Asia De Cuba

Great food and even better atmosphere. But!!! There valet sucks!!! I’ve been there at least 5 times and twice my car was scratched. I complained to the manager and as usual they will say it wasn’t there fault. It even happened to a friend of mine. I know it closed down but whatever restaurant is there now be sure to not use there valet.

We were at Asia de Cube to celebrate my cousin’s birthday and had one of the worst experiences ever in terms of customer service. They completely forgot my cousin, and her order for dinner. When we asked them about her order 45 minutes after the rest of us had gotten our meals, they said the no longer had what she had requested.
You would think a restaurant where you are going to spend several hundred dollars for a meal could get it right. They told her what they did have remaining as similar options, it came out without any flavor (pretty bland) as though they rushed right through the orders.
Afterward, they promised to rectify the situation by giving us dessert and drink. When we made our drink orders, we were told that they would not fulfill it.
I am completely disappointed by this experience and would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. In fact, I would suggest you avoid it for fear of having a poor dining experience.

Went there with a group of friends for a dineLA lunch… Nice view & great service! The restaurant is located inside the chic Modrian Hotel.
Salad: Calamari salad is super yummy!
Entrée: Beef –tasty but rather hard for my taste
Dessert: Churros — ok
Service: AWESOME! They did not rush us to leave…
Parking: valet

I’ve never really been big on Asian-​Fusion style restaurants, but ADC has thought outside the wok & done a damn-​good job at fusing Asian & Latin flavors, to say the least!
Besides being located inside the beautiful Mondrian Hotel, the breathtaking views of the city only add that much more ambiance to an already gorgeous restaurant! We were seated at a table right next to the window that overlooked the city so it was perfect!
Now on to the important stuff: food! Most of the menu items are served very similar to tapas (smaller portions/​sharing-​style) so you’ll need to order more in order to feel full. It’s kind of nice this way because you get to try a little bit of everything. I tried and highly recommend the following:
Crab Croquetas served with jicama, mango and mirin infused slaw & roasted red pepper rémoulade for dipping. These little suckers are phenomenal!
Shrimp, Snapper And confit Watermelon Ceviche, which comes with Vietnamese red chili, garlic and jalapeño, & shaved coconut. Sounds like a weird combination of flavors, but this one actually one of my favorite items I tried!
Free Range Cuban Bbq Chicken, which is served with Thai coconut sticky rice, avocado cilantro fruit salsa & tamarind sauce. This was delicious! The chicken was cooked & seasoned to perfection!
Sides: Yuca Mojo Fries (Yuca is mild flavored root vegetable, similar to potato, with a hint of sweetness). Plantain fried rice with avocado salad (JUST ORDER THIS! trust me you won’t regret it!). Lobster Boniato Mash; this turned out to me one of my favorite items as well. I would go back just for more of that mash!
Service was exceptional! I have absolutely no complaints. Can’t wait to go back!

**************************** REVIEW 912 ********************************
I love view of the City of Angels from here, beautiful outdoor seating, white table cloth, gigantic plant pots that make Asia de Cuba WeHo so picture perfect on a lazy early afternoon.
All servers wear white, in fact there was so many of them when we were there this visit; but somehow just with 4 tables for late lunch, it took forever for them to serve us???
— The fresh smoothies, berries, orange, banana, I love it!
— PLANTAIN FRIED RICE WITH AVOCADO SALAD — was bland and not good! What happens this time?!
— CLASSIC CUBANO roast pork loin and ham, Swiss, mustard, mayo and pickles — it was OK.
— BRAISED OXTAIL AND KIMCHEE STEAMED DUMPLINGS spiced calabaza threads, mango ponzu — the dumplings skin was fallen apart. The sauce was over-​powering everything. It wasn’t right from taste to texture.
— TUNAPICA tuna tartare picadillo-​style on wonton crisps — Spanish olives, black currants, almonds and coconut, soy-​lime vinaigrette — I always order this dish at any Asia de Cuba, what happens this time? It was salty ;-(
I’ve had it better in NYC, even the old spot at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian West Hollywood, just didn’t do it this time for me. Although I still love the view, it used to be 1 of my fav lunch spots in WeHo.

I’ve been here for both dinner and brunch. Both times, I was not crazy impressed by the food. This review is for the brunch. Cocktails are delicious but pricey ($ 15~19 range). We ordered from the Sunday brunch menu, which had the unlimited mimosas. They kept the drinks flowing, but mimosa was completely water down. I don’t think anyone got a buzz off of that. Calamari salad was tasty, but it wasn’t mind blowing… It had a ton of calamari in it tho. Steak dish was good steak, but ordinary. Next time, I will probably stick to cocktails by the pool and skip the food.

I was only able to hit up one dineLA this time around, but I was very happy that Asia De Cuba was the spot we chose. Among 5 people, we chose 3 dineLA menu’s, and 2 main dishes off the regular menu. The pricing came out to be about the same, and it provided us with more variety.
This fusion cuisine was very family style, and everything was flavor town good!
Starters:
1. Pork Belly — duh? I was surprised two were given. I was just expecting one, but these were marinated well with good distribution of fat and meat.
2. Tuna tar tar — pass
Main:
1. Miso Cod — like butter! This was really one of my highlights of the night. I just couldn’t stop eating this delicious fish.
2. Char Siu Short Ribs — very Asian style, and very meaty and tender. Another highlight of the night.
3. Chicken — this one was a hit and miss. I felt the chicken was just too dry (as it usually is). It came with mango salsa, but also with sweet sticky rice. The combo definitely didn’t work, but I enjoyed the sticky rice to the fullest! lol — darn my sweet tooth!
4. Black cod — this was also a delicious fish. A little less on the flavorful side, but with the crab flan side and chimichuri, it worked.
Sides:
1. Plantain fried rice with avacado salad — I think this is a must get. It was a great combo side.
2. Lobster mash — also a must try
3. Steamed vegetables — the Asian in me had to order vegetables, and this was also a good choice.
Dessert:
1. Donuts — just say no
Drinks:
Very very very expensive, but unique. If you got the money to spend, and can do with just one cocktail, pick your poison as it’s a mixologist paradise.
Service:
Lacking towards the end of the night. It got close to midnight when our service ended. Perhaps because of the dIneLA rush and they were tired? Beats me. They could of been more attentive.
$ 20 valet for the hotel, or $ 20 valet for any other valet around. Gosh darn you Hollywood!
Spectacular view ~ as everyone has said.
As a dineLA, I would say that this place is definitely worth the $ 45 menu price & extra. As a regular go to dine place for a night in the town, I’d think twice.

I really don’t know why, but virtually everything I had was entirely too sweet. We had a variety of dishes from the tasting menu including the calamari, short ribs, and pork belly. The balance in the dishes was off because there would be a sweet glaze but nothing savory or even citrusy to even the flavors out. My favorites were surprisingly the sides: the lobster mashed potatoes and the fried rice. We found a great deal through Gilt City and had a lot of food so I think the price was well worth it. Regardless, I wouldn’t come back just because there are so many other options nearby.
We also circled around and around for parking to no avail, so save your time and just pay for valet.

Asia de Cuba was my first official ‘Hollywood trendy’ restaurant back in 2004. Since I was staying at the Mondrian, I was able to enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner in addition to the adjacent pool and SkyBar. This was for sure an interesting (and stereotypical) vision of Los Angeles:
–That guy sitting by himself talking a tad too loud to his associates/​colleagues about some (probably failed) deal? Check.
–The desperately-​trying-​to-​look-​younger-​than-​what-​she– is mother on her phone ignoring her teenage son at breakfast? Accounted for.
–The one guy who walks around the empty pool but places his stuff on the lounge chair RIGHT next to yours to annoy the hell out of you? Present.
As for the food, the meals I’ve had here have always included their plantain avocado fried rice (minus egg), Cuban BBQ Chicken, lemongrass skewers (you can skip these) and their amazing chicken club for lunch with the mojito fries. The fries used to be thicker but now they’re almost shoestring. I prefer the older fries but won’t deny the new ones. The Cuban Opera is something not to miss if you’re still able to shovel in dessert, although these Mexican donuts look like a sure treat.
As for the poolside which served some food from Asia de Cuba (this was way back when, not sure if they still do) I remember the bar had cups of pretzel Goldfish which they let me take back to my lounger, and all the poolside waitresses looked like mermaids (meaning they were gorgeous). But for some reason I remember the hot dog on the poolside menu was about $ 13. 7 – 11 was down the street for a lot less, but you know you’re not going to go there.
Enjoy Asia de Cuba now for those of you who are fans, because they are shutting their doors come fall. That timeframe may change, so call first to make sure before that lovely outside dining area disappears down the rabbit hole for good (frequent diners will recognize the reference).

I spent the weekend at Mondrian for friend birthday celebration, we decided to grab dinner on Saturday night at Asia de Cuba, I made prior reservation via opentable and we were seated as soon as we arrived. I requested Window patio seat upon making this reservation and my request was Granted.
Amazing night view of La La land while sipping on some bubbly begun my experience for this place beautifully. I loved our waiter… he was super fun with great sense of humor and knowledgable with menu.
We ordered few starters and one entrée to share:
First order: Calamari Salad
Calamari, chayote, hearts of palm, banana, cashews, chicory and radicchio, sesame– orange dressing. Fantastic dish… such a great combination and great balance of flavors.
Second order: Spicy Hamachi And Plantain Threads key lime and shallot, shiso
Hamachi was so tasty and not too spicy. Perfecto…
Main dish: Pan Seared Ahi Tuna served rare with wasabi mashed potatoes and crunchy peas, cilantro chimichurri sauce
This dish was large enough to satisfy me and my friend. Lots of fresh ahi Tuna seared served raw and I liked the combinstion of mashed potato with rare tuna so yummy.
Service was spotless and extremely prompt. Overall a great experience yet expensive but worth it.

Eat It OR Beat It?
**EAT IT!!**
One of my favorite spots to dine in LA. Great views overlooking LA, great seating arrangements outside adjacent to a bar/​pool/​lounge. The food is savory and full of flavor. I recommend ordering the calamari salad and the buttermilk fish. All the sides are delicious as well.
Great place to take a date or for a nice summer evening out :)
So, I say EAT IT!

asia de cuba is our favorite restaurant in la right now. we went here for our anniversary last year and fell in love. when a deal on gilt came up for a pre-​fix dinner for two at this wonderful place, we obviously had to get it.
the food (go with the tasting menu, lots of food. you wont regret it)
— the ropa vieja of duck was topped with hoisin sauce served in lettuce cups. note to self, must get this again. the duck was moist, sweet with a little spicy kick. this is a little wrap so its not heavy… however, it is a messy.
— the crispy octopus ajillo w/​caramelized onions and sake pickled lychee was highly recommended by our waitress. this is something we never have ordered but we are absolutely glad we did. they werent lying when they named this crispy. it really is! not dry crispy. moist on the inside, crispy on the outside. how do they do it?! for someone who loves crispy texture… this was awesome.
— calamari salad «asia de cuba». this is their signature salad. calamari, hearts of palm, bananas (yeah first time for us too), cashews and sesame orange dressing. refreshing. calamari and cashews give it a nice crunch. we were weirded out by the bananas at first but the tastes blend so well.
— lobster mash was great (mastros, you still win my heart for best lobster mash). we got this because we thought it would go well with the gambas gigante mai tai a.k.a. giant prawns in red thai curry, rum, and coconut cream. the curry was good. we wished it was hotter (temperature and spiciness). prawns were gigantic.
— our second main and one of our favorites: char siu beef short ribs w/​chili orange salsa! this is absolutely amazing (and it’s amazing every single time we have it). this is definitely another must get dish! taste — think explosion of flavor.
tip: other things that we love here that we couldnt order because it wasnt part of the tasting menu — miso cured alaskan black cod (fish was perfectly prepared) w/​grilled shishito peppers and plantain fried rice topped with avocado salad aka guacamole (asian cuban fusion… get it?!)
overall: obviously we are big fans of this place. we recommend this to anyone looking for a nice view of la and great food. price point is on the high side so this is definitely a special occasion kinda night.
ambience: dining room inside is all white. large windows overlooking la.
service: great service every time. we have never gone there when it’s ridiculously packed so you get a lot of undivided attention.
parking: valet only.

do not get the prix fixe menu. yes, you get family style of everything on the set menu, but you’ll see that there are plantains, avocado, coconut in almost everything.
chopped plantains in the calamari salad, plantains in the fried rice, avocado with the fried rice (WTF?), coconut milk rice, coconut cake.
this is another place that uses falsely descriptive words to entice you: avocado salad with plantain fried rice = guacamole with fried rice. not so fancy after all. check out the picture.

Asia de Cuba is not my favorite fusion restaurant. It is hard for me to order since I am not a fan (read: deathly allergic) to many fruits and dislike mushrooms… which makes it a tough place to order things as nearly everything has one, or more often both. I was with a vegetarian and she didn’t have much to order either.
I started with a Thai beef salad which was good (I took out the fruit so I could order it), and my main of Halibut was good as well. Both dishes were pretty sweet and I would have preferred things to be more savory. I didn’t care for the sides that came with the Halibut.
Service was ok, although it seemed fake. The whole meal was expensive and not that memorable.

Visited this place for DineLA on a random Tuesday afternoon. It’s located inside the Mondrian Hotel for those who have never been. As we walked toward the host stand, we were greeted by a very bright and open space. It had a «beach feel» with the white seats and tables contrasted with the pale blue walls. At the very end of the room were floor to ceiling windows overlooking Los Angeles city. So inviting and what a gorgeous view!
I can only imagine how pretty it would be at night. A prime date spot without a doubt. Of course, my girlfriend and I opted for the DineLA pre-​fixe menu. It was $ 25 per person for a three course meal. We weren’t aware that the menu was family style (even though it wasn’t indicated on the menu). Appetizer, side dish, and dessert had to be shared, while the main entrees were chosen individually.
THAI BEEF SALAD: We chose this as our appetizer. This is not your ordinary thai beef salad. It was served carpaccio style with a dressing that was too strong for me. The dressing was overwhelmingly tart in taste. I’m usually not a fan of having fruit in my salad, but the orange segments complimented everything well.
MISO GRILLED SALMON: This was good. The miso sauce gave the entire dish great flavor. I enjoyed the grilled veggies. The portion was perfect for lunch, too.
PALOMILLO OF BEEF: The dish reminded me of carne asada. It actually tasted like it, too. It was essentially a large cut of meat topped with a pretty display of veggies. Not what we were expecting. It was alright. The only downer was that it was not as tender as we hoped it would be.
PLANTAIN FRIED RICE WITH AVOCADO SALAD: It was pretty much regular fried rice, but the avocado salad topping gave it that extra oomph. We thoroughly enjoyed it maybe because we were both craving rice. Really didn’t taste the plantains at all.
MEXICAN DOUGHNUTS: Nothing special. They looked like normal sugar-​covered doughnuts. The inside is filled with toffee sauce, so I didn’t find the need to use the toffee dip they provided.
We also ordered mojito fries ($ 8) after seeing it served at another table. Not sure what spices or whatnot they covered them with, but it was good. It was made with the perfect amount of crispiness, too.
Overall, my dining experience here was great. Service was on point. It was totally worth it coming here for DineLA because we would have easily spent over $ 100 for everything we got. I look forward to coming back again during dinner hours to see that view again and to try more of their unique dishes.

Los Angeles is spoiled with so many delicious eateries… and even more spoiled when DineLA comes along. Amazing deals… and so many to choose from! I am SO HAPPY with last night’s choice. Latin and Asian fusion; two of the best cuisines perfectly merged… Asia de Cuba, you’re amazing.
First of all, the Mondrian (the hotel that Asia de Cuba is located in) is gorgeous. All white with hints of orange; very Hermes… elegant and charming. We were warmly greeted and were seated within 10 minutes. Glad there was a tiny wait; just enough time to enjoy a Lychee Up martini at their little bar. It’s delicious… if you like lychee, you will love this martini… highly recommended.
Perfect service. Everyone from start to finish was very attentive, welcoming, informative, and accommodating. Our waiter was lively and really played a part in making the overall experience great. The view is spectacular… nothing says LA like fine dining with a gorgeous view of the city lights. I can only imagine how gorgeous the sunset must be from Asia de Cuba; I will definitely be back to enjoy that.
Now on to the important stuff:
We enjoyed their dineLA 4 course dinner menu — $ 45 per guest. Everything is served family style… so the number of selections depends on the size of your party. For 2, we were able to select 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 side, and 1 dessert… Our waiter was nice enough to give us both desserts! :) Lucky us.
STARTERS
Calamari Salad ‘Asia de Cuba’ — ok one thing I’ve learned… if it has the name of the restaurant on it… that’s a done deal. It was delicious… the calamari had the perfect texture. A little on the oily side, but balanced with the greens. The banana caught me off guard, but in a good way. This one is definitely a must.
Asian Noodle Box — fried noodles, veggies, and mushrooms shaped like a box. Super tasty and definitely unique.
MAINS
Palomillo of Beef — I wouldn’t know. We tried to order this but our waiter gave us the dirtiest look while shaking his head… haha so we passed.
Free Range Cuban BBQ Chicken — came with coconut sticky rice, avocado/​mango salsa… The chicken was amazing. Super moist and the BBQ sauce has a tamarind taste to it, I loved it. Really went well with the salsa. Overall, everything on the dish worked very well together.
Pan Seared Ahi Tuna — can I just say that those wasabi mashed potatoes made my meal? I swear I can eat those mashed potatoes all day everyday, and I don’t even love mashed potatoes like that. OMG yum. And what made this dish even better is that everything else was amazing!!! Fresh large chunks of rare ahi tuna and a great cilantro chimichurri sauce… so delicioussss… HIGHLY recommended.
SIDES
Plantain Fried Rice with Avocado Salad — ok the fried rice alone was ok. the avocado salad (guac) was ok… but together? OMG BOOOOMB. Who would’ve known that guac and fried rice is the perfect combination? This dish is also a must.
DESSERT
Mexican Doughnuts — dry sugar doughnut balls; not too sweet. I thought they tasted great.
Molten Chocolate Cake — eh me no like so much. It tasted too rich and moist for my taste… Probably the only thing I did not enjoy at Asia de Cuba.
DRINK
Lychee Up — ya gotta do it, trust.
SAUCE
Sriracha — ask for their hot sauce. They present it as sriracha, but it has so much more flavor and spice… I’m pretty sure they mix it up with a little somethin else… possibly crack? lol jk, but seriously so addicting.
I am VERY happy with Asia de Cuba’s dineLA menu… and I highly recommend it to anyone who is having the hardest time deciding which of the 298 347 934 restaurants to try this week. You have one more day, MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW NOW NOW!
Will most definitely be back. You have become one of my favorites restaurants in one try. That hardly ever happens!!!

We came here for DineLA (as did almost everyone else in the restaurant it seems) on a rainy Friday night and it was pretty packed. We had made reservations for 8pm but were running late, and they were nice enough to accommodate us when we arrived at 8:30; we did have to wait about 15 minutes, but no biggie. This was my first time here, and I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the restaurant and the outdoor patio area is! There are pretty much two sections outside — one dimly lit area under vine covered arches, and another brighter area near the pool. The view of the city was spectacular, even on a clear rainy night.
Now on to the food! The DineLA menu looked pretty good and the majority of the dishes on the menu were actually on their regular menu, which was nice to see! For $ 45 per person (tip and tax not included in that price), we had a choice of one appetizer, one side dish and one dessert to share for two people, and we each got a choice of one entrée. Our server told us the shared dishes were pretty large, but I was wary of this statement, especially since we were sitting in a fancy restaurant (all fancy restaurants I’ve been to, serve tiny portions on a large plates, lol). We ended up ordering the thai beef salad, palomillo of beef (not on their regular menu), pan seared ahi tuna, plantain fried rice with avocado salad, and a mix of both desserts cuz waiter was nice (molten chocolate cake and Mexican donuts). Our favorites were the ahi tuna and the fried rice with avocado salad (pretty much guacamole)…who knew fried rice and guacamole could taste so good together?! Yum! And to our surprise, all the dishes were quite large! We both eat a lot and even though we finished everything off of every plate, we left full and very satisfied. The worst is when you leave a restaurant still hungry; this was definitely NOT the case! Thumbs up from me! I’ve had quite a few DineLA experiences over the years and have always left disappointed or unsatisfied. I’d have to say that this was the best DineLA experience I’ve had to date! Great service, great food, good portions, nice ambiance and awesome company! What else can a gal ask for? =P

The view is SPECTACULAR!!!
Fellas, listen up! If you want to impress a date, bring them here as the sun is setting, buy her a few drinks to get her liquored up then take her down the street to eat somewhere cheaper to save yourself a few bucks!
Personally, I would forgo the food here and just want to soak in the view while getting my drink on.
Anyway, I went for DineLA back in 2011 and wasn’t very impressed. The food was mediocre (especially for the price!) and I felt cheated. You know the kind where you open a bag of chips and realize the chips aren’t even filling the bag halfway but rather it’s air that was consuming most of the space? Yeah, like that.
So, onto my sad food experience. My group of 4 decided on the below, all which was served family style.
Tuna tartare picadillo-​style on wonton crisps — it was okay, kind of bland and not all that special. I was expecting the flavors to pack a punch like Mike Tyson back in his prime but I was left standing wondering what the hell happened — I guess I got the Mike Tyson 5.0 version, squeaky voice and no muscle.
Next hitter up that struck out were some kind of beef braised egg rolls, not impressed. I’d rather have the TexMex or Avocado egg rolls from Cheesecake Factory.
Our entrees arrived, they looked somewhat promising.
CUBAN COFFEE CRUSTED RIB EYE — hello! I thought for sure I’d swoon over this bad boy! But as a teenage boy that crushes on one girl to the next, this dish had short-​lived potential. The meat wasn’t as tender and the flavors again were lacking. The side of yuca mojo fries had no mojo and were just yuck. I didn’t care for the vegetable stir fry or mashed potatoes either. If Asia de Cuba was shooting for bland they should get an award for that. Sadly the side of green beans was the only tasty dish we got, but let’s be real — I can make that shizz at home for $ 5 no problem.
The pitfalls of eating out, right? I know, woe is me.
Alas, dessert arrived and it was just a sad story of some kind of chocolate cake. The Mexican doughnuts though were alright but I’ve had better elsewhere.
All in all me and my inner fatty felt like we really struck out with choosing to do a DineLA here. I felt bad for inviting my friends to join too.
But we must persevere and I’m open to coming back for drinks and to try some seafood items. As the wise fortune cookie reads, «better luck next time, hopefully it holds true.
Service was on point and I did enjoy the ambiance of the venue, so a borderline 3 stars.

DineLA 2013 update:
$ 25 Lunch
$ 45 Dinner
Came here on a beautiful Monday afternoon to take advantage of DineLA at Asia de Cuba. $ 25 for a 3 course lunch? Heck yeah!
I came here with two other friends. It does not state on the DineLA menu but everything is served family style. So for three people, we were able to choose 3 of the appetizers, 3 of the mains, both side dishes and both desserts. We chose to sit outside… which now has a clear tent above… great view of the city!
For the appetizers we chose the Calamari Salad (my favorite because of the perfectly cooked calamari, plantains and hearts of palm), Thai Beef Salad (was ok, better choice than the Asian Noodle Box), and the Tunapica (tuna tartare on crispy wontons… decent app).
The entrees were nicely presented on large white plates. We ordered the Chicken MilanAsia (basically a chicken tonkatsu that had a really yummy chimichurri sauce), Palomillo of Beef (really yummy, tender piece of beef with peppers, onions and eggplant on top) and the Miso Salmon (generous piece of salmon, with a nice miso glaze and perfectly cooked. It is on a bed of white rice and I liked the veggies that came with it). I wasn’t too keen on the sides… there was a Plantain Fried Rice with Guacamole on top… interesting but good. The side of stir fried veggies were flavorful but I don’t think it was needed because there were tons of veggies on the entrees.
The desserts of Mexican Donuts with toffee sauce was delicious fried goodness… basically a soft churro. The Chocolate Molten Cake was delicious as well… very pretty presentation with the plantain chip and ice cream.
All in all, really great lunch for the price of $ 25…can’t beat that! It’s a lot of food to share. The service was great from the host to our waiter to the bussers. On a side note, I would highly recommend getting a berry mojito or a berry Caipirinha (both super delicious!)

Just picture this: an amazing dinner table by the window overlooking the Los Angeles, eating a delicious and unique meal while watching the planes circle over the LA lights. When you look over to the left there’s a couple making out madly. When you look to the right there’s a young blonde on a date with a (much) older gentleman and they order round after round of champagne and strawberries. Holy shit… we are not in Kansas anymore!
Asia de Cuba is a restaurant chain that actually manages to live up to the hype! I’ll admit the menu is definitely, definitely overpriced, but the ambiance in the Mondrian hotel is so classy and the view overlooking LA is so beautiful that it really is worth it. The location really makes it a must try restaurant and really, it is just so freaking Hollywood!
I’ll admit the only reason we even attempted to take on that expensive menu is because I got a BlackBoardEats coupon for a $ 39/​person family tasting menu (between the two of us — 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 1 dessert)…an amazing deal! Although there is a similar deal during dineLA so look out for that! Even better, for just $ 10 – 15 (I forgot)/person we got to add on a wine pairing for each dish (3 modest glasses) — so fun! The dineLA/​BlackBoardEats menu is a much more condensed version of all they offer, but I think they’ve managed to keep most of the crowd favorites and I was very happy with what we ordered:
Appetizers:
–Beef/​kimchi Dumplings: This was a replacement for the beef spring rolls that were on the menu before and I would say it was ok. Probably the best dumpling I’ve ever had but I’m not sure that’s saying much. Plus you only get 2… one dumpling each o. O
–Fried Calamari Salad: Bomb freaking diggity! I think all restaurants should service fried calamari on salad… it really is genius. Awesome fusion flavors — a must order!
Main dishes:
–Char Siu Short Ribs: Awesome flavor, delicious
–Miso Butterfish: Probably one of the best miso butterfishes I’ve ever had, pretty decent serving size
–Side of Plantain Fried Rice with Avocado: This is pretty much the definition of fusion — two different flavors that somehow work together! Although I’m pretty sure if I tried to recreate this at home the combo would make me throw up.
Dessert:
Cuban Opera: Essentially an amazing cake served in a beautiful way
I think that if you can get some sort of deal (dineLA, BlackBoardEats) jump on it and give Asia De Cuba a try! I doubt I’ll be back on just any sort of day, but maybe when a special someone visits from out of town it may be worth it to experience this awesome restaurant again!
Last tip: SkyBar is right next door in the same hotel if you’re interested in a nightcapper!