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Located on Regent Street, Cuba Libre is a restaurant well known for its Latin American cuisine and cocktails.

It is no secret that I had a mixed experience during my last visit but a lot has changed since then. They now offer a new summer menu with a larger emphasis on seafood.

This could be exactly what Cambridge needs, as Latin cuisine and seafood are both few and far between in our fair city. I was keen to check it out as it is an exciting combination.

The interior

One thing that has never been a problem at Cuba Libre is the stylish interior. It is modern, colourful, and with lots of natural light. It’s a great place to people-watch with our table even having a window overlooking Parkers Piece.

Thankfully, the dominating live music from my previous lunch time visit was absent. Live music is all well and good in the evening with a cocktail in your hand but we found it too much while dining during the day. As the evening progressed, the restaurant buzzed with conversation as the evening crowd arrived, creating a vibrant atmosphere all by itself.

It’s a comfortable place to relax and the staff were incredibly warm and friendly. I could tell that they were passionate about their food, as it was native to their home country. It’s always great (and reassuring) to see.

Drinks & Starters

The cocktails have always been a real strength at Cuba Libre. They offer an extensive range of options with everything you could possibly want. Prices range from £11.50-13.

We started with a cocktail from their margarita selection, called the ‘Habanero Margarita’. It comes with tequila infused with habanero and ginger, Cointreau liqueur, Agave, fresh lime, and Mexican spice and salt.

As you can see, the cocktail is beautifully presented and came with a slice of chili pepper that gave the drink an exciting pop. This cocktail came to £12, which may be too much for some, but you could taste its money’s worth in flavour and strength.

We started our meal with a few light bites that included some incredibly meaty Inca Valley purple olives and Andean popcorn called Chanchita.

We moved on to some guacamole and crunchy corn tortillas. I thought these were absolutely beautiful, especially the guacamole that had a real zesty flavour and a life of its own. I can’t remember the last time I had guacamole so bold, smooth, and vibrant. It was delicious!

Mains

Our first main course was an absolute monster of a dish. A charcoal and wood-fired rotisserie half-chicken marinated for 24-hours. It had a beautiful crispy skin and a soft tenderness underneath. It is served with chips and a seasonal salad, making it a completely balanced meal. This was very welcome as one of my criticisms during my previous visit to Cuba Libre was that you had to mix and match a lot of separate dishes to get a balanced meal (almost like tapas) that really racked up the cost. Everything was provided here for a flat fee. You had your greens, your carbohydrate and protein and it was all excellent 👌

Let’s talk sauce. The chicken comes with an INCREDIBLE Peruvian sauce not mentioned on the menu but it blew me away. It is made from Peruvian huacatay, aji Amarillo, mustard and mayo. This stuff was incredible, so much so that I asked for the ingredients, so I could make it at home. I cannot recommend it enough! The only issue I had was that the pot wasn’t bottomless 😭

Cuba Libre’s take on avocado’s is impressive. Their ‘Stuffed Avocado Salad’ is served with mayonnaise, red peppers, corn and lime julce.

I’m not usually a big fan of avocado’s but I found myself finishing one to myself. I really enjoyed the colourful energy radiating off the stunning presentation which was further emphasised by the dark plates that made it jump out.  The avocados themselves were mild, firm and and a good size. My guest is a big avacado fan and really enjoyed her experience.

One of the highlights of the evening was an exciting Peruvian dish called ‘Ceviche Clasico De Pescado’.

This is raw seabass cooked in the acidity of the limes over a period of time and served in tiger milk. This creates an incredibly juicy and pungy sour taste that really livened up my taste buds like an electric shock. This won’t be a dish for everyone but it is something I recommend for any foodie looking to try something new and exciting. Incredible!

Another stand out dish was the ‘Mejillones Con Pico De Gallo’ or Peruvian style steamed mussels. This is served with chopped tomatoes, onions, and corn kernels all marinated in lime juice.

I thought these were a great sharing platter between friends and felt like a mussels salsa. They were light, soft, salty, and easy going. I had a lot of fun with these and thought the lemon squeezed on top really brought them to life with a zesty flare. A great dish for someone looking to dip their toe into seafood.

Their oysters were served on ice. This is another great sharing platter between guests, giving that fun communal dining experience. The oysters came with a small lemon and other than a bit of garnish…that was pretty much it! The oysters were big, meaty, and fresh enough to stand on their own, so it didn’t need anything else. The seafood is brought in fresh every day at Cuba Libre and it clearly shows. Sometimes you don’t need to over complicate things and let the quality of your ingredients shine.

This beautifully presented dish is called ‘Conchitas De Abanico A La Parrilla’ or seared scallops.

This is another simple dish that lets the sourcing and the freshness speak for themselves . It is served only with herbs and butter but works perfectly. These big meaty mollusks were delicate, salty, and illuminated by the rich buttery flavour that also added a bright yellow colour against the white shells. You may have noticed already that everything at Cuba Libre this evening has been striking to look at and worthy of a photo op. I have never had such an easy time taking photos.

The fried ‘Camarillo Fritters’ tastes great with a satisfying crispy skin.  Like everything else today, they looked great by eye but it struggled to stand out amongst the other inspiring dishes that made it feel a little ordinary, despite being a good dish in its own right.

The ‘Arroz Con Mariscos’ was fantastic. This Peruvian seafood paella had so much going on in a small bowl at once. It was garnished with a large shrimp, a couple of mussels, and loaded with a surprising number of king prawns. For £21, I thought it was quite steep for a bowl, though I accept that you have to pay for quality and quality was exactly what I got. I couldn’t fault the dish otherwise and was as filling as it was flavorful. I would really like to see a larger portion for sharing. 

A surprising star of the show was the ‘Pulpo Anticuchero’, a grilled octopus cooked with Aijl Panca, potatoes and a homemade sauce. Now, I have never tried octopus before and never intended too either but I was really taken by it’s firm spongy texture with a nice crispy skin. The potatoes complimented it perfectly by offering a soft earthy taste that worked well with the salty and crispy seaweed. I would definitely order this again.

Their Parihuela is a style of Peruvian seafood soup made with fish, mixed seafood, and a big whopping crab. They then use Aji Panca, cilantro. and lime juice for flavour in a rich broth which also adds a mild spicy kick and rich flavour. Everything tasted so fresh, a real seafood lovers paradise.

Lastly was a dish called ‘Pescado A Lo Macho’, a hearty and mildly spicy dish made from grilled fish fillet which is topped with a seafood cream sauce with pieces of seafood, and rice. I didn’t get a chance to eat much of this, as by this point we were getting very (VERY) full, but I thought this was one of the more accessible seafood dishes and reminded me of seafood pasta bake with rice. This was real comfort food at its best.

Dessert

We ended the evening with a dessert. My guest was waving the white flag at this point but I couldn’t resist some churros. This is a Spanish/Portuguese fried doughnut served in a rich chocolate sauce. You can’t really go wrong here 🤣

Conclusion

The menu at Cuba Libre is almost unrecognisable from my previous visit. This is a seafood lovers paradise with an exciting South American twist. Not just because of the zest often associated with it but the freshness, use of spices, colour, and stunning presentation. The menu is dominated with Peruvian dishes and influences from Brazil, Mexico and Cuba. There aren’t many places in Cambridge that offer cuisine from this part of the world and the fact that they do it so well makes Cuba Libre even more special.

With that said, if you are looking for cheap and cheerful food then this may not be for you. Cuba Libre has a mid price point and things can rack up fast but for anyone looking for exciting, vivid seafood with character, flare, and vibrancy all within a stylish and colourful interior, then this is going to be right up your street.

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