Havana Cafe

“And let not forget desert, a warn chocolate fudge brownie with coconut baked on the outside.”

“Best of all, the addicting $8 unlimited mimosas & sangria brunch special will make you VERY happy during your time there.”

“Our appetizer we chose Montaditos (fried plantains, Cuban ropa vieja, drizzled in like sour cream).”

Havana Cafe

Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. A vegetarian friendly Cuban restaurant…in the Bronx? What sorcery is this?!

    While I usually have no issues building a meal from side items at any restaurant, I was very impressed to see vegetarian (and vegan!) options for every course. #swoon Surprisingly the meatarian went full veg for this meal, and we were very impressed with every dish.

    – Pastelon de veduras: first time ever eating pastelon in my life. I have a bone to pick with my Spanish peeps for not shoving this in my face sooner because this appetizer was EVERYTHING! Think a maduro (sweet plantain) casserole. You just can't go wrong with this app.

    – Wild Mushroom Quesadilla: Another winner. Guac wasn't available (not sure if they even make it), so we ordered a side of avocados which took this dish to the next level.

    – To compliment the two star appetizers we ordered staple sides: yucca fries (that garlic sauce, omg!),  sautéed spinach, white rice and black beans.

    For drinks I ordered the classic mojito (light on the sugar) and it was perfectly refreshing for the hot summer day. Food came out quickly and service was on point. Outdoor seating available. Street parking, metered.

    Overall, absolutely no complaints!

  2. Went for brunch, and I got there before it opened and was waiting with quite a few people. The food was so good, the place fills up. Now the only two things I wasn't crazy was 1)I felt I had to chase down my server to get refills on my unlimited sangria/mimosas. So while I loved the drinks I was not able to enjoy to the full 2)the place is loud!

  3. My friend lives near by and had been asking me to come here for brunch for awhile, we finally came on a Sunday and the place was pretty crowded.
    The restaurant is modern and they played really good salsa in the background not super loud like some brunch spots.
    They offer a brunch and regular menu. I didn't even look at the regular menu. I decided to go with the ropa vieja since its probably my favorite Cuban dish over sweet corn arepa. The portion was generous and it was delicious.
    I love that you can pay $8 extra for bottomless sangria. They had 5 different flavors: strawberry, mango, pineapple, white and red. Of course we all added the extra $8 and tried all of the flavors. I found all of them a bit too sweet except for the white.
    My friends wanted dessert therefore we went with the passion fruit flan and coquito (coconut brownie). The flan was okay but the coquito was delicious.
    I really enjoyed our brunch but make sure to have reservations if you are planning on coming.

  4. The energy in here was great. Good place for meeting friends, after work drinks, and basically any occasion.

    We were seated immediately and water was brought to the take shortly after.

    Table turn around is swift and steady. Waiters were on their game and busboys were on cue.

    They brought our drinks and shortly after our dinner. I give the an A+ for presentation. I just wanted to swim in my sauce.

    The monfongo was delicious and moist. Shrimps were cooked perfectly and plenty of them. The sauce was heavenly. It was truly the best dish among my friends. They all tried it and loved it. They will come back and order it for themselves.

    I would definitely come back to have it again.
    A must try when in the area!!! You won't be disappointed!!!

  5. It was my sister's 50th, and the whole family went to celebrate. I've never been to Havana Cafe, and I was pleasantly surprised. Havana Cafe was pumping the minute I walked in.  Interior is all brick (whether it was solid brick or not, it added a kind of cool and old-fashioned hint to Havana). Interior also had a lot of pluses for me, dimly and softly lit- which I always love,  and the balance of the brick with the soft metal sconces and hanging lamps, was cool.

    We were asked to wait a just a tad, in order for our tables to be arranged for our party. Soon after, the host was most certainly attentive. To add on to the festivities, one of my other sisters brought balloons (and the birthday cake).

    Boy…Music was so good, I was dancing in my seat! Too bad we had 8pm reservations, dancing doesn't start til much, much later. The sweet sounds of Merengue, Salsa and Bachata were in the air. I wanted to get up and dance ! It's such a lively and a happy spot to be in.

    What I particularly liked about Havana Cafe, is that despite of the music playing, folks could still carry on with a full conversation. The music's volume was perfect! I've been to other Latin restaurants (in NYC and White Plains) and the music is blaring, and all you can make out is that last word of the other person's sentence.

    Please don't misinterpret me, but there's a time and definitely a place for everything. Obviously in a more reserved restaurant, you're going to refrain from fist pumping and the like, however, in a restaurant like Havana Cafe, you let loose, can get all loud and fist pump all you want.

    Now….. For the service…Can't complain. Our server was in tip-top shape with our orders. Cocktails were pretty potent and dinner was good. Towards the end of our dinner, our server whisked the cake away and brought it back to the table with a cake sparkler and sang 'Happy Birthday'.

    In the end, Havana Cafe was positively pumping and honestly, for a party of 8, and for it to be a Latin restaurant, it didn't break my brother-in-law's pocket.

  6. Third time here. Here for lunch. Nice buzz. Coconut mojitos to start- mmmm what a good start. Mango ribs were tasty and have potential, maybe if there were a few more. The mini empanadas were good. Lunch I had pulled pork- a big hot serving with a few onions and peppers a aside of white rice and black beans completed this meal. She had the skirt steak which isn't traditional on a plate. Instead with a rich sauce with carmelized onions and a side of plantains rice and beans. Not what she was expecting but she was ok with it. Service was ok. Glad to leave and not have take the smell of Havana with me in my hair and coat like last time !  Good lunch.

  7. Clean is the first word that comes to mind as I walked in.

    We had our monthly business meeting here so drinks were not part of the equation.

    Dishes were tasty and service was memorable

    Comedy night was starting as we were leaving and that would have made the night extra special but the food was memorable all the same.

  8. After hearing such rave reviews about Havana Cafe, my fiance and I decided to finally give it a try one Friday evening. The decor is absolutely gorgeous, even in the bathroom which is impressive. There are tons of pretty restaurants with questionable looking bathrooms, but this one is perfectly designed and was absolutely immaculate. But I digress.

    I'd heard so much about their mojitos, so to start I immediately ordered a passion fruit mojito. If you drink nothing else at this restaurant, do yourself a favor and have a mojito. It was probably the best mojito I'd ever had, and I've had plenty.

    As far as the actual food goes, the menu was full of so many tasty-sounding dishes that I had a very hard time choosing. I'm going to have to go back several times just to taste all the things I had my eye on. Because I'd heard so much about it, I settled on having the mango ribs with a side of yuca fries while my fiance had their salmon burger. Our meal was as close to perfect as you can get. The flavor on those ribs were on point and the yuca was great, just missing a little salt.

    The atmosphere and the vibe of this place is so warm. I even ran into an old friend from high school who was at the bar, which was packed even though the restaurant wasn't (I'm telling you, try the mojito!). Service was perfect; our water glasses were never empty, our waitress was such a sweetheart, and there was never a long wait for anything. I'll be going back a few more times in the near future because there are too many dishes I still need to try!

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East Tremont Avenue 3151
10461 NY US
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Monday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Tuesday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Wednesday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Thursday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Friday, 12:00 pm - 12:00 am
Saturday, 12:00 pm - 12:00 am
Sunday, 12:00 pm - 11:00 pm