efficiently by our waitress. When the food arrived it was much less tasty than it used to be, the asparagus were stringy and the bacon slightly burned. The chicken was still plentiful, but the presentation of it left much to be desired — two breasts of chicken covered in artichokes, mushrooms (i think), and other things — it looked like dog food, but luckily tasted better than I imagine dog food would taste.
All was fine through dessert, a lovely chocolate cake flanked by two giant sides of whipped cream. We got our check, paid, and left for the ½ price bottles of champagne at Cru on Thursday nights.
About 10 minutes after we got to Cru I started feeling sick, and I don’t think it was due to the 1 mojito I’d drank. Food poisoning is no fun, let’s just leave it at that.
In all, during dinner I was planning on giving C.L. 3 stars for mediocre food in a cool old building, but due to my sickness, I have to knock it down to 1 for food. Still 4 – 5 stars in my book for some good Mojitos though!

Hmm… I guess the curtain thing is broken now? I remember when Cuba Libre first opened and this was THE spot to get your drink on. It was kind of cool to see those giant curtains open up as you entered the bar. Almost felt as if I was stepping in to an alcohol fueled version of «The Tonight Show» and I was a featured guest. Not so much any more… sigh. Feels as if the winds of change have blown through here and as weird as this may come across, Cuba Libre feels a little dated to me now.
On this night, my friends and I stopped in to grab a few of their namesake «Cuba Libre» drinks with some Flor de Caña rum. It’s one of the few places downtown that carries a great selection of rum other than Bacardi. The floors were very sticky and looked worn down, the seating/​restaurant section was full of dirty dishes on tables and it looked like a 2^nd grade class had their way with toilet paper in the bathroom. The back room still feels a little out of place here, is it just me that feels that way?
Cuba Libre used to have an air of Latin cool and 1960’s charm. Hopefully management takes a closer look at what’s going on around them a little better. I still have hope that Cuba Libre will be back to it’s former glory, but I’m not going to hold my breath. They can start by fixing the curtain opening thing!

Though my feet had given up on me from dancing 3 nights in a row. I loved this place. Lighting is gorgeous… great places to sit down and yes, the key lime pie martini is divine.
This was the bday boy’s list of places to go and so we went. Eveyone immediately found a girl or guy to talk to and made their way to the dance floor.
I got to sit down with the feet screaming in agony and sip on my drink and looking up all I saw was people having sex with clothes on and giving guys lap dances and to the far left, barbie herself but she had lights inside her barely there dress so when we jumped up and down her bust lit up… excellent…not!
I still loved this place. My motto is to each their own, whatever makes you happy and I drank some more and got my groove on.

The Key Lime Pie martini is divine. Absolutely divine. It’s so good that it’s worth all 18,692 calories.
I mean, it’s got graham cracker crumbs along the rim, like the salt on a margarita glass! Brilliant. And delicious. Brilliantly delicious, even.
And did I mention that it’s only $ 5 at happy hour? Which, FYI, lasts all day on Mondays? Granted, if you go on a Monday, you perhaps will be one of only two patrons (the other being your companion) in the entire place, but hey, you’ll get some amazing service. And in that case, you may as well get two Key Lime Pie martinis because really, how else are they going to pay their electric bill? Someone’s got to keep that cool curtain moving.

We really expected the music to be better here than at other places in the area, but it wasn’t so much. It was a huge place and it seemed like it might be really cool if the music had been better. I certainly didn’t DISLIKE the place, I just felt like it wasn’t the best that Austin has to offer. I was also pretty annoyed that they had almost all of their tables roped off and marked with reserved signs for the parties who were apparently coming to do bottle service. Bottle service is douchey and overrated if you ask me, but what do I know?!?

The mojitos are delicious, and they obviously train their bartenders on that specific drink. Mo-​ji-​to. The rest of their cocktails are passable, on par with most of the other bars in Austin.
The food is not exactly what I would call authentic Cuban (or even New Cuban), but it’s a step up from most bar food and works in a pinch.
An extra star for the startling automagic curtain that shrouds the place in mystery when you first walk in.

Where’s the option for 0 stars?
We arrive tonight for dinner and we’re greeted at the hostess stand by a nice lady asking us if we were here for dinner or for the cocktail meet and greet being put on by some financial big wigs. Dinner, we say.
Her response «Oh, great! I’m not hostess. I don’t even work here. I’m with the finance party. I don’t know where the hostess is.»
Ha… ha… you have a weird sense of humor, me thinks to myself. But surely you kid.
Kidding, you were not.
I walk up to the bartender and she doesn’t even glance my direction. Clearly, the throngs of overpaid financiers and their desire to get absolutely hammered on a WEDNESDAY night kept her short attention span at bay.
When all hope seemed lost, another lady appears and says, «Please, sit anywhere you like. I’ll be RIGHT with you.»
Redemption!
So, we find ourselves a nice little table in the back corner of the dining area — a good distance away from the frat party disguised as an adult event but close enough to where we could pass judgment on them for our evening entertainment.
Sadly — that lovely (sense the deep sarcasm brewing) lady who said she would be right with us disappeared. Forever. Probably delivering the watered down Mai Tais to Elvis and Tupac, I’m sure.
We wait… and wait… and wait… to the point where the table of patrons sitting next to us give us the pity eyes. So kind that they even tried to locate their server… only to find that he/​she/​it too had been mysteriously vanquished.
Finally, the lady appeared! Back from the void! But still not stopping by to even say hello. She’s clearly working her charm on some poor schmuck who clearly had some extra government bailout money to spend on booze.
I get her attention and ask her why we’ve been sitting in the corner like a little boy punished for pulling his sister’s hair.
Her response — «No one has come by yet? But… I have a server working your area.»
My response — «Uhh. you said YOU would be right over. So if by no one, you mean you… then yes, you are correct.»
Her response — «I’m the manager. I’m sorry. I can send someone over right now.»
My response — «WHO will you be sending over? There’s you… and the bartender. That’s it.»
Her response — «Uhh… uhh…» (no doubt, the Wizard of Oz soundtrack playing loudly in her mind — «If I only had a brain!»)
At this point, my wife was fed up… as was I. So we left. To Maria Maria. Right next door.
In all seriousness — there were only TWO people on the floor for dinner service and the party. Congratulations — you just failed Restaurant 101.
They let two patrons just sit there without so much as a cursory glance. Congratulations — you just failed Business 101.
The «manager» was a complete tool and lacked the decency to make things right. Congratulations — you just failed Life 101.
Don’t bother. I’m sure the food was about as legit as their service and attitude. Bön Appetit!

Cuba Libre is sure nice looking on the inside. Maybe too bright in spots for a lounge though. I was taking my out of town buddy over to Frank, but they were closed at 10. Being hungry, the quickest option was Cuba Libre. I had an irritating experience with the valet at Dallas’ now closed Cuba Libre, but was open to trying the Austin location.
Menu had mostly non-​Cuban food. Makes me feel like food is an afterthought here. I tried to get my wife to order the Asian pot stickers to settle my Chinese food obligation to her for the week. She saw through it and happily settled on the carrot cake. She liked it very much.
My friend and I each had Cuban Sandwiches and shared an appetizer of plantains. All were decent. Sandwiches were very large and with each being split into two triangles could have easily been shared. Neither one of us finished the Cubans and we are both big guys.
We weren’t ordering drinks and I think that perplexed our server. Nobody else was eating dinner at 10 P.M. Kitchen stays open until 10:30.
I’ll concur with Dej M’s review — music was annoying to me also. I wanted latin music. How about some Cuban jazz? Instead we got late 90’s alternative rock.

One of the saddest — nay, the saddest thing that could happen on a Saturday night out on the town is discovering good music that is close, but so far.
A group of us went to start our night out here, I assume because the martinis are delicious and nicely priced. I ordered the Machismo martini, and felt muy macho, so I ordered another one. Yum! The music was a little annoying: 3 Rihanna songs in a row, then 2 Lady GaGa songs, then another 2 Rihanna songs… I mean I like the women, but someone forgot to press that «randomize» button on the CD player.
My bladder interrupted, and it was time for the lady’s room. When all of a sudden I hear it… actually, my hiney heard it first because it started moving: fantastically mixed music from the next room. I walked over and sure enough, there was a DJ, mixing way better music for a crowd of people… who were sitting down. I walked back to my table and begged them to move but, alas. I wish they would better integrate these two rooms, especially music-​wise. How awful to be subjected to careless music playing :(
I will have to go back and try the food; I really enjoyed the setting, and our waitress was awesome.

This place sucks. If you’re not a 23 year old greaseball dude or a sorostistute, there isn’t enough booze in the place to make this place cool. It tries, but I don’t think I’ll be back.
P. S. Dude that spilled the drink on my friend, speaking on behalf of your race stating, «We’re Arab, we don’t care» when no one else is near you is just pathetic. The Arabic folks I know don’t wear sunglasses at night, don’t have a cokey drip nose, and have manners, jerkoff.

Sorry, Cuba. I don’t know what happened to you. I started coming to Cuba because we would get
certificates, and the food was decently priced. I came back on Friday, and now the food is awful.
The only good things (very good) were the poblano pepper soup and plantain chips. Creamy and spicy, the soup was like eating queso. That is some awesome soup. And you can’t really go wrong with plantain chips. They are chips after all.
The chicken satay on the other hand, was sad. It was kind of dry, and somewhat chewy. Our mojito chicken was worse. Talk about some dry chicken. My dining companion squeezed lime on it just to give it some flavor. I asked if he needed water between each bite to soften up the chicken. His jaws got a workout trying to chew that chicken. Cuba Libre, that’s not good. It only gets worse.
I had the pork empanada dinner. Two tiny empanadas that were just a little bigger than Chinese dumplings were served with rice and beans. It is utterly sad when the rice and beans are better than the entrée. My empanadas were totally dried out and hard. I’ve had good empanadas before, and these were not it. They were so dry that I gave them to my companion. He described them as «sponge-​like.» As in a dry sponge.
We’re not coming back, even if our tab after tax was just 10.77. So long. Farewell, Cuba.

Always been a fan of Cuba! the appetizers are tasty and they have a great happy hour! I personally love the bacon wrapped jalapenos and the lump crab tostados. This is where I met Tom about 5 years ago also so it holds a special place in our hearts :)))))
Happy Hour
Tuesday — Friday
4 p.m. until 7 p.m. & All Day Monday!
½ Price Appetizers, $ 3 Drafts, $ 5 Specialty Martinis

I was told that they have a good mojito here, and they do; it was probably the second– or third-​best mojito that I have had north of Miami. I watched three different bartenders make them each time, and there were no shenanigans with the ingredients. Nice work.
I was here on a Saturday, but it wasn’t too crowded. Later in the evening, much of the bench seating along the wall opened up. Apparently this is because many patrons emigrated to the silly dance room in the back. I was dragged into that room myself and would have been happy to stay if I had known at the time that instead I would be subjected to the black hole of fun that is Pangaea next door.

Do not come to this place for appetizers. Even at half-​off during happy hour, do not be tempted.
1. Crab cakes — no discernible crab
2. Lump crab tostones — barely thawed crab on stale, inedible corn chips
3. Empanadas — I can barely bring myself to call them that — they were so hard no one at our table could cut into them
4. Chicken quesadillas — OK, but really, how hard is it to shred chicken, throw in some cheese, and grill a flour tortilla? And when did quesadillas become Cuban?
And for a place that is supposedly Cuba-​themed, why are the mojitos not on special during happy hour?
Atmosphere is trendy, but it is definitely not a place to go if your intention is to have a good conversation with friends. They keep the overhead music far too loud to talk without yelling, even at 6pm, and it just gets louder as more people show up.
For actual Cuban food, go to Habana on South Congress. Or better yet, go to Miami.

When it comes to finding a fun place to go Cuba Libre is definitely on my list for happy hour spots as well as a stop on the weekend 4^th street bar hop. The people are friendly and the service as great as it can be on most nights can also be slow. No worries though because the drinks are strong, the food is good, and the place is usually packed full of people. Probably my favorite part about this place is walking in. There is a huge curtain that detects your walking motion and opens up to reveal you to the club. Its great if you want to freak someone out thats never been there… just yell something just before it opens :)
Its a great place for people watching and a great place to start or end any night downtown. They also have a cool little lounge in the back and if you feel inclined definitely drop back there and check it out.
My drink: great beer selection and cosmos

Best chocolate martini in town, and I’ve looked. That extra dribble of chocolate before anythings poured leaves you with a treat (and a smile) when you’ve run empty.
I challenge you to find a more scrumptious choco-​tini!
Bonus: they offer their Manicures & Martinis shebah every Thursday, where $ 10 will get you pampered and pie-​eyed. With half-​price tapas for weeknight happy hours, how can a girl complain?