CUBA Restaurant, St.Julian's, Spinola Bay — Restaurant in Saint Julian's

First Off - If You Are Reading This And Considering To Visit This Place - Stop Reading This Review Now And Just Go!! - You Will Not Regret It!!

This Is One Of The Best Restaurants On The Island Of Malta - If Not The Best!

Now Yes You Might Have Seen A Few Of These Outlets In Sliema, Mosta Etc... BUT This Is The Best One Of The Whole Lot!

Why??... For Us It’s A Mixture Of Many Things, The Drinks, The Food Is Amazing, Anytime I’ve Been Here I’ve Never Had An Issue Or Complaint And I’ve Been Here Over 10/15 Times Already. It’s Always Consistent - But The Main Reason For Us It’s Because The Way This Restaurant Is Ran!

I Live In This Industry, I’ve Grown Up In The Business - I’ve Got Restaurants And Bars Of My Own And I Always Watch Out For Good Customer Service But Also Good Staff Relations On The Floor.

What I Want The Owner Of Kitchen Concepts To Know (The Company That Owns Cafe Cuba, And Others) Is That Your General Manager Giorgio, In This Restaurant Is 100% The Best Front Of House/Manager We Have Ever Came Across.

He Is Truly A Huge Asset, Not Just To This Restaurant But To The Whole Entire Company. His Attention To Every Detail Is Amazing. The Way This Restaurant Operates Under His Control Is Also Truly Amazing. - We Visited This Restaurant Many Many Times When We Were In Malta And On A Couple Of Occasions When Giorgio Was Off Duty We Noticed A Complete Change In The Running Of The Restaurant - Staff Were Not As Attentive, As Well Organised, Customers Were Not Being Greeted And Seated As Efficiently As They Would Have Been If Giorgio Was On Duty - Now This Is In No Way A Complaint Against This Restaurant, It Is Just Pure Evidence Of How Amazing Your Manager Is.

But What Impressed Us The Most Was, After Speaking With Him Over The Many Visits Here, Was The Fact That He Has Worked His Way Up In This Company And Has Given All Of His Energy And Pride Into This Restaurant As If It Was His Own - And To Get That From A Staff Member Is Very Rare And A Very Sure Sign He Is Here To Benefit The Company, Not Just Himself.

Because We Are Both In This Industry, My Partner & I Are Always Watching And Observing Staff In Restaurants/Bars Anywhere We Go! (We Cannot Switch Off ha ha!) But Here In Cafe Cuba, Giorgio Really Impressed Us. If He Worked For Us Back Home In Ireland It Would Truly Be An Honour.

One Other Staff Member That Stood Out For Us Was Uroš. Another Fantastic Member Of Staff, Although New - Uroš Will Be Another Great Asset To This Bistro. His Attitude And Work Ethic Really Impressed Us.

So Yes, If You Are Looking For Beautiful Food With Fantastic Views And An Amazing Atmosphere Please Do Yourself A Favour And Visit This Gem Looking Over Spinola Bay!

5 Stars Is Not Enough To Give This...

The review is done by Ruth Micallef

We visited yesterday to celebrate Father’s Day with my family booked a table of 6. As soon as we sat down my father was presented with a pint of beer when we told them we did not order it they told us it’s on the house for Father’s Day lovely touch my husband came a few minutes after and too was given a pint of beer. When we than proceeded with the orders we ordered 1 plate of pasta as a starter to share between two and 1 main course each, I did specify the pasta was too share as a starter and asked waiter to bring two plates. The food did not take long to be served but we were surprised to see that the pasta and the rib eye were served together. Of course we were not happy with this and the waiter told us that he is not accustomed to people ordering a starter and main course this was a surprise to us and thought it was ridiculous he said he never experienced this. Anyway we told him to keep the meat warm for us until the starter was ready. The rib eye came shortly after and it was cooked to perfection. The cocktails were nicely presented but the warmness and the lack of knowledge of the staff lacked, apart from the accent, we struggled to understand the waiter. He did repeat the order but I did Not understand one word or what he said. When we were presented with the bill to our surprise the beers were on the bill when we asked the waiter, and told him that we were told they were on the house because it was Father’s Day to our astonishment he told us he had no clue that it was Father’s Day anyway he went to clarify with his superior and we were given the money back. The food was amazing as always as we are regular clients but regret the service was not there this time round. Pity as the prices are not cheap. Your staff need to be trained and they need to speak good English, where has the true hospitality gone that we are known for? Feeling sad 😞

The staff needs to be provided proper training and also needs to know their product and what they are...

Terrace overlooking the Spinola Bay is great. Unfortunately that is the only thing going for Cafe Cuba. And in the summer days that might be enough. We ordered burgers (Cuba and a fish burger + fries on the side). Easily the worst burger I had, ever. How difficult is it to add salt and pepper to patties? It ain't. You don't have to try hard if you don't want to, but salt and pepper are really basics. Meat had no taste, for a moment I thought I ordered one of those meatless subtitues for beef and I wish it was that, but it wasn't. Double patty on the ´Cuba' is the original patty cut into two extremly thin slices with a very sharp knife (at least I can confirm they have good cutler in the kitchen, but a good cook would be more useful). Special house burger sauce is on the wrong side of the sour (maybe fridge lost electricity overnight and no one checked? Or they put too much emphasis on vinegar and worcester, but the end result is something that is difficult to describe, but if I try really hard it would be old mayo combined with pickle juice). Fish burger is more of a colesaw burger with a patty of questionable origin, but since we are surrounded by sea I only hope it was fish (or a close relative). Don't order the beef on tap, it is cold, but so is ice and it will go better with food. If you do stop for lunch/dinner avoid burgers (and tacos, I didn't try them, but had a chance to see a few) and maybe go for pizza...Or just drinks (not beer) as the terrace is really nice! For burgers walk 10 meters more and get a McDonalds, at least you know what to expect there. Prices are friendly at first, but after thinking about what I ate my final assessment...