Havana Cafe

This restaurant was shocking to me. I wasn't expecting to find good Cuban food in Ahwakukee. The sampler plate has pork, chicken and beef and is big enough to share. Their sangria has good spice to it and the mojoto makes you feel like you are in Cuba! Some nights there is live music. The food and drink selection is great and the atmosphere is cozy. more

My Mom and I decided to check this restaurant out because we were in the mood for Sangria (which is apparently one of their specialties). The restaurant itself is adorable- really feels like you stepped into another world- but I think that they probably dumped more money into the scenery than the food. We ordered Sangria and tapas. My Mom swore that the Sangria tasted like nail polish remover. I was disturbed by how incredibly sweet it was. Our tapas were even less spectacular. The empanadas were STILL FROZEN inside and not tasty at all. I think they bought them from Costco and nuked them before serving. We also had fried plantains, which weren't bad, but way too greasy for my taste. The only good thing about our experience was our waiter, Sergio, who was SO NICE! He was very sweet and friendly, and we had a nice time chatting with him. In spite of our good service, I still wouldn't recommend this place- the food is not palatable. Pros: Cute atmosphere, our waiter was very sweet Cons: Bad Food, Questionable Sangria more

My wife and I ate here last night... The lady who seated us was a cold and sour faced woman who was terse and unhelpful. Bloated prices, inaccurate menu descriptions, some unhelpful staff. I ordered a Jamaican root beer, 25 minutes later she came back to tell me that they were in fact out of stock then turned and walked away, no offer to get something else to drink nor did she try to up sell me one of the other over priced items from the menu, she did go to the effort to give us some line about some supplier who sometimes went to restock in California...sometimes...The next time she was scurrying across the only partially (about a third) full restaurant I caught her attention to order a coke. While she did manage to find me a coke, she never came back to provide a refill at any point in the meal. So to the food... My starter was a mush that allegedly had pork in it yet tasted like...mushed up white bread with a garlic sauce that smelled like a wet dog. I ordered the Jamaican chicken for the main course. Again, completely disappointing. I don't think I have eaten anything blander in my life but it was up there with the blandness of the starter. The menu claimed that the Jamaican chicken was pieces of white chicken meat on the bone, lightly breaded and spiced and deep fried. I was presented with a large plate that was about 90% black beans and rice and large chunks of onions sprinkled across about %20 of the bean/rice slop. The 'chicken pieces' (perhaps 7 small pieces) had chicken that did not taste all that appetizing (dry, practically flavorless, actually ended up checking to see if it was properly cooked due to not quite right state of the meat) but I foolishly consumed most of them, I couldn't actually eat three of them as they were nothing more than pieces of deep fried bone with a lightly breaded covering... This morning when I woke up my stomach was not a happy camper. I am sitting here at work fighting the urge to evacuate the contents of said stomach. Pros: Change of scenery Cons: Unfriendly staff, dodgy chicken more

We ate liver and onions that tasted like brisket and brisket that was better than roast beef. Flavorful meals with attentive staff and lovely ambience. Pork dishes are outstanding as is their rice. more