Kuba Kuba — Restaurant in Richmond

Please do not be fooled by the double Kuba in the name, they're merely trying to convince you it's something that it's not. You know what I hate most about this experience? I deserved exactly what I got!! I was invited to lunch, and they chose Kuba Kuba, not I! Matter of fact I told them that I had eaten at the West End location and wasn't interested in eating fake ethnic food at any of their other locations. I dont know if calling food cuban that's not cuban is cultural misappropriation, but if there a definition for it, then it would be Kuba Kuba. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt, but I should have gone with my gut. I hate when folks convince me to do something I know is going to be bad. I was angrier with myself than Kuba Kuba. When I walked into the establishment all the signs were there, but since I wasn't paying, I played on my phone and ignored my surrounding's. My friend kept pointing out little blips here and there but, he chose the place, I was done. When we arrived, the place was jam packed, GOD only knows why?? My friend raved about this sandwich Elena Ruiz a Sliced turkey, cream cheese & preserves, with a side of unseasoned demi-ripe plantains. I have a pet peeve about plantains, they should be either prepared when ripe as sweet, or savory for the green plantain, but not in-between. Jeez Louise !! Also, most Cuban restaurants slice their own homemade turkey, not deli turkey Blecch! The sandwich tasted like an afterthought. I ordered the Guava Ginger Shrimp Sautéed shrimp in a guava-ginger BBQ (had I read the BBQ part, that would have been a nah) sauce served with black beans, yellow rice & grilled asparagus, sounds amazing right? (I know not really Cuban) I had tried their ropa vieja at the west end location, and the memory I had was No Bueno! so I settled. also, the waiter Rene highly recommended it. I always say If I have to add salt and pepper or anything to a meal in a restaurant, that's too much like cooking for myself. This dish was so bland and the flavor profile was just so off, that I couldn't finish my meal. We also had the Risotto Cakes Home-made risotto cakes with coconut & pineapple, dusted with rice flour & deep-fried, served over black bean & corn salsa. Had it not been for the Risotto Cakes I would've passed out; I was so hungry. I understand the place was really busy, I dont understand why, (I really think COVID affected a lot more peoples taste buds than we thought, lol) but I get it either way, however if you're going to ignore my pleas for an additional napkin then you should at least set your tables with a few napkins not just one. Not that it matters to me anymore since I won't be returning unless they hire an authentic Cuban Chef and give me a special invite to redeem themselves. I ended up eating a can of chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs when I got home. Even that was more authentic than Kuba Kubas version of Cuban food. Hey Miami, can we borrow one of your Chefs, Richmond is so behind. Anyway, I won't be gracing any of their locations with my presence, not even if it was the only place open and I was about to pass out of hunger. Dont...

Don't let these pictures fool you. On a previous visit, I ordered the Pork shanks for dinner and this was what I got. It was wonderful! Two shanks perfectly braised, tender moist with garlic mashed potatoes and crisp asparagus on top. Both dishes came with toasted bread and were garnished with cilantro, tomatoes, pineapple and red onions. My wife had a salmon dish. It was absolutely perfect!

Well, such was not the case upon a visit a few days ago. We both got the same dishes, but had brought family with us. My wife's dish was ok, she noticed the salmon portion was smaller but with barely any garnishing. She said it still tasted fine to her. My dish of pork shanks, or should I say, shank, was a different story. There was no garnishing. We had BOTH ordered with Asparagus as before, both were delivered with green beans. We were told that they had no asparagus because of supply chain issues (even though the waiter said they did have it). That was understood, but they should have told us that so maybe we could have ordered something else besides green beans, which I dislike. The garlic mashed potatoes tasted about the same, though again I noticed a smaller portion. The pork shank, which again I noted that I only received one instead of the usual two( I've had this meal about 4 times now), I wouldn't have fed to my dog. There was absolutely nothing tender about it. It was over cooked, dried out and required a knife to remove the meat from the bone. I didn't even bother to finish it. It was completely flavorless. I'm sorry, I didn't take pictures of it at the time....but I'm probably doing you a favor anyways. A few in our group also ordered the Pork shanks (because I recommended it to them ) and were also displeased with what was brought to them.

I have been here quite a few times and every meal until now has been a great one. So I think this is more of an issue of quality control than anything. But if the owners are reading this, that particular item needs to get back to what was pictured below...and almost "fall of the bone" tender as any properly braised meat should be.

The staff was friendly, kept our drinks filled and provided the usual service level K-K is known for....and was well received. However, we did have some rowdy jocks in a booth close to ours that were loud and dropping quite a bit of foul language, and I would like to see the staff do a better job of curtailing that because there were children in the...

My review is based on an average of several visits. The last one being particularly bad with my first two being okay. The atmosphere is pleasant enough. A little loud at times, so you have to tell your orders. They refuse to seat anyone if they are waiting for another guest. I get it, it’s a small establishment but when one person comes in for a table for two, what’s the harm? Most likely, that one person will order drinks immediately or appetizers. I shrugged that off and continued to get an attitude from a grill cook that I viewed later preparing food in the middle of sweeping. No gloves, bare hands on a multi person used item and right into food. Saw him grab cheese and put it on someone’s food. He saw me see it and continued his business. This happen during the period my food was also being prepared so I wasn’t happy. Anyway, that person was rude and made my experience negative from the start. Back to the experience of ordering, my company arrived just a few minutes after I was seated. They promptly brought her a water and didn’t return to us until 15 minutes later. Ordering two Roast Pork lunch plates, we chatted and that’s when I observed the contaminated hand issue. Our food finally arrived about 20 minutes later and it was massive. I was actually astounded at the amount of food for the price. The roast pork was dry so I had to douse it with the house sauce that is on the table. The plate was to have white rice, beans, and plantains. The rice was yellow but whatever. I had three small plantains, that’s it. It was basically a garnish. I wish I took a picture. They were so tasty that I ordered some Togo and that was a mistake. Half of them were old and too tough to eat. It’s like they mixed old ones with a little bit of new ones. I discovered that when I got home. Very disappointing. When I got the bill, it was $40 and I was surprised because I told the server, Danielle, i wanted the lunch plate @ $8.95 x 2. It was a $14 difference. She did not repeat our order and that is where the mistake was made. I was charged $15.95 per dish so that’s a huge difference (no wonder I got so much food). I still paid because at that moment, I figured I wouldn’t come back for a long time.

The staff is friendly but enjoys chatting with each other or their neighborhood customers versus paying more attention to what they need...