Recipe for a successful Cuban restaurant: start with someone who actually knows how to cook Cuban food, add months and months of hard work and frustration, put together a menu that includes the classics with a touch of pure Gallego, then open the door on that first day in business and keep your fingers crossed!

Mojitos & Tapas Restaurant & Bar is located in Warrenton, Virginia about 45 miles from Washington, DC. Owner Jackie Hitchcock has created what has all the earmarks of an instant classic. Cuban-born Executive Chef Marisela Rams is the wizard in the kitchen here and with an ambitious menu that includes a wide selection of tapas plates, the cuisine here combines the best of Cuban and Spanish food.

A couple can easily make a great meal here just by making several selections from the tapas side of the menu. However, with Cuban food this good, you might want to sample a couple of tapas plates as an appetizer.

Start out with the classic Manchego cheese and Serrano ham, a rich tortilla Española, or ceviche de camarones – shrimp ceviche. If you want to keep strictly Cuban, they also serve Cuban tamales, masitas, and chicken and ham croquetas.

Not to be missed Cuban entrees include the pollo asado, a garlic-infused roasted chicken, palomilla steak, and the fricase de puerco an interesting take on the typical chicken dish. Seafood entrees of note include zarzuela de mariscos, a seafood laden dish in a tomato-based Creole-style sauce. Or sample the stuffed calamari and the stuffed shrimp.

Call ahead for a reservation as this restaurant is without equal in the area!