Our new restaurant will be located at 800 East Las Olas Boulevard and cover 9,200 square feet with seating for 250 (interior/exterior). It will feature high ceilings, dramatic interior and exterior theming, as well as a wood-burning Latin Grill & Chef’s Counter.
Our fifth restaurant location will be in a prime location at the southeast corner of East Las Olas Boulevard and Southeast Eighth Avenue, in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas entertainment and retail district. The restaurant will occupy an existing, but entirely re-imagined two-story structure.
As you walk through the doors at Cuba Libre, you’ll be transported to La Habana Vieja (Old Havana) district, recognized the world over. Our restaurant’s atmosphere offers a unique combination of Latin flavor, warmth and spectacle – from the two-story “movie set” re-creation of Old Havana street scene facades to the guayabera uniforms to steamy Cuban rhythms.
While the restaurant’s design reflects the distinctive Old Havana district, its menus reflect the cuisine served today in Cuban paladares throughout the island – chef crafted versions of its traditional cuisines and modern Cuban food.
Two time James Beard Award Winner and Cuba Libre Chef-Partner Guillermo Pernot’s menus are inspired by the chefs and restaurants he has experienced during his continuing travels throughout Cuba, which are chronicled in his latest book – CUBA COOKS: RECIPES AND SECRETS FROM CUBAN PALADARES AND THEIR CHEFS. Steakhouse favorites and other dishes prepared at our wood-burning Latin Grill & Chef’s Counter, such as Ribeye Jibaro, Plato Gaucho Mixed Grill for two, Vacio Steak Argentino, Octopus a la Parrilla and Grilled Provoleta, are inspired by the food served at Al Carbon, where Chef Iván Rodríguez López prepares nearly every dish over charcoal. While malanga fritters are served at seemingly every restaurant in Cuba, it was while at Alain Rivera’s Doctors Café when Chef Pernot thought to add it to Cuba Libre’s menu, enhanced by culantro and the tamarind ketchup he serves with it. The method of preparation of his Peking Chicken comes from the Peking Duck that one would find in Havana’s Chinatown.
Chef Pernot presents dishes not only from Havana, but from rural and urban regions throughout the large island. His Coconut Crab Fritters are inspired by the sweet fritters he enjoyed on the beaches of Baracoa. From Cienfuegos, Chef Pernot’s mother-in-law’s pineapple and avocado salad evolved into his Pineapple Guacamole Cubano - one of our most popular appetizers at Cuba Libre. The idea for Cuba Libre’s Guava BBQ Ribs sprung from the ribs – drizzled with local honey – that Chef Pernot was served in Santiago de Cuba.
And we’re so excited to bring these flavors and the Cuba Libre experience to South Florida! We’ll see you in “Havana” soon, Fort Lauderdale!
Check out the full article in The Sun Sentinel here.
