Pioneers of the fusion revolution Asia de Cuba sign up for Standard's Night Market

Trailblazing fusion restaurant Asia de Cuba was today confirmed as the latest top signing for the Evening Standard’s Night Market.

A pioneering venue in London, the Sino-Cuban restaurant opened its doors in the late Nineties — with Kate Moss, Brad Pitt and Jade Jagger all regular diners at the Covent Garden hotspot.

Now Asia de Cuba’s executive chef Luis Pous, who was born and raised in Havana, is bringing a selection of his signature dishes to the London Food Month Night Market for six days.

It is the longest period for which the restaurant has dedicated its team — led by head chef Michael Hanbury — to a festival-style street food stand.

Asia de Cuba joins Richard Caring’s celebrity juggernaut The Ivy, which was announced as a Night Market headliner yesterday.

Angela Hartnett’s restaurants and London BBQ joint Smokestak are among the other highlights of the 12-day food extravaganza.

Mr Pous, who recently opened a venue in Manama, Bahrain, told the Standard that guests may expect two types of ceviche on their stall — one made from grouper, a fish commonly found in the Caribbean, and another from scallop and cobia.

​Calamari salad, the most famous of the restaurant’s signature dishes, will also be served. It includes banana, cashews, chayote and an orange-sesame vinaigrette.

The menu is completed with a selection of Cuban sandwiches and mini Mexican doughnuts for dessert.

Mr Pous said: “The [restaurant] market in London has exploded and we are very, very excited to be coming to the Night Market. We are an old restaurant, but we have big modern ideas that will bring something great to the market.”

Asia de Cuba was set up by Miami-born restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow, who grew up eating Cuban food with his family as a child.

He opened his first Asia de Cuba in 1997 in New York. Its menu was inspired by Havana’s Chinatown, which is believed to be one of the largest in Latin America due to the 175,000-plus Chinese immigrants who came to Cuba in the late 19th century to work on the island’s sugar and coffee plantations.

Mr Chodorow opened the London Asia de Cuba in 1999 at the St Martins Lane Hotel.

The hotel and the restaurant were refurbished two years ago and Mr Pous was hired to modernise the menu. A further revamp of the restaurant was carried out at the end of last year.

Asia de Cuba will be at the Night Market between June 13-18. For more information visit londonfoodmonth.co.uk

The London Food Month Night Market opens on June 7. Limited offer: 2-for-1 tickets. Enter code FOOD at londonfoodmonth.co.uk/night-market. Terms apply