Cafe Cuba product reviews

I have dined at Cafe Cuba a number of times, and have always been impressed with both the food and the service.

One of the main things which draws me to Cafe Cuba is both the location and the fact it is BYO wine (corkage $2.50 per bottle). It is the perfect place for dinner with friends over a bottle of wine, and the central location makes it a short walk into town.

The meals are wonderful, they have an excellent selection. They are certainly on the pricey side (most mains around $25), however they are very well done and taste delicious.

Cafe Cuba's hummus and pita bread ($8) is a personal favourite of mine, I have been known to go there just for that! And of course their well known chocolate silk cake ($6) most definitely is addictive.

There is, amongst those with more dollars than sense, an appreciation of overpriced, under-serviced cafes and bars. The higher the prices, and lower the service, the more they want to gather there, to show the world that they have less brain cells than zero's in their bank balance.

If that pattern holds true, then I am stunned that we don't have billionaires flying in just have an $8.50 slice of cake and a $3.00 600ml bottle of coke at Cafe Cuba.

I must admit to being at a total loss to explain how they could win the 2004 Cafe Magazine Award, and be fairly constantly packed with customers... because after 1 hour sitting there waiting for aforementioned bottle of coke and a slice of carrot cake, and being treated with utter disrespect by the self-important older woman behind the till, I will never set foot in there again.

"So why did you go there in the first place?" you may ask. Simple. I was there to meet up with a group of friends on a social outing, and that was the first place that came to the mind of the lovely lady who arranged the gathering. I think she got the idea that a new venue would be a good idea for the next one. :)

Some of the 'highlights' that caught my attention: A jumbo sausage roll priced at a mere $6.00, a slice of cake at $7.50, 600ml bottle of coke (at $3.00 it was dearer than a 2.25l bottle), a $12.00 plate of scrambled eggs with two tiny hash-browns, and of course the overbearing woman who refused to allow me to wait for my order and got really shitty when I refused to give the seating details of the TOTAL STRANGER ahead of me in line! Like I would know what table they were sitting at, and if it already had a number assigned to it!!

Overall, cramped inside, lousy parking, over-priced, rude senior staff (there was a lovely, helpful young lady there, but alas, she was kitchen staff and thus in the wrong place to provide a better image for the store), and rather mediocre food. Never again, if I'm paying the bill. The only REAL highlight was the Chocolate Silk Cake that makes this place semi-famous. It was delightfully rich and smooth, but no cafe should be known for one great dish and a plethora of bad attributes.