Escudo de Cuba

Featured reviews

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  Sanjna Ghosh

  ·3 months ago

  “Had a racist experience with the bouncers 3 times now. Used to be my fav place. Seen them let white people in but unnecessary questioning for brown people. Ironic cause we’re in Dalston which is so diverse. DO BETTER!”

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  Justin David

  ·4 months ago

  “I visited Escudo de Cuba restaurant yesterday 01.06.26 hoping to have dinner as a single diner. I really fancied tapas. After slowly getting over pneumonia, I felt that I wanted to be out and about, around other people. I like eating out alone, and having lived in Dalston for twenty-five years, I especially enjoy supporting local independent businesses. On a hot evening, it might have been nice to sit outside. It was too busy. Although inside was completely empty and there appeared to be a number of empty tables where as a single person I wouldn’t be encroaching on tables meant for larger groups. I was refused entry by the security guard on the door. I was told that the restaurant does not serve single diners because they have previously experienced problems from people dining alone. I found this surprising and disappointing. Little me, trouble? I have previously eaten at this restaurant where I have enjoyed the food and the staff have been most welcoming. I suspect there has been a change of management. This is now the second time I have been turned away by this same security guard. I don’t have enough knowledge to say if they were breaking the law, but for sure this kind of blanket ban of single diners is far from hospitable and surely that’s not a great commercial decision. I can’t be sure whether this is official policy or just the whim of a grumpy security guard. I’m bewildered as to why I was refused service. Was I being profiled as a single man? You can’t ban all single men because of one bad apple. That would be a legal issue against a protected characteristic? Was it because I am a gay man even? Who knows? After so many nice memories of eating at this place, my experience is now tarnished, and I would urge people to give this place a miss. I will no longer be recommending friends to eat there.”

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  OBLONG LDC

  ·5 months ago

  “So impressed with this gem of a tapas street food bar Marco and his team are fabulous Go full protein with their set taps menu for £37 and a bottle of cava £31 For 2 this was the perfect mid week feast Thank you Marco Ravi & Bharishah Insta : @LiveDiscoverCreate #LDC”

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  sisi yang

  ·5 months ago

  “Cuban said it’s not authentic，but the food itself is good，big portion, well cooked meat, happy hour, lovely open area, no service fee! Highly recommend.”

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  Joanna M L Fearn

  ·7 months ago

  “Discovered this place by chance when I went past on 243 bus a while ago and thought it looked interesting given the Cuban flag painted on the side and thought it would be nice to check it out. Fast forward and I chose to make a reservation for my birthday. Very straight-forward, I just called, booked the date and time and told them how many people as simple as that. Sat 14th March 26, told them running bit late, person on phone said it was fine. Upon arrival guy outside with menu which I thought was odd and then he wasn't letting me past and had to speak to someone on ear piece before I could go in. Once inside, it was very busy, I was shown to a small table even though reservation was for 3 people and we were going to have dinner. The lady came to serve us straight away which I appreciate but told her we were waiting for someone to arrive first but also if we could move to somewhere with more space, given if we were eating there, the small table provided wouldn't be adequate enough. Long story short, we ordered drinks and I asked again, eventually we were moved to place with two tables so we had a bit more room. Ordered the Strawberry Mocktail which was nice and refreshing. Not too sweet either which was good and generous glass size. Bit surprising paying up front for drinks given most restaurants, the bill comes at the end. There are plenty of servers and very attentive but bit full on. Found it a bit much at times. Wierd system in paying for food upfront and not at the end but that's the system they have. Had to wait a bit for our food but when it arrived no complaints - between the three of us, one had steak and two of us had the Asado Pork. The pork was cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth. Casava chips and fried were nice but quite salty. I enjoyed the plantain even though my friend thought they were too soft. Food wise - generous portions, can't complain. Fried crispy empanadas were delicious. We were quite full from all the food and sides so didn't order dessert. Very lively ambience, football on projector at back of restaurant. Quite low/dark lighting so needed to use torch on our phones to read the menu. Overall interesting but fun experience. We had a good time. Music was good bar cutting out good tunes. I would say the place is more like a bar/club which serves food than a traditional restaurant as you don't see the kitchen as it is hidden. Easy to find, right by bus stop for Shacklewell Lane if coming from North End.”

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  elle roya

  ·11 months ago

  “Amazing food and drinks which are unfortunately overshadowed by poor service. I booked a table for 2 for a Sunday evening and when we arrived there was nobody present to greet us, so we had to approach the bartender who pointed us to a table. Once we sat down and ordered drinks, the short waitress with glasses immediately tried to take payment on the card machine, which really confused me as we were seated and about to order dinner. I explained this to her, but again this did not make sense, as we had booked for dinner and we were seated at a table after only recently arriving. The drinks were amazing and fairly priced as they had the 2 for £10 offer on, so we had the basil mojito and pineapple daiquiri, both of which were soooo tasty and refreshing! We ordered the 6 tapas dishes, the empanadas starter and plantain side. All of the food came very quickly and absolutely everything that we tasted was genuinely 10/10 - I can’t even say one bad thing about the food! We were so full after grazing at the food for a while, and we even had enough food to take a takeaway box. Our favourites were the chicken skewers, the wings and the plantain. Next time I will have to try the tacos as they looked really nice too! Now onto the unfortunate side of the review… after our meal we ordered 2 pina coladas with another woman who was very nice. The pina coladas were so tasty, we decided to order 2 more with our original waitress, the shorter lady with glasses. After the drinks arrived, for some reason she brought our bill over, which we never asked for. Prior to this, she had approached us asking us if we wanted the bill, and we told her no as we were still thinking of getting more drinks, and we were even debating getting a dessert. When she brought us the bill, I was very confused and asked her if they were closing, to which she said no. It honestly felt like she wanted us to hurry up and leave, which made no sense because we were still ordering and actively drinking our drinks. I have worked in hospitality for over a decade and it’s very much common knowledge to never bring a guest their bill without them asking for it, because you’re essentially telling them to leave, which can come across very rude and unwelcoming. Due to this, we were a bit frustrated and felt unwelcome, so even though we wanted a dessert and more drinks, we decided to pay our bill and leave. I honestly hate that I’m writing something negative because the food was UNREAL and if it wasn’t for the poor service, it would be 5 stars all round. But I just can’t ignore the fact that we felt like we were being pushed out of the venue, even though there wasn’t people waiting for a table, and we were not just sitting there not buying anything. I hope that next time I come, the service will improve, as the food is SO WORTH IT!”

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  Sam McKellen

  ·1 year ago

  “Finally visited after spotting it a while back, and wasn't disappointed. Clearly popular, we got one of the last outdoor tables. Service was generally good, although one of our drinks orders took over 20 mins to turn up, hence the 4/5 star rating. I'll put that down to them being busy. Drinks reasonably priced - especially 2 for £10 cocktails. Food was delicious - choice of some authentic Cuban dishes but also pizza/pasta for anyone less adventurous. Don't live local but will 100% be back next time I'm up that way!”

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  Isobel

  ·1 year ago

  “We dined at Escudo de Cuba last night, and while the food and drinks were great, the service was an absolute circus. The restaurant was so overstaffed that it felt like we were being tag-teamed by a never-ending rotation of waiters. When we arrived, we informed a waiter that we had a booking for five people. Instead of being shown to our table, we were passed from one waiter to another—I had to say we have a table booked for five people at least 10 times to different waiters—until we finally reached the manager, who seemed completely lost about where to seat us. Once seated, we were waiting for two more guests, but that didn’t stop five different waiters from approaching us one after the other to take our drink orders. When our full party finally arrived, another wave of waiters swooped in immediately to take our food order. We had to tell different staff members at least four times that we needed more time. Throughout the meal, multiple waiters kept trying to clear our plates before we were finished. Instead of feeling looked after, we felt constantly interrupted. The food and drinks were genuinely enjoyable, but the chaotic and excessive service completely ruined the experience. If they could manage their staff better and give diners some breathing room, it would make for a much more pleasant experience. The Ropa Vieja A La Havana was 10/10.”

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  Daniella N

  ·1 year ago

  “Absolutely stunning bar which reminds me of the beauty of Cuba. Friendly, hard working staff. They are quick to take food and drink orders. The cocktails are delicious, strong and well mixed. The food is delicious and well cooked. I was pleasantly surprised because bar food isn't usually great. This place is a hidden gem in overpriced London.”

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  David “Unkle Mc” McD

  ·6 years ago

  “After looking around for a nice Cuban bar and restaurant, I decided to take my family here to celebrate our anniversary. We don't live locally to here so I hadn't heard of it (even before they moved to Dalston) but chose after looking at the positive Google reviews. This place did not disappoint! I had booked a table for early afternoon so it was fairly empty. I'm not sure how busy it gets in the evening (very busy, I suspect!). The friendly staff got us seated and provided menus and we waited for about 5-10 minutes to have our order taken. We ordered a couple of cocktails, a plate of nachos to share between 3 of us to start, 2 mains and some tapas. The food tasted very fresh and as you can see from the photos you get a sizable portion. The chicken skewers and lamb skewers tapas were tender and the rice and black beans were well seasoned. A couple more cocktails and a couple of Tequila shots (including some lime juice for my son so he could take part) to finish with and I can safely say we'll be back again soon to try some of the other dishes.”

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