Floridita London Review
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Conran & Partners have done it again. After bringing us Plateau and Quaglino's, they have given London a palace of style, art and taste.
Under General Manager Brian Bendix, the bar/restaurant has been completely revamped. Since it's opening in October 2004, the clientele have been exposed to the best of Cuban, Spanish and Latin American opulence.
Spain greets you as you enter the building, in the form of Meza: The Spanish bar/restaurant that serves everything from Meza delicacy platters, to Meza specialty cuisine. Head chef Ian Sutton not only serves food good enough to fill the soul, every dish is so artistic it is comparable to the Miro designed walls.
Cuba is only one floor down and the people there call it Floridita: The Cuban bar/restaurant serving hearty Cuban and Latin American food. Asked to describe the place, the patron with the Spanish mother-tongue exclaims: "Vibrant! It is the closest word to the compliments I think of in my language…"
And, nobody has forgotten about the cigars. Not only are they available in both bars, there is also a walk-in humidor retailing a wide selection of Cuban Cigars in La Casa del Habano. This cigar shop also has a private lounge/bar serving a selection of Cuban coffees to Havana rums.
Wines from "Jeres Y Malaga", Mojito's that make you reminisce about Hemmingway and a bartender that calls himself "J. Lo": this is Latin America refined. It will cost you a little less than a ticket to Cuba itself, but who needs to go anymore?
Becca Gabbai (03 03 2005)
Floridita London Description
Floridita offers a truly unique experience like no other, combining the spirit and vibrance of Cuba’s rich culture through a unique mix of music, cocktails and food right in the heart of London’s Bohemian district of Soho.
Cuba’s world renowned reputation for producing the world’s finest cigars means that the authentic Cuban experience that is on offer within Floridita would not be complete without them. Floridita offers an unparalleled range of the most magnificent Cuban cigars available in London and is proud to exclusively stock the San Cristobal range.
With the inspiration and creativity of London's most respected and experienced mixologists Floridita London's drinks menu is an experience in itself. The menu features traditional cocktails from the early 1930's menu, as well as more contemporary creations as the "Pineapple and sage mojito".
Customer Reviews for Floridita
The following customer reviews are not endorsed by Fluid London and are simply those of users who wish to publish their independent experiences of Floridita.
“fantastic. great food and drink!!!”
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Barry Tonkinson, surrey (3 months 23 days ago)
“I agree with many of the other comments written on here. The atmosphere was ok, too loud to hear any one else around the table speak, but dancing was good. Staff were not great at all, they barely spoke let alone made any kind of effort to be polite, which you would expect them too considering how much you are paying to eat here. The food is over priced and the quality was not worth it at all, a real disappointment. And beware they will try to over charge you by adding on additional extras that you did not have!
I will not be going back, a very expensive disappointing night!”
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Lucy, Buckinghamshire (3 months 26 days ago)
“I went for a special occasion with my sister and her friends. Whilst the food was good and the live music great, the staff were exceptionally rude. The staff make no effort to make diners feel special, you a rushed in and out. Kept waiting in a squashed bar area. The manager walks around the place shouting at staff - and customers. If you want somewhere special, do not go here. For an average night, if you can laugh at the pretentious staff, go ahead. Its expensive for the service they provide but the food and music is good. If more effort was made to make customers feel valued it would be a far, far better place.”
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[ Unknown ], london (4 months 1 days ago)
“What an experience. We came to floridita hoping for good food and drink and were introduced to a stunning entertainment and indulgence package! What a fantastic venue... best in London for an entertaining evening!”
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Yrrab Nosniknot, Weston-Super-Mare (4 months 21 days ago)
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“A bit on the pricey side, both food and drink, but good music. As reported in another review, they slapped a £24 (£6 pp) 'Music charge' to the bill. We complained, and they took it off. Left a decent tip, as the service was good.
That 'Music charge' is NOT stated anywhere on the Menu (unless in fine pring!). So look out for it on the bill, and request that it be removed.”
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[ Unknown ], London (9 months ago)
“My boyfriend and I went to Floridita on Friday night and were able to get a table at 9pm without a reservation, although the venue was packed. The food was lovely, although very expensive, which we assumed was because of the live band. What a nasty surprise it was when we received the bill. We had spent well over £100 anyway and found another £6 each had been added for the 'entertainment', in addition to the service charge. We left feeling totally ripped off and out of principle would never go back. At no point were we advised before ordering that this would be added.”
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[ Unknown ], manchester (1 years 7 days ago)
“Great restaurant! Fantastic cocktails, delicious food, amazing atmosphere with authentic live Cuban band!! Need I say more!?!?”
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Clare, London (1 years 1 months 13 days ago)
“Floridita is a brilliant restaurant & bar! I went there with a group of my friends and we had the time of our lives. We spent the early part of our evening sampling the delicious mojitos and enjoying the brilliant live Cuban band! When it came to our meal we were seated and given a great service. The food was lovely and the price was not a touch on the quality. I haven't a bad word to say about it!”
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Clare, London (1 years 1 months 13 days ago)
“With great disappointment I have to say I would never go back to this place. It was a friend's birthday and we had a limitation of two hours with the table and we were refused to order desert as they had to give the table to someone else. The drinks and food are expensive and there was more ice in the drink than alcohol or juice. The place was too crowded with very little space to dance. I do not recommend & i won't be going there again.”
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E Reges, london (1 years 9 months 5 days ago)
“My best friend and I had our birthday dinner at Floridita and had a fantastic time. We booked the private drinking room, Salon Rojo, which is a cosy, plush, stylishly decorated area perfect for our drinks and canapes party. Our waitress was lovely and very helpful, serving promptly even though it was very busy. Hip-shakingly good live music and delicious food and cocktails put everyone in the party mood and resulted in a night to remember. We are definitely planning on going back to Floridita for some more Latin flavour.”
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tarryn, london (1 years 10 months 26 days ago)
“If you like Cuban music and dancing, this is the place to go. Add to that an extensive and interesting menu, top-class cocktails and amazing service and you're on to a winner. We went as part of a birthday 'do and are already planning our return visit. Great fun and a fabulous venue.”
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Ellen White, California (2 years ago)
“Well, there are already some dire reviews of Floridita but I must say I don't feel too bad about adding to them! Like many of the other reviewers below I visited as part of a large group on a Saturday night.
The "Floridita experience" as they call it on their website is hugely overpriced and you don't have to be a gastronaut to notice that the food is awful.
Maybe if you just went for drinks it would be good fun. The decor is lovely and the atmosphere okay. The real let down is the food.
We paid £53 per head excluding drinks for 3 courses, side dishes and coffee. Including tip this is £60 per head (plus water for the table and wine that works out at £70 - £80 per head). Now for that kind of money I expect some damn fine food.... After all that's £20 per course - even the starters! However, what we got was a choice of soup, avocado salad or crab cakes to start. I went for the crab cakes which turned out to be potato croquettes on a few bits of old looking rocket with some dodgy mayo. All the main courses looked ropey. The vege option was some mushroom mush, the swordfish came with barely any dressing or accompaniment and the suckling pig looked like it had been re-warmed in a microwave. At least the dessert was nice!
I cannot work out why we ended up paying more for the dishes overall than they quote in their standard menu. Perhaps we were paying for the privilege of the being a big group. Or maybe the cheesy doughballs and vinegar soaked olives they served up.”
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Mary Jane, London (2 years 5 months 26 days ago)
“I am cuban and I'm living here in London since 2 years ago. Last saturday my husband, me and 5 more couple of friends went to The Floridita. The dinner was SUPERB, with the proper cuban and latin amercan taste. Well done for the chef ..!!! The "ambience" was fabulous as well, BUT we were nearly kicked off our table without being offered desert 'cos another booking was waiting for a table. We didn't complain and decided to go dance and leave it like that 'cos we just went for fun. And the other thing was that the barmen don't have any idea about cuban drinks, like "Daiquiri" and "Mojito" and for my shame i finished drinking a "Bloody Mary" that was SO spicy that i couldn't drink it. So i think that Floridta is one of the worse places to drink in London because of that. Horrible..! And it is a pity as the place is nice and made me think that i was in Cuba for moments.”
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Michelle, London (2 years 8 months 18 days ago)
“It's easy to be unduly critical and it makes me wince when other people moan at a pizza place or similar about fairly minor inconveniences. However consider this of Floridita: our party of 12 were seated by the lavatorias. Perhaps this is why the waiter seemed so put out to be required to provide more than perfunctory service. The waitresses were very glamorous and attentive and, I think, a little scared of him - as were we. The food was of good quality but you do pay a lot of money to eat like a sparrow. Therefore, you need to budget to pay for additional side dishes (which really need to be served at the same time as the (tiny) mains otherwise the mains go cold - one diner even placed his napkin over his main to stop it going cold while he waited!) The wine was excellent and the cocktails deserve their reputation - particularly the mojitos. To some extent you are paying inflated prices because of the show, which is great. The smart money though, I think, turns up late. I certainly wouldn't bring another large party to eat at Floridita because 1. the time it takes for all to get served and 2. this limits you to a table away from the action (and perhaps with no view of the stage like us). Your realistic choices for a Saturday night then are 1. to eat elsewhere and join the guest list for a tenner to drink and dance at Floridita or 2. bring a group of no more than 5-6 so you can sit in the comfy chairs just in front of the stage.”
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John HERLIHY, LONDON (3 years 3 months 7 days ago)
“Floridita is really nice: good food, good cuban music that really makes you want to dance, good cocktails ... The only problem would be the price and the little surprise to pay to listen music ....”
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Lauren, london (4 years 23 days ago)
“Thought that the staff were perfect. Drinks were great, and the choice of cigar was too. Brought back thoughts of Cuba. PERFECT !!!!!”
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Derek, East London (4 years 5 months 4 days ago)
“We went to Cuba for our honeymoon so thought it would be great to try and recapture some of the wonderful memories we have. The atmosphere is great (even for a Monday night) however the service was polite but I doubt if any of them have ever been to Cuba. The food was over priced and below average. We ordered a whole lobster for starter and out of my half I think I got 4 bites. It was overcooked and chewy, I complainted and they took a bottle of wine off the meal. The chateaubriand was below average although the vegetables was good. And to top it you have to pay a service charge of 12.5%, so a meal for 2 with a bottle of wine was over £130 - expensive and not at all worth it - shame!”
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Lisa Jay, Woking (4 years 9 months 20 days ago)
“Fabulous food, fabulous service, fabulous cocktails, fabulous atmosphere! In fact, ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! Book a table today! (Very lively and quite noisey, ask for a table in the raised area if you want a little more peace and quiet).”
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Sam, London (5 years 4 months 10 days ago)
“Fantastic place - great atmosphere, food and caparinias to die for. I recommend the melon and passionfruit. ”
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Stacey Blumenthal, London (5 years 5 months 18 days ago)
“Easily the best restaurant in London. Not just the food, the cocktails are awesome, the music is fantastic and is a true pleasure whilst you dine to have fabulous Cuban live music playing. The staff are brilliant, fast and friendly, the general atmosphere is delightful, the wines are stunning and the food (especially the Cuban Lobster) is just truly class. It's genuinely hard to find a better place to eat, drink and dance in one place in London.”
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Richard, London (5 years 6 months 11 days ago)
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