Asia De Cuba | Mondrian Hotel

So last night I went out to one of my favorite restaurants in Los Angeles, Asia De Cuba. I was celebrating my friend Aisha's birthday. Everything was fabulous! I must say I have been here a few times, and a lot of the times I have gotten pretentious service. But I was so happy to have a new experience this time around, the staff was so courteous and friendly. I was amazed. It was a beautiful West Hollywood night, with a slight chill in the air. I got us dinner reservations at 7:30pm on a Friday night. Now this was a perfect time to go. The sun was setting, and you can feel the energy of nightlife slowly creep in. Now if any of you have experienced the drama that is Sunset Blvd. You all know how expensive it is to park your own car, let alone valet it. Here's a tip, the meters on Sunset Blvd. just west of La Cienega are free around this time, we found lots of parking, and since we were only going to be in the area for two hours, I parked my car at a meter, and paid $2 in quarters, not bad in comparison to $15 to park your car in a lot. We walked half a block to the Mondrian Hotel, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful hotels in L.A. The lobby is gorgeous, something out of a dream.


We slowly walked to Asia De Cuba where we were greeted by our lovely maitre'd Beatrice, she guided us through the sleek modern jungle as we passed by cell phone talking patrons, American Idol's Randy Jackson, beautiful people, and believe it or not Jerry Springer. Who of course came wearing a suit and an accessory, a hot young blond wannabe starlet. It was slightly chilly outside and we were lucky to sit by a heater and be given a beige blanket for the lady. The view was amazing, pop music played at Skybar above, and the view was the L.A. skyline. It was a gorgeous night. Jeff our server introduced himself to us, but we were delighted to meet a fellow server Michael, who was fun and flambooyant! He reminded me of Chris Tucker in "The Fifth Element." There was a moment where I felt like we were in a scene from "Sex in the City." Michael was so nice, he acted almost like a second waiter to us. Asia De Cuba is a mix of Latin and Asian food fused together, what a perfect combination.

To start we got their famous Calamari Asia De Cuba salad. This salad is off the hook. Lightly fried calamari tossed in greens, bananas, hearts of palm, in a light vinaigrette. Amazing. I had to try their white sangria which was recommended over their red sangria and that was tasty too, although it was a little weak. The food portions are big here, so I do encourage sharing. For our entree we ordered the Butterfish which just melted in your mouth. Garnished with tempura peppers and beans, this seafood dish was to die for. I realized how lucky we were to be eating this food, being in this environment, we were truly blessed. The energy was great, and it seemed to the more good energy we put out, the more that came back. Later Michael arrived with two free shots of a cosmopolitan, which was so sweet of him. We passed on dessert even thought it was her birthday, but we were headed over to another restaurant, Falcon, where a birthday cake awaited. Dinner was great, and we left our tables so happy, with just enough food to feel full but not enough to feel like you needed to be rolled out of there. We passed by Jerry and Randy and proceeded to leave the Mondrian. What a freaking cool night.

8440 W Sunset Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Phone: 323.848.6000
www.mondrianhotel.com