Thursday, November 17, 2011

Out with the rum, in with the gin: Cuban-influenced Cienfuegos turning British

[Photo from March 2011 by Bobby Williams]

We're still sorting through the various media accounts and eyewitness recollections from Monday night's CB3/SLA committee meeting... Here's an item of interest via Eater's coverage yesterday.

Over on Avenue A at Sixth Street, the Cienfuegos team was on the docket to change their operation. The big transformation comes with the main space — El Cobre — on the ground floor, where they serve Cuban tapas and mojitos:

They want to keep the upstairs restaurant the same but downstairs they want to run an English fish and chips restaurant. They were approved and are keeping within the same method of operation and hours of use. It will now be called Gin Palace, focusing on gin cocktails and old style English pub fare featuring a selective fish 'n' chips menu.

So, if we have this straight ... the Cuban-influenced rum bar upstairs remains the same... ditto for the bitters tasting room called Amor y Amargo, which replaced the sandwich shop Carteles. And the main space, which opened in December, will now serve fish 'n' chips.

Suppose this means a change in the decor. El Cobre is named after the town where Cuba's patron saint is located... a duplicate statue is on display inside the restaurant ...

[Bobby Williams]

3 comments:

Jessie Gray said...

As long as they don't get rid of the Tres Leches cake! That is absolutely my favorite dessert in the neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

Kinda bummed about this - just started stopping by there for happy hour lately and really enjoyed the drinks and food. Hopefully they don't change things too much.

Anonymous said...

You have got to be kidding me! I hate this place and I hate the people involved in this three part douchery!

Really poor restaurant inspection ratings too. It's only a matter of time before this place goes under. The people involved in this are the people who are destroying our neighborhood, so keep eating there.