Embargo 62 is a Cuban restaurant on Cherokee Boulevard, near Chattanooga’s North Shore. They serve tasty food and great drinks in a casual “Cuban-style” atmosphere.
It seems like there are lots of new restaurants cropping up in Chattanooga lately! This week I all of a sudden got an urge to check out Embargo 62, the new Cuban restaurant on Cherokee Boulevard. My urge was solidified after I checked out their menu online.
When we got there at around 1, it was open seating (unsure of whether seating is open all the time) and there were quite a few tables open. We decided to sit on the covered patio. It’s a kind of beachy atmosphere, with glass light fixtures and bright furniture and lots of wood.
Our server, Lucy, quickly brought us our menus and waters, told us what beers were available, and recommended that we order the mojito gold. Philip decided to order a North Coast Brewing Puck saison and I stuck with the mojito criollo, with white rum, fresh lime juice, fresh mint, sugar, and club soda (I didn’t want to pay extra ?? to get an extra shot of rum). Our drinks came out quickly; my mojito was refreshing and light. You can check out Philip’s review of Puck here.
We decided against ordering an appetizer, but the appetizer menu consisted of ceviche, empanadas, mussels, and fried plantains with truffle oil. I had a difficult time deciding whether to order a sandwich (the Elena Ruz, with roast turkey, cream cheese, and strawberry jam on a semi sweet bun sounded very tempting) or a Completa, or complete meal. Ultimately, I decided on a completa and set to making a decision between the lechon, slow roasted mojo marinated pork, served with Congri (black bean and rice blend) and sweet plantains, and the palomilla, marinated top sirloin served with black beans over white rice with sweet plantains. I finally settled on the palomino, which turned out to be a huge piece of top sirloin that was surprisingly tender considering how thin it was. The rice was cooked well and seasoned perfectly, and the black beans were delicious, with lots of herby seasoning. The plantains were also great, lightly fried, no seasoning.
Philip thought the El Barrigon (burger) sounded pretty tempting. Their burger was a half pound blend of ground sirloin and pork belly (which was what sold him on the burger) with melted Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. The pork belly adds a pretty substantial amount of fat to the burger, which = flavor & tenderness. The burger was well-seasoned, well-cooked, and very tasty. The sandwiches are served with plantain chips, which are ??delicious??; Philip also decided to order a side (which was a pretty substantial basket) of their hand-cut fries for $3.00 and wow. They were fantastic: light, crunchy, perfectly golden, and perfectly salted. We had to move the basket out of the way so we’d stop eating them!
Our server, Lucy, was friendly and attentive. The atmosphere at Embargo 62 was really cool and the menu limited (which, if you read my blog very often you know I think is a good thing because they can focus on making the few items on the menu great) and authentic. The prices were reasonable (that is, competitive with similar restaurants); our pre-tip total including a beer, a cocktail, a burger, fries, and an entree was about $37. If you like Cuban food (or just want to find out if you like Cuban food) you should definitely check out Embargo 62! By the way, we parked in the pay lot near Whole Foods and walked down, but Embargo 62 offers complementary valet parking.
Embargo 62 is located at 301 Cherokee Boulevard, Chattanooga, TN 37405. You can call them at (423) 551-4786. They are open Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-12 a.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-1:30 a.m. You can read more about them on their website, www.embargo62bar.com, like Embargo 62 on Facebook, and follow @embargo62 on Twitter.
Thanks for your comments, but remember that Chattavore is a positive site. I reserve the right to delete any comments that contain unnecessary negativity!