Clash were lucky enough to have been invited down to the opening night of Havana Club Rum's 2 week takeover at Casa Havana in Soho. We arrived early to catch an intimate performance from Daymé Arocena, leading light from Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura Mix project on Brownswood Recordings and soak in the ambience. Daymé truly is a breathtaking performer, a vision in her trade mark white dress. Drawing you into music and rhythms of Cuba through her incredible range, energy and vivid story telling between songs. The perfect accompaniment to the food & drinks flowing freely we were legitimately entranced.
Cuba’s most loved rum brand has invited Londoners to experience a series of events in true Cuban surroundings, starting with a five course dining experience curated by Street Feast founder Dom Cools-Lartigue. Inspired by his recent trip to Havana – where he met with chefs and sampled local markets and ’paladars’ for inspiration. Safe to say it was a Cuban feast for the senses, attention to detail has been paid throughout and the result is genuinely a stunning evening out, the Silver Pineapple cocktail was star of the show for us.
While enjoying drinks at the Casa Havana bar, guests will be able to enjoy exclusive artwork specially created by renowned street artist Ben Eine, and also enjoy a transportative virtual reality experience lifting them out of Soho and onto the streets of Havana. Taking inspiration from all aspects of Cuban culture, the short narrative delves into a local Cuban’s life, as visitors become intertwined with his story, before finishing with a well earned cocktail.
Liam Murphy, Senior Brand Manager of Havana Club says: ”Casa Havana is a celebration of authentic Cuban culture, brought to life through collaborations between real Cubans and some of London’s best talent. We hope that we have been able to capture the true spirit of Cuba through our key activation pillars; Food, Music, Colour…….and Drink.”
Havana Club is Cuba’s authentic rum brand owned in part by the Cuban government. It continues to embody the heritage and supremacy of the Cuban rum-making tradition, with all Havana Club rum still produced in Cuba, by Cubans. Casa Havana will give a taste of what a magical place Cuba is embracing its culture. Head down tonight and over the weekend this project has our full stamp of approval. It would easy to just superimpose the messages and hope for the best but the attention to detail paid here is legit.
Address: 15 Bateman Street, Soho, W1D 3AQ
Opening hours: Thursday & Friday: 4pm – midnight | Saturday: 1pm – midnight.
Listen to the Havana Cultura Series here and Reserve tickets for the dining experience here.
