I’ve been meaning to check out the latest addition to the downtown, Cubanu, a new restaurant/lounge at the corner of Main and Lewis streets. Some might remember the previous tenants of the corner bar: Eighty Eights and Fat Tuesday’s.
I’m not all that picky when it comes to food (I’m one of those people who was raised to clean this plate), so it would take a real effort to serve up something I didn’t like. Given that my girlfriend Kathleen and I were excited to finally try Cubanu since it opened late last year, I expected that we wouldn’t be disappointed when we paid a visit Friday night. We were far from disappointed.
Two things jumped out at me when we got there. Though the physical layout isn’t much different from the previous bars, the decor was nice; it just fit really well. Loved the entrance way between the dining room and the bar, and later we both admired the colorful wall tile behind the bar. Maybe it was just the tableclothes and silverware, but as soon as I sat down I already had the impression that this was going to be one my best dining experiences in Rahway. Spanish versions of “I Will Survive” and “Hotel California” also just cracked me up; they embodied the whole evening, something different in Rahway.
To start, we went with the Cha-Cha Sampler so we could select three of the tapas chioces. We chose the Maria Rosa, Empanadas and Cubanitos. Kathleen’s favorite was the Maria Rosa, basically two balls of mashed potatos stuffed with meat and deep fried. I loved the Empanadas, perhaps the best I’ve ever had, though admitedly, I haven’t had all that many in my time. All in all, the apps were terrific.
For her entree, Kathleen selected the Paella el Malecon and I had the Pollo Tropicano. When I first viewed Cubanu’s menu on the Web, it was little pricier than I expected. But the portions are pretty healthy and you also get to choose two of about six sides. Though my chicken at first was a touch dry it got better and we both ended up with plenty of leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next day. I thought a very unique touch was being presented with the check in a cigar box. It’s definitely different from cookie-cutter casual dining places.
If there was anything I didn’t like about our visit, it was extremely minor, like keeping water glasses full, but the number of staff and their friendliness more than made up for that very minor critique. There weren’t many selections of wine by glass, and we probably would’ve been better off getting a bottle.
The very next night, I happened to meet friends (from Rahway and out of town) for impromptu drinks in Cubanu’s lounge. Our party of about six all had good things to say and were pretty excited about a new choice in downtown nightlife. The lounge was a bit warm and it was actually easier to have a conversation while the live Latin jazz trio played than when they were on break and the music was blaring. All in all, we had very good things to say about our experience in the lounge.
If people want to talk about Rahway being “the next Hoboken” or “the next (fill in the blank),” it needs more destinations, places that give people a reason to come. No one’s coming from out of town to go to The Waiting Room, Flynn’s or The Back Porch; all great neighborhood joints where everybody knows your name, but Cubanu seems like the first place in awhile that could be a destination. At the very least, it’s something different, and that’s what any downtown needs: diverse options.
Have you been to Cubanu? What’d you think? Good, bad, indifferent? If you plan to go, feel free to send comments this way. In the meantime, keep an eye out for a new poll question this week and maybe an update on the traffic projects downtown.
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Haven’t sampled the food yet but really enjoyed the atmosphere of the bar/lounge. My two criticisms: 1) the music on the sound system was too loud to be able to converse with my friends without shouting and 2) the service in the lounge area was good enough but nothing to write home about. But overall, its a great vibe and I’m thrilled that a place like this has finally come to Rahway! And I happened to sit down right next to the mother of one of the owners and we chatted briefly. The place opened on Nov 29 and the two of the owners are Rahway residents. I hope this place does well! I plan on visiting again soon.
I went there with a party of 10 Dec 29. It was a very nice experience the food was very good the drinks flowed and the service was wonderful. The only bad thing was one of the meals came out about 10 minutes after all of the others. That can be chalked up to growing pains. I would have no hesitation to suggesting that anyone visit.
I love Cubanu. It’s the first restaurant in Rahway that makes me feel like I could be in a restuarant in NYC or Hoboken. After Luciano’s open’s up we’ll have two high end restaurants. The food is also great, they have some of the best appetizers I’ve ever had. And the setup is waaay better then 88’s. Hopefully we’ll see more places like Cubanu opening up in Rahway in the near future.
Really enjoyed Cubanu. Split a bunch of apps and the skirt steak and it was more than enough food and all very tasty. Only issue was with the service. There did seem to be enough servers but they were not attentive enough. The steak was brought out without any steak knives and it took a few minutes to flag a server down to get us knives and then he only brought one (we shared). Also, we ordered three appetizers and they only brought out two but we weren’t charged for the third and they served the main entree by the time we realized we weren’t getting the third app and by then we decided we weren’t hungry enough for it anyway. Water glasses weren’t refilled as frequently as they should have been. Bottom line, food was great and service has some kinks that hopefully they will work out quickly.
Went to Cubanu tonight and it was excellent! The food was great and the staff was very friendly. The place was doing good business also as most tables were occupied. My wife and I had to leave quickly in order to catch a movie so we didn’t get to stay for the music entertainment but it was a great night out regardless and we highly recommend it. Restaurants like this are what downtown Rahway needs! Next week we plan on going to Lucianos.
I went there with my wife for Valentine’s Day and the food was great and decor was very nice. It can be a great place to have a romantic dinner. However, the service needs to improve. They are very nice but are a half step behind. As someone else said, glasses were not kept full, ordered a drink which never came, entrees went to wrong table causing a delay in our dinner…. It is a new restaurant but this could cause first timers not to come back. Once this is improved, the place would be great and a great addition to downtown Rahway. By the way, David Drakes is very nice,too.
I can't believe that everyone thinks this place is a smash, It's bad, the food is greasy, expensive, and the portions are small. I went there twice and I will never go back again. They had us wait about 1 hour for the food to come. None of us ate togehter. The water glasses were always empty, service was friendly but bad. Try "My Cuban Rose in Kenilworth, now that's real Cuban food. I will never go back there, and it's a shame because it's a good looking place, but the food & service suck! Im sorry but that's my opionion
Have been having fun on Thursdays with the free Salsa dancing lessons. They have had them every week. Not sure if they will carry into 2009.Finally tried the food. Service was a little slow, but the food was tasty.
I just visited Cubanu for the first time this past weekend, and I must say, it's excellent!The food was delicious, and the atmosphere was really nice. Driving music buzzed in the background, a nice lighting, and voila, you've got yourself an unforgettable dinner.I highly recommend that anyone in the area drop by; it was one of the best nights of my life!PS: I highly recommend the "Gordo Victor"; a massive skirt steak that tastes great!