Asia de Cuba: Still exceptional after all these years

I'd like to say that I had put a lot of thought into the restaurant choice for my husband's birthday celebration. But that would be a lie.

The thinking went into Bat Out of Hell: The Musical. (see review here) The pre-theatre dinner was an afterthought. Asia de Cuba was the only event-worthy restaurant I could remember in close proximity to the London Coliseum. I'd been there for a work do and enjoyed it, though it didn't make the blog. Whether that was because I was having a really busy month, the food wasn't worth writing about or we enjoyed too much of the prodigious cocktail menu because the boss picked up the bill, I can't recall.

I won't forget this visit. The convenient afterthought delivered one of the best meals we've had this year.

A sunny fusion of tastes from warmer, more exotic places, the only thing wrong with the meal was our limited time. Those exquisite plates deserved to be lingered over. Instead, we rushed through the seven savoury plates of the chef's menu before we ran out of time. Fortunately, the cheerful and efficient staff let us pay our bill, dash to the theatre and return for post-show puddings. I didn't want to miss a bite.

When Asia de Cuba launched in 1999 it was not only one of the trendiest places in town ... located just off the lobby of the Philippe Starck-designed St. Martin's Hotel ... it introduced London to inter-continental fusion. Inspired by the great food to be had in Havana's Chinatown, the menu skittered off in bizzare directions. The menu is still a hotch potch of tempting possibility, though the influences seem to have expanded through all of Asia, the Caribbean and South and Central America. It can be difficult to find continuity between the dishes to construct a meal that hangs together.

Exactly the kind of place where a chef's menu works best. At £60, it's better value than assembling a meal a la carte and quite a deal when compared to tasting menu prices in similar London venues. Don't relax your guard, however: they recoup their margin on drink prices.

We started with grouper ceviche. The menu described its accompaniments as mojo amarillo, sofrito crudo and radish. My taste buds said a spicy mango sauce. Whatever ... it was exceptional and proved that the best quality fish needs very little to make it shine.

Asia de Cuba was one of London's original sharing restaurants, back when the "tapas" concept first extended beyond Spanish food, so it's no surprise the starters come as an array of small plates. There are two-bite-sized casava pancakes piled with exquisitely moist pulled pork tossed in a guava sauce. Eye-rollingly good tuna tartare comes as a taco (although to keep the fusion idea going, they call it a crispy wonton), elevated to excellence with a subtle balance of Spanish olives, currants, almond, toasted coconut and avocado ceviche. The dish of the night, however, was the crispy calamari salad with banana, chayote (a type of squash), cashews and hearts of palm tossed in an orange-sesame vinaigrette. Again, subtlety was critical to the dish. Without the help of the menu, I couldn't have picked out the individual ingredients beyond the squid and the lettuce, but the combination was exquisite. I would return simply to have this again.

Time for a palate cleanser: mojito sorbet. They really should market this commercially in groceries. Extraordinary stuff.

The main courses brought us more tuna. This time, the loin had been dusted with spices and grilled quickly to get a crust on the outside, leaving the center blissfully as the sea provided it. It came on a bed of white bean purée with chorizo salsa and tatsoi (an Asian green) with a garlic-sesame vinaigrette. A fine accompaniment, though the tuna was once again so exceptional we hardly noticed. The poor seven-spice chicken paled in comparison, though if it had appeared alone at any other time it would have been a star. This came with a Cuban version of rice and beans called congri that was more like a rich, creamy risotto, plus snow peas, shiitake mushrooms and plantains. It was a dish to remind you that a few changes can turn boring old roast chicken into something exotic and magical.

Back after the theatre for dessert, we had another triple play of sharing plates: a flan with tropical fruit salad, an exotic millefeuille and Mexican doughnuts with a drizzling of chocolate and caramel sauces. I have no idea what made them Mexican, I can only tell you that they were sinfully good. And that my normally ambivalent-to-puddings husband gobbled up three of the four. He says he was falling on his culinary sword to help my Weight Watchers results, but I think his motives were less altruistic. (Given the predominance of fish, vegetables and light preparations throughout the meal, however, Asia de Cuba is actually a good choice for those trying to keep the gluttony in check.)

All of this was delivered with exceptional service. It's not easy squeezing a multi-course chef's menu into a pre-theatre slot; they adapted admirably. Courses came with careful descriptions, recommendations on drinks were spot-on, wine and water were always topped up and the servers worked as a smooth team. They took careful note of my husband's tomato allergy and when the chicken's marinade had the offensive ingredient they brought out a second, specially-prepared serving just for him. We really appreciated the offer to return for dessert; they didn't have to do that.

All of this means that Asia de Cuba moves from a dim and undistinguished dining memory to a place on the short list of restaurants I'd like to return to soon. The next time English National Opera lures us through their doors, I know where we'll be first.