Mojito is sublime

You are going to need more room. Start drawing plans now to knock out a wall, Fernando. As soon as the first bite hits the mouth you will be telling yourself "This place will be packed every night." And rightfully so.

Walking in to Mojito has a soothing quality as the rush and rumble of the day is muted by the cool, dark green walls. Black and white photos of Habana street and nightlife were on the walls. Sturdy tables, a banquette running the length of the left wall and booths on the right can fit whatever dining mood you may be in. But as fine as the ambience is it will an afterthought when you taste the food. My wife and I dove in.

We started with Ensalata Mediterranea- lettuce, marcona almonds, pine nuts, shaved fig bread, feta cheese crumbles, olives, grapes, raisins in a fig muscatel dressing. Perfect combinations. The fig bread is moist with the dressing and packs some serious flavor.

Next came an order of 3 hummus with pita wedges. Black bean, roasted red pepper & paprika and the third escapes me. Sorry. All very flavorful, the roasted red pepper one instantly disappeared followed quickly by the other 2.

We debated about ordering one of the 3 types of Paellas y Arroces. They are for 2-4 people and require 30-45 minute cooking time. As everything looked so good we decided to save that for the next trip. The 3 versions are seafood, vegetable and chicken.

Next we decided on Pinchos (skewers). My wife chose Pincho Morano, a pork tenderloin skewer served with a port reduction sauce.
I chose Pincho de Solo Millo, beef tenderloin skewer with crumbled blue cheese and a spanish port reduction. Both also had what we think were matchstick potatos on the plate but they too disappeared before we thought to ask what they were. We passed both back and forth with wide eyes. Alongside we also ordered Boniato Frito, the succulent sweet potato french fries with a knock-out dipping sauce of smoked honey. Think sweet, roasted, smoky, addictive sauce.

Throwing all semblance of moderation to the wind we finished with Crema Catalana, spanish custard with a melted, glazed sugar top and Churros con Chocolate, spiral thin doughnuts with a whipped cream covered chocolate sauce for dipping.

Not a single bite of the meal was out of place. Presentation was understated elegance. Food comes out as it is ready so try not to think in terms of salad/appetizer/main/dessert. Think of a languid summer evening with friends and family sampling delicious bites and unwinding from your day.

Thanks Fernando for a special evening, a rare treat and a great start to your place. You are going to need more space!

Wow, Ed! Your description makes me want to jump up and run out there - - guess I'll have to wait a bit!! Hard to believe the Ville is so blessed to have 2 excellent Cuban restaurants.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks Fernando for a special evening, a rare treat and a great start to your place. You are going to need more space!

Outstanding review, Ed! Thanks for sharing it.

So agree, Ed!!! Did you go last night? I thought I might have seen you there, but was quickly distracted with the wonderful cuisine!!

I also loved the ambiance - very relaxed. Classy, yet calming (<-good word choice). Even though it is the middle of a somewhat busy shopping center, it felt like an escape.

The staff was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and accomodating. We were served by Jesus! ~lol~ Seriously, Jesus ("hay-sus") was very congenial and helpful with our menu selections, and he definitely steared us in the right directions. But my guess is there is nothing less than wonderful coming out of that kitchen. Everything we tasted was divine. And the presentation, the way things come out of the kitchen, made it a simple but wonderful experience. As Ed said, things come out when they're ready. It's truly more of a tapas experience than the typical progression of dinner selections, and I absolutely love that type of dining adventure. Great place to meet up with some friends and try lots of different flavors.

Speaking of flavors, this is what we sampled:

So agree, Ed!!! Did you go last night? I thought I might have seen you there, but was quickly distracted with the wonderful cuisine...

I also loved the ambiance - very relaxed. Classy, yet calming (<-good word choice). Even though it is the middle of a somewhat busy shopping center, it felt like an escape.

The staff was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and accomodating. We were served by Jesus! ~lol~ Seriously, Jesus ("hay-sus") was very congenial and helpful with our menu selections, and he definitely steered us in the right directions. But my guess is there is nothing less than wonderful coming out of that kitchen. Everything we tasted was divine. And the presentation, the way things come out of the kitchen, made it a simple but wonderful experience. As Ed said, things come out when they're ready. It's truly more of a tapas experience than the typical progression of dinner selections, and I absolutely love that type of dining adventure. Great place to meet up with some friends and try lots of different flavors.

Speaking of flavors, this is what we sampled:

"Trio de Hummus - Black bean hummus, garbanzo hummus, and roasted red pepper and paprika humus served with olives, almonds, tomatoes, onions, sumac, pine nuts, olive oil and parsley." Our favorite was also the roasted red pepper hummus, but all were good. Hubby found the bread to be a little tough for him which we shared w/Fernando, but it seems it could be just a matter of quicker grilling time.

"New Zealand lamb chips lightly seasoned and grilled." These tasted wonderful, and were perfectly cooked to a medium rare, and very tender. But they seemed to be simply salt and peppered and grilled. Nothing wrong with that, by any means, but if you are expecting different flavors, this is not where you find them. I could very well be wrong, so correct me if that's the case. Loved them, none-the-less...

"Tabla de Chimichurris - grilled skirt steak served wtih green chimichurri and papitas frias" (<-like potato sticks) Woooooonderful. The steak was again, cooked to perfection, and the chimichurri complimented the steak with an excellant accent that made a call of, "here we are!!" Yuuuum.

"Pincho ded Solomillo - beef tenderloin skewer topped with crumbled cabrales blue cheese and Spanish port reductions sauce" This was such a seductive dish, to say the least. The meat was tender and perfectly cooked, and the combination of the sweet balsamic and the surprise of the sharp blue was a mouth explosion. How many ways can you spell smile?? That was my question.

"Queso Fundido - Melted Spanish Tetilla cheese,topped with crispy chorizo and Serrano Ham, served with bread" Ok, it's almost impossible to go wrong with hot melted cheese, as far as we're concerned, and this Spanish cheese was very enticing, and we very much enjoyed it. But the promise of chorizo and ham was more of a light sprinkle than what we expected from the menu. No complaints, honestly, just different than what we expected because of the way the menu read. Fernando was very open to this type of criticism, and in fact, welcomed it. He wants to make this place the best it can possibly be. And he's well on his way to making it just that. Not only will we be back, but we will be regulars. What an amazing treat to have just around the corner.

Hey Kim.

My wife and I were there Saturday night. We were on the left side right in the middle, large moustache but no sunglasses (me, not the bride) . After we tucked into the food I honestly think a polar bear could have ridden a unicycle through the front door and we wouldn't have noticed. Is anyone planning on going tonight?

Yep, it WAS you! Thought about saying hi, but like you, once the plates started coming, all else became invisible!

Yep, I saw ya there! We got there a little later, around 8ish, and sat at the first table on the left as you walk in the door. I was the one who couldn't quit smiling Drove by tonight, and the parking lot looked pretty full. So excited to have such an amazing restaurant on this end of town, and we'll be back again very soon!

Any idea if they are open for lunch during the weekdays?

[Robin Garr]

Any idea if they are open for lunch during the weekdays?

At this time it's dinner only, but I'm told they intend to add lunch eventually.

Lori: We are going to open just dinner Monday thru Saturday for 2 weeks, then we are going to open for lunch and later we are going to do brunch on Sundays. Thanks Fernando.

Thanks Ed and Kim. It was a pleasure meeting you guys the other night, thank you for your input and comments.

Thank you for the info! We'll be in Thursday evening for dinner if all goes well...looking forward to it!

Did Fernando ever decide if he was going to accept reservations?

I was there on Friday night and we did try the Paella. It was wonderful! Well worth the wait. I was with a large group and I actually think between all of us we may have tried every thing on the menu!

Kati

One word can pretty much sum up my experience on Tuesday night. "WOW!!!!" Every dish I sampled was truly one of the best examples of what good simple dishes, prepared with the finest quality ingredents and having them presented well, can be. You guys have hit a home run way out of the park. From the inviting atmosphere, friendly effiicent service and of course the great food you should pat yourselves on the back. Every one should put Mojito's on the top of your to do list because this will easly become the hippest new restaurant since Proof opened.
Also, I understand that they are going to be taking reservations for Derby Eve and Night, and from what I understand, they might be serving a prix fixe menu that I think will include paella.