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Castro- nomic

Brush up on your Latin and get merry with mojitos at CUBA NORTE, i A , the new Cuban bar and H i i 1 restaurant in Edinburgh. t

mom, Thom Dibdin It‘s a hit ol a culinary desert. .. Morrison Street. as it stretches like a drag-racing strip away from the lidinhurgh International (‘onl‘crence (‘entre towards llaymarket. 'l‘echnically. it should he a prime pudding position. what with all those loyely new ol'l‘ices close by. But in practice'.’ Well just to remind you - the last Venture there went down in l‘lames.

So. when Billy .\lc:\nerey decided that lidinhurgh could do

Bahy (irand. thank you yery much

and hegan looking at the airy aforementioned space. those in the know about these things just said. 'No Billy"! Don’t do it..

But. hero that he is. and intent on indulging his passion for slushy (’uhan cocktails and fluffy. thirst- quenching Spanish lagers. .\lc.'\nerey ignored them all. lior which the deni/ens ol the \\'est [ind and 'l‘ollcross should he more than gratel’ul. .\'ow they haye (‘uha .\'orte. an oasis ol‘ hot l.atin delights. ‘liast ol lla\ana and just west of the (’onl'erence ('entre' as they say.

'\\'e’re putting a heayy elliphttsis on the the timid: says .\lc.»\nerey. With one

CUBA new:

The strawberry daiquiris slip down with all the glow of a sunny summer day and are the perfect accompaniment to a side order of the house tapas.

w ith some. of his culinary expertise

(ilttsg()\\"s already doing \ery‘ nicely by him with (‘athedral House. the Burrel. ('ottiers and the

in The Arr/wry) from the Balmoral in the kitchen. the menu is looking and tasting rather good. The

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plulm prim-[palm all come out at under a tenner. from the Mojito- marinated steak with sol'rito. crispy leeks and black heans on white rice (U0) down to the roasted redl‘ish on greens and sweet potato mash with red onion salsa (£8.95) to the curried chickpea and coconut pastry parcel with black heans on white rice and sweet chilli sauce (£7.95). The starters. which haye a hit more ol‘ a Scottish slant. are also well priced.

'l'he eating area is raised up at the end of the long har. intelligently designed and airy

enough to take away the smoke of

(‘tthan cigars. lt oy‘et'looks the downstairs dancel'loor. where l).ls ol a Latin persuasion and liy'e hands of the lilamenco Variety haye already heen hooked to play. And. l‘or those who like to dine later. the dinner menu is seryed from 6pm up until last orders at l lpm.

Cuba Norte: dine 'n' daiquiri

"l‘he aim is not to get ilfllllX- Latin feel in order to squeeze in as many alter-work punters as possihlef asserts .\lc:\nerey. 'What we‘re trying to get is something a hit unique. which has a true Latin l'eel.‘

lloweyer. the alter—work drinkers will he well seryed with the house special: pitchers of delicious mojilo. pronounced ‘moe-hee-toe’. which blends ('uhan rum with fresh lime and mint. .-\s for the strawberry daiquiris. they slip down with all the glow of a sunny summer day and are the perfect accompaniment to a side order of the house tapas hel‘ore giying the dancel‘loor a good grooying. It might he on the intimate side of comfortable. but once more. intelligent design and light. simple decor help create the right amhience tor a hot night out.

011).) Norm, Morrison Street, 073 I

227 0499

Stogies will be a house speciality at Cuba Norte