My spouse and I visited Cuba Libre on a Saturday afternoon
in mid-July 2018. The bar/restaurant is open daily from 4:00 pm until 11:00 pm
(with early opening hours of 11:30 am on weekends and extended closing hours
until 4:00 am on weekends). In addition, the restaurant offers late-night Latin
floor shows and dancing on weekends after 11:00 pm. You can book a spot using
the online Open Table reservation system.
The restaurant’s name, which means “Free Cuba” in Spanish (it
also describes a cocktail of rum, Coca-Cola, and lime juice), refers to the
hope for the future of the island. Cuba Libre opened in The Quarter at the
Tropicana Casino in 2004. It was a natural fit for the restaurant in the Old
Havana-themed enclosed shopping mall that contains nearly 20 other bars and
restaurants and almost 40 stores. Note that it is neither necessary to walk
through the casino, to enter from the Boardwalk, or to pass through the entire shopping
mall to reach Cuba Libre; you can enter The Quarter directly from the city
streets (try either Pacific or Iowa Avenues). Besides the Atlantic City
location of Cuba Libre, you can find the restaurant in Philadelphia (the
flagship venue that opened in 2000), Washington DC, and Orlando.
Within The Quarter, you are immediately drawn to the 1951 Buick Super Convertible
parked in front of the restaurant’s entrance, immaculately restored and painted
with the restaurant branding in the colors of the Cuban flag. As you enter the space,
another eye-catching feature is the 12-seat chef’s counter within view of the
open kitchen and its massive wood-fired grill. You can also sit at the separate
drinks bar, or in the seemingly open-air, multi-story atrium dining room. Tropical vintage
décor, foliage, and Latin music provide the feel of Old Havana.
The menu at Cuba Libre features Latin cuisine. We sampled
only the empanadas, ordering two different kinds (chicken [which was more
delicious] and steak), which arrived plated in a tiny wire dipping basket,
alongside an accompanying sauce and a green salad. We also sampled a signature
grilled pineapple mojito, which although tasty, was the quickest mojito we have
ever received; regrettably, the bartender did not muddle the mint leaves as is
usually done, nor did he garnish the drink with one of the grilled pineapple spears
that we saw piled high on a tray on the chef’s counter.
Although we enjoyed the Old Havana theming at Cuba Libre within
The Quarter, we wish that the drinks had been better.
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