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Havana Restaurant
Tel: (604) 253-9119- Cuisine: Cuban, Latin American
- Price: $$ ($15 - $30)
- Reservations: Not accepted
The Restaurant offers Nuevo Latino Cuisine and authentic Cuban cocktails in a funky, distressed, casual setting. Havana has a large well-heated all-weather patio that is situated directly across from Grandview Park with a view of the city skyline and the Coastal Mountain Range.
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- Reviews56
Reviews
Came in for breakfast last Sunday. I had not been to Havana for some time as I remember the wait was really bad on the weekend. Low and behold... got seated within five minutes. The place was really busy. Had the Huevos Rancheros egg dish. Lovely! My wife had the Eggs Benedict, also very good. Service was solid too! Friendly staff prompt and pleasant! Fresh squeezed OJ and all! Since I'm in the neighborhood, I'll definitely be back! Great breakfast... cool place! I like!
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Went for brunch on Sat. July 24 and sat on the patio. Well, I had to turn my chair sideways as the chair from the next table left me about 8 inches. My friend and I both ordered the Fritatta for 13.00 and it arrived fairly quickly, but was lukewarm at best and unfortunately was missing the promised goat's cheese and potatoes, so it was fairly small. The "grilled" tortilla that was mentioned on the menu was simply one taken from the package and folded...BUT as it turns out, this tortilla came in real handy to soak up the grease from the bottom of the bowl. The "roasted vegetables" had no taste and seemed like they were leftovers from the night before. The water was fine though. Why the patio was 3/4 full was beyond me!! My friend also had the iced coffee which seemed ok and was 3.99 Not again.........meh
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This is one of the few places that is consistently busy on Commercial Drive -- on sunny days. It has a large patio and an interesting interior, but that's pretty much all it has going for it. There are about two dishes on the entire menu that are haflway decent, and everything else is just lousy and inedible. The crabcakes are rubbery and sit like a lead brick, but their pasta is sometimes okay. It's all extremely, extremely overpriced -- although I imagine the crowd it attracts wouldn't think so. Some of the staff are friendly, and the other half are horribly rude, so fingers crossed that you get the nice waitress who actually comes back to your tabel and takes your order within the first half hour.
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I am very surprised by any good review of this establishment. Equally surprised that it won some Georgia Straight award (really makes me question integrity of award). And are surprised this place gets any customers.
It must be for the alcohol and deck since their food is REALLY bad yet they charge like they're the friggin' Four Seasons. Have been here twice (at friend's insistence) and have been disappointed buy the food each time.
They should have a menu or restaurant makeover...
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This place is so over-hyped and under-valued. The food is average at best but throw in their pricing and it's all of a sudden POOR. The decor is a little funky - but unfortunately, I CAN'T eat decor.
They are in desperate need of an experienced "Cuban-trained" chef that can replicate the flavors of Cuba. What they've done is more of a faux-Cuban.
With so many GREAT places on the drive - this is best to miss. GO to Stellas, Fets or Lomabardos instead - you'll thanks me
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I heard a lot of rave for this place! From the tasteful interior, to the mouthwatering and authentic food.. But was I in for a turn?
PROS:
- Great ambiance, it's nicely decorated. Very distressed, original. LOVE IT!
- Friendly service, always a smile on their faces, enthusiastic to please.
- Warm patio on a cold night, hurray!
CONS:
- The flavours of the dishes were ordinary, NOTHING memorable. I could get tastier and AUTHENTICALLY AUTHENTIC food for under $15!
- Portions were shockingly small. My paella was the exactly the size of a closed fist. My friend's ropa vieja seemed like a lot of food, but it was all spread out on the plate. In reality, it was very thin and flat, but with the illusion that a lot of food was given. We felt ripped off! Our dishes were about $25!
- Left the restaurant completely starving! Had to grab a hot-dog downtown! That was enjoyable.
In the end, I would never come back! Their ropa vieja was supposed to be the star of the restaurant! And if that was disappointing, I'm pretty sure everything else on the menu is at the same level.
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Had lunch at the drive. There were 6 of us and we had made reservations for lunch but they only had a small table available. This was ok. Had the yam fries which were good. Their soup was good also. Had a chicken wrap which was good. The restaurant was busy. The service was good but a bit pricey for what you get. I would go back as i would not mind trying different things.
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I was here a few weeks back. I have to say, I was strolling up and down the street looking for a place to eat and saw this restaurant bustling with people and decided to try it out. I found the service to be great, although a bit pricey for the food you get. All in all, it was OK. It's not the first place that would pop to mind if I wanted to take someone to a new restaurant though.
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On Friday I sat on Havana's patio and enjoyed a great crowd, close company, and excellent food and plenty of drinks. Even on a rainy Nov night the patio is one heck of a place to hangout, probably my favorite on the drive.
This visit I had the Ropa Vieja and the plate was outstanding. Plenty of meat on this plate served perfectly. The Red Sangria was on par as always served in a generous pitcher. My guest were very impressed. Goodtimes as always.
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The food is amazing. They know what goes best and you have a wide variety of things to choose from.
From their dinner menu, I've had the chicken wrap and the burger... both of which were amazing.
The brunch is incredible. I've had the veggie has almost everytime and it is incredible.
Coffee and specialty drinks made here are fantastic too. A nice, bright and warm ambience is what to expect.
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Havana is a great place to go for a few drinks on the patio on a summer afternoon. Service is almost always prompt, courteous, and fun; drinks are delicious and not too badly priced. I'm always a little bit disappointed with the food though-- its not that it isn't usually good, as it is, (I went there for brunch and had the skillet eggs, very saucy but very good) but its also usually quite overpriced I find. It's decent food, but its not worth paying as much as you pay for it. The atmosphere is fun though, and I like the added touch of the art gallery in the back room.
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Service:
My date and i arrived without a reservation since they didn't take any, so we were seated right away. the hostess was quirky and friendly, easily breaking the ice and making us feel very comfortable. the menu came quickly and our waiter was extremely friendly and helpful.
when we left though, around 7-8, there is a crowd waiting outside, so i believe there may be a waiting time for that time.
Food:
i ordered a seafood linguini (clams, shrimp, in a basil, olive oil, tomato sauce). the clam was the best i ever had, so juicy and delicious. i especially liked how the sauce wasn't too overpowering, like it is at so many other places.
my date ordered the braised pork, which was the delicious fatty part of the pig. while i prefer to avoid these dishes, he really liked it and of the bits that i tried, it was very well flavoured and enjoyable.
Value:
the meal came down to $35 for two people. it wasn't a "deal" or "amazing price" but it was reasonable and fairly cheap, because the portions were fair and we both ended up satisfied and full.
Ambiance:
this was my favourite part of the restaurant. while it was kind of hot, luckily we sat by the door and it was much better than the seat that were deeper inside. with ceiling fans and wooden interior, it gives off a feeling that's not too formal, excellent for catching up with old friends or just hanging out. very memorable
overall
i really love this restaurant and i'm definitely going back there and recommending this place to everyone i know!
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Looking for a fun place to go, a small group of us hit up Havana’s over the weekend for a late dinner. With it being fireworks night, we were betting the restaurant would be a little less busy than normal, and we’d be able to grab a table straight away. It didn’t quite work exactly as planned – the patio was still packed and we had to sit inside – but at least there wasn’t a long wait.
Once settled in, we immediately ordered a pitcher of sangria. There are a couple of different blends available, and we voted to try the tropical. I don’t know if there was a mix-up with the order, because when our sangria came, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly tropical about it. It was perfectly fine otherwise – cool, refreshing, and packed with fresh (although not tropical) fruit. But, as someone in our group remarked, it would’ve been even better if they’d thrown a mango or kiwi into the mix.
For my main, I chose the braised lamb shank with potatoes and au jus. The lamb itself was beautiful – moist and fall-off-the-bone tender. Unfortunately, the gravy (and I’m not normally one to complain about gravy) leaned towards the salty side, to the point that I couldn’t even detect the chipotle in the dish. I consider myself to be more tolerant of salt than most people, but even for me it was almost too much. The others in the group were okay with their food, though; the only nitpick I overhead regarding a general dislike for the beans (fortunately there weren’t any in my order).
In terms of service and ambiance, Havana’s scores good marks. Our server was bright, attentive, and really seemed to make an effort to make dinner fun. And, even though we didn’t get a patio table overlooking the Drive as originally planned, it was still cool eating inside the restaurant. With its distressed walls lined with graffiti and old photos, not to mention the oppressive heat of that night, we really did feel like we were dining somewhere in Latin America. Havana’s offers a unique dining experience that’d I’d try again.
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The best part of this restaurant is the ambiance. They have a nice outdoor patio and the inside is interesting. Everything else about it is pretty poor though, particularly the management. The manager was rude and un-accommodating. I won't go back because of her. The wait staff was also very rude as they wouldn't accommodate seating for five people! Ridiculous. Also, the food is ok, but is over priced for what it is. There are much better choices on the Commercial Drive.
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Havana is an icon on the drive, it certainly isn't because of the food though - some of the dishes are decent value, especially lunch-time, but you'll find much better food on the drive or anywhere in town for the same value.
The patio is great, and the drinks are really good, it's a great place to hang out, and for some reason you feel like this is what the Drive "feels like" and is all about.
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We recently dropped in for dinner on a Friday night with another couple and luckily got the last open booth as the place was packed. The service and food was good, my wife was particularily happy with the veggie burger although I didn't pay much attention as I worked on a nice piece of salmon. I really enjoyed the mojitos with all the fresh mint leaves...delicious.All and all, a fun dinner with good company and good food.
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Me and my husband went on late Saturday nite. I just felt the food was way over priced for what we had. A small basket of Yam Fries $9. (Steamworks serves double portion for only $6.) Tilapia fish /w veg and rice $17, Paella $19, They were both surprisingly SMALL portion (for even a tiny woman like me) and just very very SALTY that I couldn’t even finish. I expected some seafood on Paella as it's described on the menu but there were lots of cheap sausage pieces and only little bit of tiny shrimps. The only good thing I had was Sangria which was $8 a glass. This type of drink can't really go wrong anyway. We paid over $75 for unfulfillable food. I would never go there again.
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A group of friends met here last night for supper and a chat. Haven't been here in a while... I really like it. The waitress was super in that she remembered which wine each of us were drinking and was helpful re menu items. I'd the polenta appetizer which was really delicious - it's hard to find really good polenta (yes, I know, that may sound a bit of an oxymoron to many) and more than enough to satisfy my somewhat small appetite. Everyone enjoyed their respective meals. I also enjoy the wee gallery at the back tho' currently the exhibit is a bit limited. The food here is far superior to anything ever experienced in our travels in Cuba but it has to be admitted that food in Cuba is pretty dismal!
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I always have high hopes when deciding on Havana. It's always the same.
Friendly service.
Nice patio.
Disappointing food.
My crunchy chicken sandwich cost $13. Add another $2.50 for the yam-fries and the McChicken Sandwich i just ate cost just a little too much.
But you got to give it to the Havana patio. People waching doesn't get any better than this...unless you have magical powers to become invisible.
And you can always count on some dude to be smoking a joint just within smelling distance.
Next time I'll just have some beverages.
Werd Out.
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A few people from Vancouver and myself met at Havana to recap a trip where we met (Cuba) just in December. We had reservations but it was very busy and we hung out in the lounge just long enough to order one drink then our waiter seated us. Our group was 8 and our waiter Scott sent us over complementary jam fries to hold us over as a token of appreciation for our patience. Our waitress Natalie was awesome and friendly and served us with ample enough speed and always with a smile. Overall our food was all good. I had the muscles and bread and everyone ordered something different and we all had a great meal., so coodos to Havana Restaurant and know that some of us Vancouverites think you are doing an owesome job!! ns from North Shore
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Links
Nearby Restaurants
| 1. | Fets Bar and Grill (23 m) | |
| 2. | Stella's Tap and Tapas Bar (23 m) |  |
| 3. | Taiyo Sushi (32 m) |  |
| 4. | Asiana Sushi Japanese Restaurant (35 m) | |
| 5. | Theresa's (49 m) | |
| 6. | Joe's Cafe (63 m) | |
| 7. | Turk's Coffee Exchange (65 m) | |
| 8. | Portuguese Club of Vancouver (69 m) | |
| 9. | Tio Pepe's (79 m) | |
| 10. | Elizabeth's Hungarian Bakery (92 m) | |