Asia De Cuba

Though it is a bit pricey, the perfection of the combinations of foods is worth it’s value. Great tastes and a nice variety of options. Nice setting and music, a must for an above-​average experience.

Can’t believe it closed. Had the best time here for my sis’s 30^th bday. Loved our waiter. Loved the fresh seafood. Loved the big exotic drinks. Loved the atmosphere. Hopefully the owners are opening up more places. Thanks for the great times! !!

when my bf took me there for the first time, it was for his sister’s birthday party dinner and we were seated on the first floor in the back for privacy. the way they had decorated curtains, with dim lighting, i felt almost as if we were eating in bed. the ambiance was that serene. when my bf and i came back by ourselves, it was very romantic. we started off with Tunapica tuna tartare picadillo style with spanish olives, black currants, almonds, coconut, soy-​lime vinaigrette and wonton crisps ($ 24.00). the salad was very crunchy and fresh, lightly seared tuna melted in the mouth with soy-​lime vinaigrette. Mojito and frozen strawberry margarita is excellent there as drinks!
Crab Croquetas jicama, mango, green apple and mirin infused slaw, roasted red pepper remoulade, chili ponzu dipping sauce ($ 28.00) was very good too but for my personal reference, it would have been better if Crab croquetas werent as greasy…
As main course, we have tried, Pan Seared Ahi Tuna served rare with crunchy wasabi mashed potatoes and cilantro chimichurri sauce ($ 43.00). they use high quality meats and fish bc when served, it didnt taste fishy at all but almost tasted like steak!
He ordered Grilled Strip Steak gingered chickpea fries, calabaza melon slaw, citrus ginger soy ($ 46.00) and the steak was lean and didnt have a lot of fat, which i personal like. He ordered it as medium rare, and i was given its outside of the steak since i cant eat meats that are pink… the steak was very tender with just right amount of juice that mixed well!
His favorite side dish is Lobster-​Boniato Mash ($ 16.00) bc he loves anything that is mashed potato! and it has bits of lobster in it! *^^* my favorite is the Thai sticky rice, which it comes with wrapped leaves and a pretty flower as a decoration. when you take a bite into the rice, you taste a hint of the leaf that was used to wrap the rice with a subtle, pleasant taste of coconut… yum… with two drinks, 1 – 2 appetizers and 2 entrees, the bill comes out to be approximately $ 200 – 250. It is definitely a romantic place to take your loved ones for a special occasion! *^^*

Fun, stylish atmosphere to have some drinks and apps at. Excellent flavored martinis — we ordered so many drinks that never got to order entrees.
The dumplings appetizer was just okay, as were the chicken on skewers. If there was supposed to be lemongrass flavoring on them, I didn’t much taste it.
I did love the vibe of the place, and based on some suggestions saying a couple of entrees are excellent here, I’d be willing to give the food another shot here– perhaps their entrees are better than their apps?

Since my former review was written, I have been back to Asia de Cuba 2 more times. The first to celebrate a friend’s birthday and the second because I was informed that my beloved Asia de Cuba was closing soon (*tearsssss*)
Both times have reinforced my love for this gorgeous restaurant (yeah, I’m a sucker for all white décor), with huge portions of delicious food! The calamari salad was a staple every single time I’ve been here and has never once disappointed me.
The last time I was there to say goodbye to AdC with my work biffle Diana S. for our girl date during RW, a waiter spilled drips of our water pitcher’s condensation on our Opera cake while he was refilling our glasses. WOMP! We let him know and he quickly replaced it even though we had already started eating the cake. Definite plus for me and my dessert loving counterpart ;)
I’m going to miss you Asia de Cuba!!!

I came here last night as a goodbye dinner since they will officially close on Thursday. Once again this place did not disappoint. If I could have one thing from this place over and over it will be the jumbo sea scallops, this is my absolute favorite dish from this place. I also really enjoyed the wild salmon. I am sad that this place will no longer exist since the food here was delicious.

I hate to go against the norm here, but I’m gonna give this place a negative review…
I came here for my anniversary with my girlfriend. Made reservations earlier in the day. Upon arriving, we found out that the snotty host couldn’t locate our reservation. Instead of apologizing for the person who took my reservation being incompetent, he told me I’d had to wait half an hour. The manager came by, and I explained to him that it was our anniversary, but he had the same attitude (even after I showed him my phone log showing that I had called earlier). So we waited…
On to the food. we didn’t try any entrees (since I already had dinner), so came here for the desserts. But the appetizers menu looked very good, so we decided to order something from there. I tried the Pan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops, and girlfriend tried the Lemongrass Skewered Chicken. Both excellent dishes. The scallops were some of the best scallops I ever had, and if I was rating this restaurant based solely on the scallops, it would receive a 5 star rating. I also loved the Thai sauce with the lemongrass chicken.
Next, dessert. We split the Cuban Opera, which was good, but it was just a little too much chocolate for me. I had a bite, and I was done.
So overall, the service was just terrible. The place had a nice theme going with the drapes. I enjoyed the appetizers, and didn’t care a lot for the dessert. Definitely not what I expected. I really wanted to go back some other time to try something from the entrée, but I don’t think that I’ll bother.

I came here for Restaurant Week with some close friends. It’s family style, so for 4 ppl, we got 2 apps, 2 entrees, and dessert and each dish was adjusted to the party size. Believe me, the food portions were more than enough.
Appetizer 1: Calamari salad (it’s just salad w/​calamari, but it’s SOOO GOOD!)
App 2: Beef dumplings w/​mild spicy sauce (i preferred the fried over the steamed)
Entrée 1: Honey-​rhum glazed pot roast of pork (recommended for pork lovers!, meat will melt in your mouth)
Entrée 2: Cuban BBQ chicken (the chicken came out kinda dry, but the sticky rice it came with was good)
Side dish (not part of RW): Plantain fried rice w/​avocado salad (nothing really memorable about it but we ordered it cuz the waiter told us the RW menu may not be enuff, but it was already more than enuff)
Dessert: coconut invasion cake, homemade sorbet of the day, cuban opera
(I loved the coconut cake the MOST!)
We loved our waiter, he was smart, funny, and a hint of wry humor in his tone of voice. We were wondering how much dessert we were getting but after our apps and entrees, we were actually hoping it would be small. But when the 3 desserts came out, my stomach just opened up again lols We were not expecting there to be 3 or even 3 DIFFERENT desserts 0₀
The place is dim and there are wall hangings of hispanic-​asian women which looked a bit creepy but other than that, the place is pretty fancy and family-​oriented and even romantic enough for date night.
The bathroom is clean and it was a bit weird for the bathroom lady to be sitting right outside the bathroom cuz i thought she was on line at first.
The bill came out to be $ 40 for each of us. This was my first RW experience and it made such a nice impression on me, I think I might do it again next year.

Excellent Food, Great Ambiance, Lovely Customer Service and Elegant Dining!
I went here with some coworkers and really enjoyed myself.
In honor of the extended Restaurant week we had
Appetizers:
The Calamari Salad (My favorite salad)
Thai spiced Salad
Entrée:
Honey-​rhum glazed pot roast pork
Cuban BBQ Chicken (Well done :-)
Side:
Plantain fried rice with avocado salad (Really flavorful rice)
Dessert:
Cuban Opera: Devil’s food cake, Kahlua, milk chocolate and coffee mousse (This was great, presentation wise and taste, a chocolate lovers dream !)
Coconut Invasion: Coconut layer cake, coconut ice cream, and chocolate sauce (This cake was HUGE, I mean, the thing could have fed 6 people because it was layered and so rich with coconut, so filling and rich)
All around delicious!
The only reason Asia de Cuba did not get 5 stars in my book is that it got a B rating, and instead of it being displayed clearly for all the patrons to see outside like other restaurants. One in particular right across the street that got an A, they had there’s in the walkway on the wall so you could see it on your way out if you were observant, but that is already after you ate. Whereas, if it was outside clear for us to see we may have thought twice. I know I would have, but overall I was happy with the food, the ambiance and the service.

A lot of food. Like. A lot. Basically, don’t go here for restaurant week if you didn’t bring your eating pants, because these guys don’t mess around. It’s pretty much on the opposite end of the spectrum from a place like Le Cirque, which gives you small portions. The portions here should really be called the lion’s share.
Here, you have 2 appetizers, one main course, and one desert to share if it’s a table for 2; it’s different as the people increase. They say the portions are for sharing, and they are definitely not lying when they say that. The appetizers we got were the calamari salad and the beef dumplings. The salad was good, it had cashews and bananas in it (kinda weird I know) but it was still good; I wasn’t the hugest fan of the bananas though. The beef dumplings were great. They come in two varieties, fried and boiled, each of which come with their own dipping sauce. They were quite good.
The main course we got was the BBQ chicken, which comes complete with the greatest food every made, coconut rice! The coconut rice was good, a bit stickier than I’m accustom to but still good because well, it’s coconut rice! The chicken was amazing though; great flavor and they give you like an entire chicken! It comes served with a very good guacamole as well. The main course was absolutely delicious. (there were plenty of left overs to take home).
The desert was the coconut cake concoction with coconut ice cream. It was OK. Seemed like there was entirely too much coconut, but I guess if you really like coconut then this would be the desert for you.
As far as the food goes here it’s great, but the layout of the restaurant is very strange,; as well as the décor, quite random indeed. And it seems as though they put a restaurant inside of a weird room that they had attached to The Morgans, but I guess if you can get past the weird layout and strange decorations (creepy photo of random woman next to book cases?) then this would be a great place to check out for restaurant week, or any other week for that matter…

My friend ate here during restaurant week and wasn’t too impressed with the place. First the good, staff were friendly, nice décor and ambiance. The food was just okay and after reading the reviews on Unilocal,I was expecting these huge portions of food but we didn’t get them and thank goodness. The prices are astronomical and I am so happy we went during restaurant week. I had the beef dumplings which were good and had to share one entrée of pork which was also good but didnt come with any sides (we paid extra for some veggies). Lastly we had the cocont cake with some ice cream. I’ve definitely had better for much less dinero.

We never tried the now-​closed Asia de Cuba SF (
). That might be a good thing since the NYC location has much more solid reviews and we mostly enjoyed our meal here.
Very loungey feel with white curtains draped on the non-​windowed walls and colored lighting. Downstairs has U-​shaped booths and upstairs has smaller tables and bar area ringing an open center that overlooks the lower level.
Prices per dish are high, but our server assured us 2 appetizer and 1 entrée would be *more than enough* for two people. He was right, though he did convince us to order more…
Appetizers
— Thai Beef Salad (Seared carpaccio of spicy thai beef with avocado, shredded coconut, orange segments and Asian greens. Hot and sour dressing
) $ 24. There wasn’t much sear or spice to the raw beef, but it was still high quality meat and very tasty with the flavor augmented when mixed with the hot and sour dressing. The salad on top was a large pile of greens with a generous amount of avocado and large shreds of toasted coconut. We didn’t finish this.
— Pan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops (Sweet and sour plantains, habanero corn crema
) $ 29 Nicely seared. Plantains were good. The habenero corn crema was good, but did not pack the heat we were expecting.
Entrée
— Miso Cured Alaskan Cod (Cuban black bean and edamame salad, tempura shisito peppers
) $ 38 Perfectly cooked and delicious. The curing allowed the miso flavor to permeate the fish. The bean salad didn’t do much for us, but we loved the tempura peppers.
Side
Plantain Fried Rice with Avocado Salad ($ 11). This was recommended by our server to complement the Cod dish. Besides adding to our food overload, this was a little too sweet for either of us and the layer of avocado just didn’t seem to work with the rest of it. The one item that was «just OK» and the other thing we didn’t finish.
Excellent people watching. I was amazed by the two young (and petite) women who were seated half-​way through our meal and powered through 2 apps and an entrée, paid and left before we were close to being finished.
Service was rather brusk and unabashedly chauvinistic. Each time the waiter came to see how things were he specifically turned to me to ask completely alienating my g/​f. Marginally OK if he was hitting on me, but he was definitely not on that team ;-)
4 stars for the food.
Minus a star for the service.

I had been to the Asia De Cuba in Miami last year, so I was excited to try the NYC location. Happy to say the food and drinks were great, and I will definitely be adding this to my list of group dinner spots.
Kind of feels like walking into a cave at first, the hallway leading up to the check in area has low ceilings, and I recall pinkish lighting. Once you go in, the bar is upstairs and there are long white drapes everywhere. I suppose that’s what made the place feel chic and loungey. Definitely a departure from the typical stuffy steakhouse dinner spot.
Mojito and caipirinhas were excellent, I now want all my mojitos with a sugar cane. Sangria is a little sweet, but generously poured into a huge glass.
Stand out dishes:
Calamari Salad — I’m not sure why, but this salad was absolutely amazing. I enjoy salads, and calamari when I’m in the mood, but something about the flavors of this salad was addictive. People kept going back for it. Even the non salad eaters.
Beef short ribs — very tender. this dish went fast. They came as thin square slices, and was in a delicious sauce.
Pan seared ahi tuna — I love ahi tuna so I was very happy with this dish. The tuna here wasn’t special, it was just simply prepared
Plantain Fried Rice w Avocado — Yummiest fried rice. I remember this side from Miami, so glad we got it.
Just Okay:
Asian Pesto Grilled Shrimp — I think I enjoyed the shrimp when I had it, but now I can’t recall much about it. In retrospect it wasn’t that special. Better apps on the menu
Crab Croquetas — a bit heavy for my taste. A bunch of people at our dinner didn’t finish their ½ piece. Not bad, but if you plan on ordering a bunch I wouldn’t get this.
Grilled Strip Steak — soft but oddly chewy. I find that I never really like grilled skirt steaks or strip steaks — the texture is always off. It tasted good but I was chewing on it for a long time…
Lobster Pad Thai — this is something I would never get on my own. The lobster is good, and it’s a whole lobster, but it comes on a pile of pad thai noodles and its $ 76. No thank you.
Skip:
— Beef Dumpling 2 ways — I tried the steamed one, it was swimming in soy sauce and extremely salty. Didn’t really taste the beef through the salt.
— BBQ Chicken. Not the best, it was dry and not worth getting here. If you want chicken good chicken go to Flor de Mayo or Pio Pio.
Desserts were over the top and gigantic, more for visual admiration than taste. Cuban Opera came with an absurdly large slice of devil’s food cake, which everyone nibbled on. We did also get a massive banana split, I think it was the Bay of Pigs. That was actually delicious — ice cream layered on top of brownies, with banana, cream on top, candied hazelnuts. Took a banana split to a whole new level. You need some serious dessert lovers to consider getting this.
I remember loving the scallops at the Miami location, so if I’m ever back at Asia de Cuba I’ll have to order those again. Overall happy that the quality of the food, the service and the atmosphere.

Came here for a friend’s goodbye to NYC celebration. We had a reservation for 6:30 and being that we’re in NYC no one showed up till 8:30, fancy that. Nevertheless my very prompt friend was there on time and we didn’t lose the table at all. We started with drinks upstairs at the bar while we waited. 3 lychee martinis later… everyone arrived and we were seated.
Being that everyone at the table was a foodie, the locals ordered for us. 4 huge plates came out with perfectly cooked scallops, yummy duck in a lettuce wrap, summer rolls and a huge calamari salad. The summer rolls were meh in flavor, I could have done without. I was completely stuffed and ready for dessert when… our host lets me know that those 4 dishes were the appetizers. Um what? But I’m FULL.
So then for entries we had lobster pad thai, lobster mashed potatoes, short ribs, pork, cod, sea bass and plantains.
I literally only had a bite of each. The pad thai was too sweet for my taste, but the lobster was cooked well. The lobster mash could have used some more truffle oil to bring out the lobster flavor. Short ribs and pork were good. The best thing out of the entries was the cod. I honestly thought that it would be the sea bass, as it’s always delicious, but something was off about the sea bass here, it just wasn’t as moist and flakey. Plantains I skipped all together as I just couldn’t eat anymore.
This is definitely a value for the huge portions and the drinks are excellent. I would just get my favorite items from the above if I were going back, but this was a good variety to see what was a hit and what was a miss.

We came here on the suggestion of a friend who is a chef and claimed that this is his favorite restaurant.
Sugar Daddy cocktail — one of my favorite cocktails I have had in the city, it is like chocolate cake with orange.
Scallops appetizer — this may be the best scallops I have had in a New York restaurant.
Duck appetizer — this dish reminded me of Beijing duck, the way you wrap it up with vegi and sauce. Except the elements are all different. The sauce is yuzu and the flavor is more subtle. Though I loved this dish, I prefer eating the duck confit just by itself because in the wrap, the daikon sort of takes over a bit
Mashed potato with lobster side — it’s exactly as its name. Quite good.
Fried rice with guacamole side — also pretty yummy.
Lamb entrée — though it tasted good, it’s not the best lamb dish I have had.
I felt that the meat was slightly over-​cooked and the pepper taste was too dominant.
Short ribs — the beef was cooked well and the sauce was lovely — slightly sweet. The orange and rice that came with it were also scrumptious.
Service was great, they were attentive without being overbearing. The décor was also intriguing with an understated entrance that led to this white and red bi-​layer beauty.

My co-​worker told me that the food at Asia De Cuba is «yumtastic». However, I disagreed after going there for my birthday dinner.
Asia De Cuba definitely deserves 1 star just for the alluring atmosphere and glamorous setting of the restaurant. However, the food was just MEDIOCRE because it did not give me the «WOW» with dropping jaws. I expected a whole lot more from Asia De Cuba and it just did not satisfy my demanding taste-​buds. Therefore, only 1 credit is given for the food. Good thing my group and I ordered from the pre-​fix restaurant week menu ($ 35 per person) which saved us some money or else I would’ve thrown a fit over the bill even if my portion was paid for because of my birthday. Worse yet, my group and I were forced to sit at the «communal table» where we shared with everyone else. Talk about no privacy and uncomfortable high seats!
I am sorry, but this place is highly OVERRATED.
PS: All you can hear in the background is what seems like repeated Spanish music, over and over again, ugh!

Hmm… this was a hard one to review. Came here for restaurant week, and while the portions were generous and the service amazing, I just wasn’t that impressed by the food.
Calamari salad was a little heavy on the banana flavor, beef dumplings tasted like they had msg, and while the bbq chicken was tender, I wasn’t sure why it was served with coconut sticky rice and guacamole. The dish seemed culturally schizophrenic.
But coconut layer cake was decadent and probably my favorite dish.
Not a fan of the sharing policy/​family style, but I might give this place another chance.

This place is cool & fun, great décor, nice service…
they have a great happy hour half price cocktails & appetizers which that on it’s own is worth stopping by because this place is otherwise very pricey on a regular night.
been here plenty of time both after work & for diner… after work is specially great because u can enjoy the place some great appetizers & delicious cocktails with out hurting your wallet too much.
the empanadas are yummy & so are the chicken drums, nice place to enjoy a mojito if u like them.
not a very big selection for the half price drinks & menu but the stuff they have is good enough, of course they offer a menu as well.

I love how when you walk in the 1^st time, this place takes you by surprise. Décor is simply stunning, from the the tall curtains to the red orange lighting on the floor. The huge picture of the waterfall is very reminiscent of Butter. But unlike Butter, Asia is more cozy less fancy hotel lobby.
I’ve mentioned before how I’m fan of places who keep their regular menu for RW. One of the winners was the calamari salad. The addition of nuts and apple really enhanced the salad’s texture & flavor. They were not kidding when they said the portion’s here were huge. Just from the salad alone I was completely. SO had the beef dumpling done 2 ways. The plum sauce was a great compliment for them.
With the entrée came the talked about dish that we shared: Cuban BBQ chicken. We paired it with plantain rice but with the portions it was unnecessary. Perfect Asian-​Latin fusion dish. Sticky rices w BBQ chicken. YUM! Made for a great lunch the next day.
Coconut rhum cocktail is totally worth. Atmosphere was mostly young and hip… a little too loud at times. Service was prompt & attentive. Overall, one of the best deals for RW

ASIA DE CUBA!
[8 Stars for the Calamari Salad/​Ahi Tuna, 3 Stars for the rest]
Singlehandedly my FAVORITE restaurant in NYC!
I don’t go often because, frankly, it’s just too damn expensive ~
But then I discovered it’s a Restaurant Week participant! YaY!
When I go to Asia De Cuba, I don’t even consider the fact that it’s a «fusion» restaurant. It’s just good food I love. It was recommended to us years ago by a friend and has remained my favorite ever since.
Note: Asia De Cuba does not have a flashy sign… or any sign at all? (maybe its blocked by the permanent scaffolding?!?) I keep walking right past it damnit! It’s got it’s name in small black letters on a frosted door.
Here it comes! Can you feel the anticipation?!?
[Prices are Regular priced, non-​Restaurant Week]
Drinks ***
I think this is the FIRST time I had a Lychee Martini! And I’ve been making them ever since!
Simply Delightful!
Appetizers ***
Calamari Salad ‘Asia De Cuba’ [Crispy calamari with chayote, hearts of palm, banana, cashews, chicory, and Radicchio, sesame orange dressing] 25.00
BEST CALAMARI SALAD ON EARTH!!! I’d go back just to eat this and only this!
$ 25? What a deal!!!
Tunapica [Tuna tartare picadillo style with spanish olives, black currants, almonds, Coconut, soy-​lime vinaigrette and wonton crisps] 24.00
Oooh this was Goooood! But Pricey.
Pan Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops [Sweet and sour plantains, habanero corn crema] 29.00
Good, not Excellent. Pricey.
Crab Croquetas [Jicama, mango, green apple and mirin infused slaw, roasted red pepper rémoulade,
Chili ponzu dipping sauce] 28.00
Mmm! Good, not Excellent. Pricey.
Entrées ***
Pan Seared Ahi Tuna [Served rare with crunchy wasabi mashed potatoes and cilantro chimichurri sauce] 43.00
YUM-​MY! The Tuna is perfectly seared, and fresh. The Wasabi mashed potatoes– holy cow! De-​li-​cious!
I’ve found other restaurants with Wasabi Mash but never as good.
Cuban BBQ Chicken [Thai coconut sticky rice, avocado cilantro fruit salsa, tamarind sauce] 34.00
Good, not Excellent.
Palomillo of Marinated Lamb [Pan seared with sofrito of stir-​fried peppers, onions and japanese eggplant, Watercress salad with orange oil] 35.00
Had this 2+ yrs ago, looks good in the photo ~
Dessert ***
* All Desserts have been very good, definitely above average.
Coconut invasion coconut layer cake, coconut ice cream, warm chocolate sauce
Very satisfying, leaves a nice aftertaste in your mouth.
Homemade Sorbet of the Day [Served w. seasonal fresh fruit and passion fruit-​chili dipping sauce]
Mmm… light and refreshing!
Cheesecake
It’s cheesecake! How can you go wrong!
* I’ve uploaded photos of each dish mentioned above.
The catch with Restaurant Week ($ 35) is the following:
2 guests choose 2 appetizers & 1 entrée — portioned accordingly
3 – 4 guests choose 2 appetizers & 2 entrées — portioned accordingly
5 or more guests choose 2 appetizers & 3 entrées — or portioned accordingly
Also, a few dishes cost an additional $ 10 per person, which can add up quite quickly.
But it’s SO worth it!
Overall, Asia De Cuba is quite expensive but definitely someplace everyone who loves the food (mentioned above) should try at least once. Go for a special occasion, or a splurge night out with good friends. The portions are the biggest I’ve ever seen during restaurant week. And although the prices are high, you certainly get what you paid for.
Go and try it today!!!
… and get the Calamari Salad!