Last night I was invited to try the newly launched vegan menu at Revolución De Cuba in Nottingham. Anyone who reads my blog will know I’m already a fan of this gorgeous Cuban inspired bar in the city centre. Their tapas style menu has been written about a few times on Will Flirt For Food and I always have good stuff to say. With more people signing up to Veganuary than ever before, should Revolución de Cuba be on the list of places you should check out?
In short, YES. The menu is vast for a place predominantly offering carnivores a place to dine. From a small lunch menu of vegan burritos and paella, to their well known tapas style dishes, they pack a lot of plant power into their vegan menu.
I met my friend Chloe for dinner and we started with the vegan cocktails. Both of us were driving so unfortunately we couldn’t take advantage of all the delights. I settled on a Rose Spritz which consisted of Belsazar rose vermouth and fever tree tonic. I loved the garnish of rose petals and it was delightfully floral and quenched my thirst a little too well!
Here is a copy of the food menu, and we went a little wild wanting to try EVERYTHING!
We settled on the big, juicy olives to start with and they arrived smothered in garlic. I am a huge garlic fan but the top ones were covered and in the darkness I hadn’t prepared myself for how much garlic was actually on the first… I definitely didn’t worry about vampires that night! The portion size was plenty for two and the olives were delicious. Just be careful not to stuff your face with garlic!
We then ordered a selection of the vegan tapas dishes; Padron peppers, garlic mushrooms, roasted vegetables, beetballs, beetroot and avocado tacos, Patatas bravas and sautéed tofu. We also ordered the beet burrito, not realising it was part of the lunch menu. Luckily they allowed us to order! Let’s look at these dishes in more depth.
Padron peppers are one of my favourite tapas dishes. These bright green pods of absolute joy, especially when covered in salt are a delight. I love the fact that very occasionally you can get one that blows your head off… the risk is exciting!
The garlic mushrooms was a huge dish of juicy mushrooms in a very garlic heavy sauce. Perfect for me!
The roasted vegetables, made up of courgette, peppers, sweet potato and carrot and cooked in brown sugar were deliciously sweet.
The beetballs were one of my favourite dishes of the night. Made from beetroot (one of my favourite veggies) coriander and mint, they were juicy and really fresh, reminding me of a bite of summer. The tomato sauce was well flavoured with herbs. I prefer these to a meaty alternative.
The beetroot and avocado mini tacos were also lovely. Revolucion de Cuba do a great range of tacos already, and it’s a winner adding these to the menu. They were a really clean taste with a hint of zing from the spring onions. Another really good dish.
The patatas bravas were like tiny roast potatoes, really crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I love patatas bravas when they are like this. The sauce was tangy but not overpowering and the white bean puree wasn’t something I had tried before. I thought it was a good addition.
The tofu dish was my least favourite of them all. I didn’t realise that there were sprouts on the dish (the devils food) and I wasn’t keen on the sauce (I am not a huge hazelnut fan). This dish wasn’t for me and I should have read the menu more carefully. The tofu was OK, but not great. It didn’t really soak up any flavour.
Lastly we had the Beet Burrito from the lunch menu. It came out looking pale and sad with a dollop of salsa thrown on top and tortilla chips and guacamole on the side. However, when I bit into it, it was stuffed full of the delicious beetroot hash (from the beetballs and tacos above) which was amazing and had lots of rice and white bean puree. I wish it had been lightly toasted so that I could comment on the crunch of the tortilla, but overall a really good dish.
Overall, the standard of food at Rev De Cuba is so good. It is a hassle free menu, with some great new dishes, and certainly catered to my taste buds. There are 18 dishes on the menu (and an extra 2 desserts) so I am sure you will find something that you love on the menu. The staff are always friendly and attentive even when the restaurant is busy.
Head down to Rev De Cuba on 26-28 Market St as the menu is now live!
Thank you to the team at Revolucion de Cuba for inviting me to review. My meal was complimentary in return for an honest review.
