Escudo de Cuba

You'll find yourself on a stretch of Stoke Newington that's quietly brilliant, where Escudo de Cuba sits with the kind of unpretentious confidence that makes you want to keep the place to yourself. Walk in and you're transported somewhere warm and welcoming, all low lighting and the sort of convivial energy that suggests the people here actually know what they're doing. The food delivers: proper ropa vieja that falls apart on the fork, rice cooked with actual flavour, and cocktails that don't mess about. It's the sort of place where locals rotate through regularly, which tells you everything you need to know.