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Buena Vista

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Slug
Slug
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4 out of 5
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1
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4
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Buena Vista

  • January 30, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Slug from Huddersfield, United Kingdom
Buena Vista

If I could have my Krakow stay again, I would have arranged to visit the Buena Vista Restaurant for dinner rather than lunch. At least I managed to enjoy one meal at this excellent and friendly Cuban style bar/restaurant.

Buena Vista is located on ul Jozefa in the heart of the old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz. We were keen to rest our legs and grab a drink, and the Buena Vista just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

It is something of a tradition that we have at least one Mojito (a rum and fresh mint and crushed ice based drink) on vacation, and as they originate in Cuba, a Cuban theme bar was a no brainer for a pit stop.

The bar looked inviting from the outside, and we liked the sharp yellow interior, and very bright and well stocked bar showing pictures from Cuba, including one of our man Fidel.

While we have had a few Mojitos across the world, no bar before has ever presented us with a choice of different flavours. I went with the original rum and mint variety, while my dining companions went with a vanilla and a melon. Each Mojito cost between £4 - 5 ($8 - 10). Our bartender quickly went to work, effectively knocking up our drinks. Draft beer was available for our fourth companion who wasn’t playing the lunchtime Mojito game.

We weren’t disappointed with the quality of the Mojito. My classic was as good as any I have had. There were oodles of mint, and the drink was not too sweet, with a fair (but not excessive) kick of rum. The Melon in particular was laden with fruit, to the point that the last few drops were difficult to suck out.

As we were enjoying our drinks, we decided to idly peruse the food menu. I was very intrigued by the main courses, which looked far more exciting than anything we were offered in produce scarce Cuba. I was pleased to see that the old staples of Plantain Chips and Moors and Christians (rice and black beans) were given as side dishes as standard. I can’t think of anything more Cuban!

Each of the main courses were fairly expensive by Polish standards (between £8 - £10 ($16 - 20)) but looked excellent.

I liked the idea of the Tuna steak, or Pork in Cumin, but my companions had spotted the Tapas menu. This seemed more appropriate for a quick lunchtime graze, and so we went for the 12-dish option (which provided a light lunch for four for around £10 ($20) total). I imagine 18 dishes would give a party of four a fair sized meal, particularly if you also ordered a salad or two.

The Buena Vista menu offered a choice of around 18 different dishes, so we chose all different ones, including fresh barbeque tuna pieces, potato in tomatoes, fried mackerel, breaded mushrooms, Chorizo in red wine, meatballs, and spinach tart. There was certainly enough variety for the vegetarian in our party to pick at happily.

We decided to pad out our meal with bread, and a salad. We actually wanted a plain green salad or something similar, so was a little disappointed to find that all the salads contained meat of some kind. The wait staff had excellent English, and so had no problems understanding our request for the fennel and turnip salad without the ham.

The Tapas arrived quite promptly, and we were impressed with the presentation; each Tapas arrived in its own wooden bowl. I’m pleased I didn’t have to do the clearing away, or the washing up!

Each of the Tapas was substantial enough to give two of the party a sample, so if there are a number of you and there’s something all of you want, order accordingly.

I’m not usually one for sweet, but the thought of chocolate mousse with rosemary just caught my imagination. Alas, as they had none left, we were thwarted. However, it gave us the perfect excuse to go for a traffic light of Mojitos to finish, the Royal (raspberry), Orange, and Blue (actually a little green to complete the traffic light look!).

The Buena Vista is a quiet eatery by day, but it becomes a livelier dance place at night, with Latin vibes until early morning at weekends. While we perhaps didn’t see the place at its liveliest, I found the place really good quality, and as far as the Tapas lunch was concerned excellent value.

From journal The Week we Ate Krakow...

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