One of the biggest changes in downtown Phoenix's restaurant lineup has been the transition from daytime to evening hours.The city center once had many restaurants that catered only to office workers looking for lunch. Now, the opposite is true. With work-from-home and job sprawl as persistent trends and more people either living Downtown or flocking there for entertainment, many lunch-only places have been replaced with bars and restaurants that function as part of a night time economy. One of those recent arrivals is the Cuban-themed cocktail bar Coabana.
The Getaway
Coabana is found in the CityScape development. Although the address says Washington Street, the establishment's door actually faces Central Avenue on the block between Washington and Jefferson that is reserved for pedestrians, buses, and trains as part of the new downtown transit hub. In fact, Coabana's location is right behind a platform for northbound trains, and boarding locations for passengers heading in all other directions are just a block away. Bike racks are situated just outside the CVS drug store across the street or one block away on First Street.
ropa vieja
Coabana is under the same ownership as Pigtails next door, which operates in a semi-speakeasy manner with an unmarked entry that leads customers through the kitchen. Coabana, on the other hand, is highly visible with prominent lettering and an exterior that creates a tropical look. Inside, there are big potted plants, white walls, and Earth-toned seating that suggests a bit of Havana or Miami in the Sonoran Desert. A bar is centrally placed with booths lining the wall and lounge-style seating in both the front and back of the space.
tostones
Identifying itself foremost as a cocktail bar, Coabana serves a menu of both classic and original drinks with an emphasis, not surprisingly, on rum as its primary spirit. That includes not only standbys like mojitos and pina coladas, but also cocktails with literary names such as the Sun Also Rises with an acid tang from grapefruit and lime, as well as beach-themed drinks like the Getaway, which is served tall and full of fruit but manages not to be overly sweet. These were some favorites from 2023, and a new menu has recently debuted with a similar approach.
pork masitas
The 2024 cocktail lineup includes a drink called the Dark and Smokey, a riff on the classic combination of rum and ginger beer with, as its name implies, a bit of smoke rising from the glass for a dramatic effect. The food menu has also expanded with recent additions like Cuban nachos with tortilla chips or plantain planks covered with sauce, black beans, cheese, and meat. While these additions borrow from cross-cultural inspirations in Mexican-American cooking, much of the menu, which focuses mostly on tapas, snacks, and small plates, is rooted in Cuban culinary traditions.
pan con lechon torta
The ropa vieja at Coabana is tender and well-seasoned, even if it's not as abundant in peppers and onions as might be seen in some versions. The small portion, served with rice and black beans, makes an effective light entree, but it's a hard dish for a table to share as tapas. A meaty dish that does lend itself more to communal consumption is the masitas, pork marinated and fried in a manner similar to carnitas and served over guacamole with plantain chips for dipping. Those planks of fried green banana also come in handy for scooping the chunks of the tart shrimp ceviche.
ceviche
Plantains are also served as tostones, in which they are mashed, rather than sliced, and pressed into fritters. They're served with mojo verde, a side sauce of olive oil and garlic that derives its green color from abundant minced cilantro leaves. A mojo sauce is also used to augment the starchy yuca fries. The croquetas, fried balls of breaded minced ham and bechamel sauce, are paired with a mustard dip. All of these dishes are easily passed around a table and divvied up among dining companions, allowing them to fulfill the bar's tapas mission.
salad
Despite its cocktail emphasis, Coabana has sometimes served lunch, with sandwiches and salads available in addition to the regular tapas. A classic Cuban sandwich hits all the expected notes with roasted pork, ham, pickles, mustard, and Swiss cheese. An alternative is the pan con lechon torta, which relies solely on roasted pork and forgoes ham. Inside a telera that manages somehow to be both soft and crispy at the sametime, the tender meat is topped with pickled onions and mojo verde. Both sandwiches come with the option to add a side of plantain chips.
The Sun Also Rises
The on-again, off-again lunch menu also has a salad with a bright assortment of cucumber, tomato, lettuce, and onions. The mojo verde sauce served on the side with many dishes makes a perfect dressing.for this bowl of greens. There is no dessert per se, but the guava and cheese empanadas, a classic combination of flavors within a pastry shell might work in this role. They're quite filling and definitely something that will work for an entire table. Surprisingly, these sweet, creamy treats are paired with a chipotle sauce that seems out of place in this context.
guava and cheese empanadas
Nearly 2000 miles away from Havana, Phoenix has never had an extensive selection of Cuban food, and a full service Cuban restaurant in a gas station along the light rail line recently relocated to Glendale. Nevertheless, Coabana offers a small slice of the best known items in Cuban cuisine in the context of a tropical-themed cocktail bar. Despite the sunny decor, it's a place that is more night than day in terms of its atmosphere. While that might have seemed out-of-place in Downtown ten years ago, it seems to fit well with the trend of the current decade.
1 E. Washington St. #124, Phoenix AZ 85004
http://www.coabanaphx.com
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