Cuban Code

December 1, 2023

A new joint that’s giving Instagram girlies a run for their money is Cuban Code, a restaurant + cigar lounge located on Muthangari Road. I really have to say though - for a restaurant this fancy, why don’t they have signage on the road? I really thought Google maps had failed me because it leads you to this big office block called African Guarantee Fund - a building that looks VERY closed on weekends. I didn’t even expect to be allowed in only to be told that that is where the restaurant is located😅They need to get signage please.

You’re greeted by a nice leafy archway upon entering, illuminated by the neon sign and followed in by a really well placed photo wall filled with quintessential Cuban images, the vintage cars, the cigars, the brightly coloured buildings… you get the gist. The inside of the restaurant is vibrant, airy and feels very beach side vibes with pops of colours, a lot of greenery and the bar is such a central focus with those turquoise arches - LOVE. The outfitting is on point.

The menu is nice and brief, their focus is less is more which as you know, I really prefer limited menus. For starters we had the pork bites (KSH1,200) which are a nice healthy portion for a starter. Having that with fries can really be a full meal and you wouldn’t need to get any entrées if you don’t want to. The pork was really good, small cubes of pork (no fat), seasoned and fried in some kind of sauce - maybe bbq mixed with soy, so good! Fries (KSH400) are ordered separately but they’re a good amount too.

For mains, my friend had the south western salad (KSH1,500) and I decided to try the chicken Cuban sandwich (KSH1,500) since I’d already had pork as a starter… bad idea. Why did the waiter tell me they have no bread for Cuban sandwiches… on a Sunday… at 1pm?? This is a Cuban restaurant with ONLY five items on the main menu, two of which are Cuban sandwiches (pork & chicken) - the main attraction of said Cuban restaurant. Yet you have no bread? On a day you know you’ll have a bunch of customers who will also want to try the star attraction of your menu?? Yeah that’s a problem.

The waiter was very apologetic and said he would ask the manager what can be done because it did make sense that everyone would want said sandwich so they needed to get bread asap. The waiter came back and said the bread had been sent for and asked if I could patiently wait for said meal - I agreed, it was Sunday afternoon after all, so I had time.

After what seemed like ages (those pork bites really saved my hunger) he alerted us that the sandwich was being prepared and would be out shortly. My friend’s salad was okay - nothing to write home about, the bacon in it helped.

Now for the star attraction - the chicken Cuban sandwich. What was brought out… wasn’t what I expected… I’ve never had a Cuban sandwich before so I can’t tell you how it’s meant to look but this just looked like a basic chicken and cheese sandwich on whole-wheat bread. It comes with lyonnaise potatoes and a side salad. Did the sandwich taste great, yes? Was it amazing?? Nope. It’s very hard to make chicken breast taste amazing and I don’t think they really tried.

I’m told the pork is so much better and that I should try it but I don’t know… I don’t know if I’m willing to go back, what if there’s no bread again?🙈 If I do, I’ll update that here and let y’all know.