Guantanamera Restaurant and Bar

Guantanamera Restaurant and Bar
334 Sixth Street
New Westminster, BC

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Delicias de Alicia for some Cuban food. I really wanted to like the restaurant, given the lack of such restaurant types in Vancouver but, in the end, I thought it failed to deliver. In the comments for that post, reader yoyo mentioned a new Cuban restaurant in the New Westminster area. So, to show some love to that part of Metro Vancouver, for the third time this week, I went to Guantanamera Restaurant and Bar.

Here is one caveat: knowing they have a live band on Friday’s, it might be an understatement that it is somewhat more lively than what I experienced in Delicias. However, this might be a case of apples to oranges. Had I gone on any other day, who knows what it would have been.

After been seated and given the menu, I started looking at the different dishes. Since they made no mention of anything, I would assume all the menu was available. To test that, I ordered lechón something that has to be prepared in advance – though it can also be kept for some time.

When I made my order, the waitress walked away right away without checking which sides I wanted. I though “well, it is not necessarily two sides of my choice!” Five minutes later, she came back and asked to verify. It happens she recently started and hasn’t yet familiarized with the menu. But, just to cover all the bases, I asked for a third side.

Not sure if these are complimentary or they gave it to me because they noticed I was taking pictures. Regardless, I had some funny feelings. I mean, it is not that they HAD to give these free (specially if it was the second case) but the fact that I don’t recall corn chips (or corn in general) is used often in Cuban cuisine! I might be wrong on this statement but, if I am not, it falls back into that Mexican stuff I have had problem in ages… Now, as for the pico de gallo/salsa itself, it was OK. Probably a bit too minced but otherwise average.

And here starts my order… I ordered congri, that Cuban rice and beans mixed version and, along with it, a side of ripe plantains (which was ordered as the third side). In some places, like the US South, rice and beans might be served on top (the beans side looking more like a stew), whereas in others they are cooked together. I personally don’t care which one it is, as it is usually delicious. However, it might be a bit of an acquired taste, as, by itself, it can be somewhat bland. Regardless, the rice and beans here worked quite well for my rice and beans fix. As for the ripe plantain, it was prepared in a way similar to how my mom used to. No, my mom is Chinese but, when she was working in restaurants, this is something she would make for customers – and they enjoyed it.

This is the second side: yuca al mojo. Yuca, aka, cassava root, which is use to make tapioca, is one of those tricky tuber used as food. Usually boiled before other preparations (here, with garlic “sauce”, cooked in soup or fried, as seen here in my trip to Panama). Again, it might be a bit of an acquired taste and I will have to say these were quite good. The texture is similar to that of a starchier potato with garlic goodness taste to it.

Finally, the pièce de résistance, the lechón, or roasted pork. It was a good effort but, unfortunately, there were parts that failed at the end of the day. It has some of the pork goodness I was expecting; however, it lacked *something*. Among things it lacked was some crispiness from the pork rind (I was hoping for cracklings) and I felt some of the juices were lost. It was moist, sure but, there was something missing. Sure, compared to Chinese roasted pork, this one was moister but far from the best lechón I ever had. But, it falls back to the issue of, given the few Cuban options found in Vancouver…

I am sure the question of comparison with Delicias will be made. If I have to say, Guantanamera delivers a better end result. The congri were about par; the two plantain dishes are apple and oranges (given one is semi-green, the other is ripe) but the yuca delivered and while there were faults in the pork, I believe it was way better than the ropa vieja at Delicias. But, then again, there is a bit of apple to oranges.

In my case, I think it will improve with time and, again, given the limited non-Mexican, Latin food, this place will be in my list of will be going back.

Tagged under: Latin America • New Westminster • Pork