La Casa del Mojito

I wanted to love this place so bad. But, I don’t.
We ordered chicken and steak. The steak was yummy, tender, juicy and with lots of great favor. However, that was about it. I ordered a chicken dish (the one that comes with half a chicken). They got my order wrong which was fine since they volunteered to «fix» it. 10 minutes later my dish arrived and it basically looks like they took the same piece of chicken and added tomato sauce to it. The chicken was chewy, super overcooked, and tasted like cardboard drenched in tomato sauce — which they charge 20+ dollars for. The fried stuff that came with my dish did not taste fresh, it was not crunchy and was soaked in oil — like it’s been has been sitting under a heat lamp for hours.
Overall, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and fool myself that they are actually a really good restaurant and I just came on a day where they goofed up badly.

This was a «Yelp Bookmark» I had been waiting ages «To Try». Last weekend we finally made it. I was down for some Latin food, and well… some Mojitos. In a row of drab, La Casa del Mojito (LCDM) is a splash of color on University Way – inside and out. The dining area isn’t extravagent inside, but it is eclectic, artsy, and welcoming. I loved all the original art hanging from the vibrantly painted walls.
We arrived just in time. There were a few tables open and we were seated promptly. Our servers were awesome. They were nice, and although their accents were strong, they helped my fellow diners & I through the menu. The first order: Mojitos.
LCDM is a mojito assembly line. On the counter in the kitchen you can see a pile of ready-​made glasses destined for mojito greatness (they had mint leaves and limes already inside. My mojito was definitely tasty. I’m not a professional mojito drinker, but these were good indeed.
Onto the aroma and food — this places smelled so good. Our first plate was an appetizer of ceviche. OH SNAP! This was soo good! I could have just had plates of that all night! Yum!
My brother had a steak, his girlfriend had an eggplant something-​or-​other, and I had the Pabellon: «a Venezuelan dish of shredded beef vegetables, black beans and rice!» (I say this and then bring my fingers to my mouth and kiss them) It was dang good!
What a nice evening. I loved the soundtrack to the evening (we guessed it was Los Amigos Invisibles). I eyed some huge speakers in the corner of the dining area. I hear they have dancing on Friday nights. The server said sometimes they have a live band, but on that night it was a DJ. As we were leaving I think I saw a crowd forming – waiting for the diners to clear out so they could clear out the tables and get their groove on. I so wanted to stay, but all for naught – I have a reason to return!

Food was outstanding. Extremely fresh, flavorful and tantalizing. Plantanes of course are a must, but I haven’t had a dish here that I didn’t like. My bf and I usually split an appetizer and a main dish which is plenty of food. The mojitos are perfection.
This location, with it’s proximity to the U wasn’t the ideal atmosphere. It was really loud and our waiter was less than attentive. Its a bit more $ than I would pay for the food normally, but it’s certainly worthy of a visit.

Mmm… mojito sauce. I wasn’t a huge fan of the mojito drink but the mojito sauce… mmm…
I had really high expectations for their mojito, but turns out, I’m not a true mojito drinker. I prefer my mojitos sweeter, theirs is quite sour and strong for that matter. I basically had to chug the drink after finishing my meal because I didn’t want to waste it!
But their food on the other hand is way amazing! I’ve never had Latin American food before, I was in the mood for fish and the waiter recommended the ‘pescado de tito.’ Very excellent and interesting choice. The fish was wrapped in banana leaves and it was sprinkled with some kind of cinnamon spice or something. I’ve never had anything like it but it was tasty. It came with rice, spinach and the maduros. I never realized how popular the banana was in these dishes.
We also ordered a plate of tostones. It smelled sooo good, but almost like Chinese food. It was odd, but heck I love Chinese food. That’s where I fell in love with the mojito sauce. I wish they had spread more on the tostones so I could enjoy the flavor more.
My friend ordered the ‘vaca frita,’ and she really enjoyed that. She couldn’t finish it all because it was a huge portion of meat, rice and beans. But she took it to go anyway.
Their service was a little sketchy at first because when we walked in, no one seemed to realize we were there… so we kind of just walked aimlessly towards an open table hoping someone would guide us and hand us some menus. But after that awkwardness, the three different waiters (they kind of looked like brothers?) checked up on us quite frequently, making sure everything was good.
One guy even offered to water down my mojito with ice and sprite but I insisted that I could finish it all and he high-​fived me. :)
Good meal, service and great company. La Casa del Mojito is definitely worth the trek up the Ave.

La Casa del Mojito is one of those places I’ve wanted to try since… well, forever! Anywhere that has «Mojito» in the name is bound to be amazing, right? After having a few beverages and listening to some tunes I was so excited to hear the idea of «lets go to Casa del Mojito»! Score!
The place is on the smaller side, but late at night on a Thursday meant no wait time. We were very pleasantly greeted by the owner and ordered the Tostones as an appetizer… and may I just say: WOW! On a scale of 1 – 10, the Tostones here are a certified 20! Freshly fried, flavorful, moist, slightly crispy and served with a dollop of their garlicky Mojito Sauce! I was so amazed. They’re about 324 992 340 times better than the tostones at La Isla.
Next to come out were the Mojitos! I was very, very excited for the Mojitos and as a result was incredibly disappointed when they came out… ummm… why did they serve us glasses of lime juice? They were pretty much undrinkable and were so incredibly tart, sour and acidic. Even at the end of the night when they were all watered down from the melted ice they were still pure lime juice. Even with delicious Tostones I wasn’t really expecting much… how can you after such a dismal drink…
… Thankfully I was wrong when expecting very little. The entrees came out and were pure deliciousness! I had the Vaca Frita which was marinated, shredded beef, a rice and beans mixture and plantains. The beef was moist and garlicky, but it had an occasional crunch texture (which I assume came from being well-​grilled). The rice and bean dish was equally delicious and was probably the best rice and beans I’ve ever had. The plantains balanced out the heavy, garlic flavors with their sweetness. They were fried perfectly and were incredibly soft. The Parilla de Luigi that Julie B. and Ryan B. both ordered was also very delicious. The steak (while not a great cut) was marinated and cooked perfectly. I’m not sure which dish Valentina ordered but the fried, chicken cutlets were cooked perfectly and the side of fries were delicious when dipped in the mojito sauce.
To finish off our meal we ordered four Cuban Coffees and the flan. The Cuban coffees were basically espresso mixed with sugar, but I’m sure there was some magical art involved as they came out so rich, thick and sweet, without being especially sugary tasting. Epic win in my opinion. The Flan was very different in texture than what I’m used to (not very smooth or light, but rather thick) but I greatly enjoyed it.
I really, really think the food at La Casa del Mojito deserves 5 stars, but with undrinkable Mojitos, I can’t really justify giving 5 stars. Valentina, Ryan and Julie all assured me they usually taste good, and I’m willing to give them another shot, but after a glass full of lime juice, it might be a little while from now… I’ve got to let my stomach re cooperate from the blast of acidicy.

Tasty, but loud. Meat platter had LOTS. of. MEAT.
Okay okay, let me back up. Our monthly dinner group met here and we’re like: Cool. cuban food, yummy yay!
The place is on the upper Ave, the part I never venture to. certainly on foot, but we were driving tonight. Parking was easy to find for a Saturday evening.
It wasn’t terribly crowded, so we were able to secure the center table. We ordered a LOT of food, but I only remember the Parrilla de Luigi (steak with tasty sides), which is their signature dish. and I’m a sucker for signature dishes or dishes named after the establishment (not this case of course), especially for a first visit… this is my ordering style.
Other things were Lechon Asado (pork), Pabellon (beef), and Pollo a la Parrilla (chicken)…along with shared appetizers, the platter and extra maduros. Awesomeness.
We went back another time after a jog and ordered this 2-​person meat combo. It had everything, steak, pork, chicken, sausage… and came with a starter salad of avocado, sliced onion and a light dressing. Delicious! But sosososo much meat, the sausage was quite salty.
It’s definitely in our list as a special treat. The people working are really nice and excited about their food. Service-​wise if they forget to fill your water, you can catch them on the way back, no biggie. It can be loud with their music (not live when we were there) and the tables of people shouting over the music. If they could turn it down a notch, it would be a perfect dining experience.

One of the best discoveries I have made while living in the U-​District. Don’t let its quirky appearance from the ave discourage you, this place is incredible! The moment my boyfriend and I walked in the door we were greeted with the warmest welcome. The owners really know their client tel, and being newbies they offered us mojitos on the house! Aside from their delicious mojitos, we both enjoyed huge fish entrees covered in colorful veggies and bursting with flavor. The meal was absolutely amazing and very well priced for the portion and quality. Throughout the night the owners kept visiting our table, and after we had finished they invited us over for a complimentary shot, wish I knew what it was because I would love to recreate it!
If you are not too stuffed after dinner make sure to stick around for their live band on Friday and Wednesday nights, it is a blast and the music is just as flavorful as the food.
Please never leave the U-​district!!!

This place is off the hook I can not believe it was dead in here
OK so my Baby is like what are we doing for lunch
and I was like I don’t know lets try a new place, and he says do a search for Cuban there is a new place on 45^th, so I look and don’t like the reviews so I picked this one instead, at first we were gonna go to the Lakecity Way location (same Owners) but this one had better reviews, and it’s closer to Capitol Hill
this one is also a little bigger I was told by the owner it has like 10 tables, and on Wednesday and Saturday they have a live band in the evening, they take out the Tables and it basically becomes a big bar with music
we don’t drink but me may have to for one night as everyone is raving about there Mojito
started out with a fruit salad «Ensalada Caribena «Papaya, Pineapple, Mango and Jimica tossed on a Lime — Cilantro Dressing and on a bed of Spinach it was very good on a hot day
I had the «Mojito Sammich» (there signature sammich) its cured ham and roast pork with swiss cheese, add a little hot sauce and it was kickin
my baby had the «Pepito» a mouth watering Marinated Grilled Steak packed into a sammich and covered with onions, tomato and mayo he liked it more than my sammich (you can also get a fried egg added to this sammich
all sammich’s come with fried Plantains, my baby didn’t like the plantains but there self so I got some of the sweet fruit sauce they used on my salad to dip them in and he ate them up
we will be back I am sure we told everyone we saw about the place this afternoon

Well.
I’ve been here three times since I posted about it last.
Two times I went in to get a meal to go for my finacee and have a drink and one time I went there for a full 3 course meal. I’ve been here so much I kinda have a routine now.
Mojito
Luams Platter of Plantains
Mojito
Parrilla de Luiji, Vaca Frita
Caprarinhas
Mojito
Don Julio
Tres Leches Cake.
Mojito
Mojito
Its a solid meal, and I am sticking with it.
My guest this time my buddy paul, had never been and didn’t know squat about cuban food. He absolutely loved it and resolved to bring his wife back next time they go out to eat. He wasn’t much for the orange sauce though, lol. I slather that stuff all over the place.
Anyway. the Vaca Frita has so much good citrus flavor crammed into the beef. Its like they magically infused a whole orange and lemon into the meat some how. If this sounds good to you try it!
I’d go on for ever, but I’m going to stop now. I am going to try to organize a Unilocal elite even here.
This is definately on my short list of TOP places to eat in this city.

If you love Caribbean/​Latin American food, you should definitely check out La Casa del Mojito! I recently had dinner here for the first time and the food was delicious. I ordered the restaurant’s signature dish, Luigi’s Parilla. It’s a steak entrée that is marinated in citrus juices, broiled and served with rice, black beans, fried yuca and tostones. Yum! =) My husband ordered the Pollo a la Parilla which is the roast chicken version of this dish with a sizeable half chicken! The portions here are huge and certainly worth the cost.
The restaurant itself is located off the beaten path in the U-​District but is easily distinguishable by it’s yellow painted exterior. Service here is good. The servers are nice and the food is prepared and served in a reasonable amount of time.

Woot. A second location and just as good as the first. I usually order the Luigi but sometimes I try something else. I have never been disappointed with the staff, food or the mojitos. Don’t forget toask for a side of the hot sauce.

I ordered a veggie pressed sandwich– Luigi’s Sandwich– with unique flavors. It was described as zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers sauteed in a cilantro green pepper glaze topped with Swiss. The lunch menu was small, but it contains a few sandwiches, salad, and main entrée choices.
When my Luigi’s Sandwich arrived, accompanied by two tostones and toppings sauce, it resembled a pressed panini– except that is was made with what looked liked pressed french bread. La Casa did not skimp on the cheese, and the veggie marinade seemed to have soaked into the bread. The veggies were crisp tender. There was zucchini, squash, tomato, pineapple, red pepper, and carrot in the sandwich. I wish there was more veggies, but the flavor was good.
The restaurant space is small, but it seemed full of life. Music played all throughout my lunch and there was lots of interesting art and colors to look at. The restaurant staff was attentive. I had my water filled more times that I could count.
Fyi’s~
* The restaurant has live music on some nights
* The plantains are available in many different presentations
* The space is smaller than it seems on the outside

We were headed to Agua Verde for lunch and some kayaking afterwards, but there was a rather long line in front, and we were too hungry to wait. I checked out Unilocal on my phone, and found La Casa del Mojito!
We parked near the center of town and walked through a couple of shady blocks to get here, and found an empty restaurant with loud Caribbean and Spanish music playing. The place is kinda cool and decorated eclectically. The skylight had bars on it, and there was a drum in the corner. Looks like this place really parties at night!
Anyway, our server was nice and friendly, and the meals we ordered were so yummy! I got the white fish wrapped in banana leaves, served with white rice, salad, and fried bananas. My companion got their specialty dish — steak with salad, rice, beans, fried plantains. I had a bite of the steak and it was good! The chef came out and brought us some hot sauce, which was made of habanero peppers — super hot and tasty!
When we finished our meals, we stopped at the restrooms. When I emerged from the ladies’ room, I found my companion in the kitchen with the staff and a shot of tequila in hand — they were toasting one of the dudes’ birthday! It was so awesome and random at the same time! We’ll have to make another visit the next time I’m in town.

Originally I came here because I needed to listen to «ethnic» music for a report I needed to do for a music class I was taking. Unfortunately, they don’t play live music until after 10:00pm on Fridays so we decided to just eat here because my bf was starving. Plus I wanted to try one of their famous mojitos. And yes, it was amazing!
We started off with the mojitos and they tasted so fresh. It was like the perfect consistency of all the ingredients. For dinner I ordered Bistec A Caballo, which is grilled marinated steak along with rice and beans topped with a fried egg and tostones. It was so good and I finished the whole thing, which I rarely do. The steak was juicy and well marinated. I could’ve done without the beans and tostones, but besides that it was a great meal. I finished with another drink called Batida which is like a Caipirinha, but with fruit and condensed milk, and that was really good too.
We had never tried Latin American/​Caribbean food so this was a satisfying first. I would definitely come back if I am in the area or crave a mojito!

Went here for dinner on date night before a play at the Greenlake Bathhouse Theater. YUM!
The mojito is the best I have ever had. Honestly… not too sweet — lots of lime & mint flavor, with a taste of rum. Amazing!
Also I ordered the Pabellon & was not disappointed. DH had the Vaca Frita, and I actually preferred the seasoning of his dish to mine — but they were both deeeelishhh!
I want to go back to try more dinner dishes & some great lunch sandwiches. I so infrequently visit this area for dining — I feel a change a comin’!
Yes the bathroom is a little sketch. Have a mojito & don’t worry about it.
We didn’t have the pleasure of live music since we left before 7:30, but I would love to go back to experience that as well!

Went here last night with a group of friends for our ‘holiday catch up’ dinner. We wanted to try something new, different.
Décor is unique — full of character. Bathroom was dark and kinda freaky scary. Bring a flashlight if you want extra lighting. I kept praying no freaky ghost lady was gonna pop into the mirror while I was in there. Heh. The restaurant itself is quite dark. We were seated at the back right corner where they had tea lights (2) as our main lighting. Had to ask for more tea lights (they ran out of holders so we had to make sure none of us would cause a fire) so we could see each others faces, let alone the menu. The darkness hindered my experience — the other tables had somewhat better lighting. Anyway, when the food came, we literally held a tea light on our plates so that we knew what we were eating. I would have enjoyed it more if I could see throughout the entire dinner.
Overall, the food was ok. I ordered the pescado frito which was … eh. Typical fried fish. Moist. The salad was extremely salty and was inedible. Tried my friends’ meat dishes which were much more flavorful. Didn’t get to try the mojitos but we did get a jug of sangria. Staff is friendly. They even gave us a free jug of sangria, hence the extra star.
Don’t know if the food was worth the $$ but the company made up for it, I suppose.

Much like the other location, this one offers tasty mixed drinks like the mojito and caipirinha, delicious food with meat, fish, and vegetarian options, and a good ambiance with cool décor and friendly employees.
Minus a star just because it’s more than I’d usually want to spend on dinner, but not ’cause it’s not delicious enough to make it worth it.

WOWWWWW!
What more can I say. This is my new #1 on the ave. The food was delicious and reasonably priced, the service was friendly, and the coffee rivaled some of my favorite coffee shops in the city. So great to find little gems like this one–
GO IMMEDIATELY!

AZUUUUCAR Seattle! Come shake your body to the rhythm of salsa every Friday night after stuffing yourself with out-​of-​this-​world, home-​made like Caribbean food!
If you hit La Casa del Mojito on a viernes night, you can expect to see newbies and regulars dance to some good, live salsa tunes! If you feel brave enough, jump in and move those hips! After sweating fun, quench your thirst with their delicious, signature Mojitos! According to Michael, one of the owners of this fantastic place, their Cuban Mojito is rated 4^th in the US. The other three are from the Miami area, where Cuba is… Cuba!
La Casa del Mojito is like home for my boyfriend Ryan and me. He discovered it a year ago when I first mentioned moving to Seattle. Ryan began a quest for Latino places for me to nurse my occasional homesickness. Caribbean food is like morphine to me, so the first time I visited the Emerald City, we headed to this quaint, small and colorful place to try it.
Just a minute after coming in and saying «Hola!» in my Caraqueno accent for the first time, Michael became a good friend. Of course, we have a bunch of acquaintances in common: we say Caracas is no bigger than a black bean, so everyone knows everyone or is related to someone that is the cousin of your cousins.
OK, now to the menu. Ryan has a dish obsession here and only eats Parilla de Luigi: tender and plump flank steak is surrounded by goodness like yuca frita (perfectly fried!), tostones con salsa mojito (crispy green plantain fritters with garlic based sauce), caraotas (black beans) and tajadas (maduros or fried sweet plantains). If Ryan could lick the plate clean, he would do it. Happily. Merrily. He dreams about the parrilla and often talks about it. I bet it is one of his three top choices of a last-​meal-​on-​earth. And I agree there is something about that steak’s marinade that is magical. I’ve had it a few times and enjoyed it from the looking-​at-​the-​menu moment all the way to the delicious aftertaste.
They serve sandwiches at lunch time (Mojito, Cuban, Pork, Milanesa and Pepitos), offer fresh, original salads and a couple of vegetarian options in their menu. I’ve had their Eggplant dish and loved it. Cooked in a light, creamy coconut sauce, it’s a melt-​on-​your-​tongue option for those that don’t do meat.
I’ve also had several of their main dishes. On my first visit, I had «Pabellon,» which is my country’s national dish. Delicious. So far, my favorite after the Parilla is the Milanesa de Carne con papas fritas (Beef Milanesa with French Fries). The one time I had it, it brought up fond memories of my childhood, when having lunch after school with my parents (people was able to leave work and have lunch at home back in those days – oh, those mighty 80s!). The dish was a winner, not only because the meat was tender and well seasoned, lightly fried and soft enough to gently use your cutlery; it definitely succeeded in recreating the flavors of the milanesa I had at home. At La Casa del Mojito, my culinary experience surpasses the sense of taste… it carries the «soul» that is so hard to fully recreate when far away from the country that inspires restaurants’ menus.
Something I love about La Casa del Mojito is that this place is great for large groups. Luam’s platter gathers all the appetizers in one plate. I strongly recommend to get one of these when coming in with friends. It makes a killer combo along with the Mojitos.
Michael, Luam and Luigi genuinely enjoy taking care of their diners; they have also done it right for those who want to salsa dance in a fun, casual place. The band that performs here is top-​notch. They focus on classic songs that are delightful to listen and to dance to. I’m a salsa lover: going to La Casa del Mojito to dine and dance make me and my love insanely happy.
The best thing I can do is to share the thrill with everyone. Go eat, drink, dance and yell AZUUUUUUCAR! while you have a wonderful time!

I WOULD give Casa del Mojito four stars for making me drive from the U District location to the one up north. I WOULD give them four stars for when I called in a large lunch order (say, for an office) and making my delivery half an hour late…
But, I can’t.
This place is too awesome.
The staff is great. So laid back. Luam, the owner, was there making the sandwiches personally. He served up a sweet and frothy Cuban coffee with fresh fried plantains and a cool herb dip while I waited. «Lovely lady,» he said as they doused the sandwiches in fresh cilantro and spoke in Spanish and English at 11 am.
Everybody loved the food. The fresh vegetables and marinated meats on the Luigi’s and Pepito (with or without the fried egg on top) pleased everyone. They don’t hold back on the citrus, spices and avocado. Everything — the colors and the tastes — is vibrant, brightening up the early Seattle springtime.
Definitely worth the wait.