rev:text
| - After hearing great things about Havana Cafe, I was psyched to finally try it but overall I really was not impressed. When we walked in, no one came to the host stand for about 5 minutes. Then the hostess attempted to seat us at the worst possible table - a tiny two-seater right next to where the band was playing. The kicker was that the table was up against a pole so we couldn't actually see the band but wouldn't have been able to hear anything else. Needless to say, we switched to a table further back.
The first and best item I tried at Havana Cafe was the delicious caipirinha. With so many renditions of fried plantains, fried sweet potatoes, fried yucas, etc. under Platanos and Verduras, I was having trouble deciding on an appetizer, so I asked the waitress which was the best/most popular item in that section of the menu. She confidently pointed to the Calypso Chips. I trusted her and then regretted it. This is the type of thing I could see being given free, like chips and salsa, not sold for $5.50. And they brought the entree out before the chips.
My main course was the Pollo Cubano. The rice and beans were flavorful but a bit too salty, and the chicken was nothing special at all. For dessert I had the chocolate chip bread pudding, which was in the form of a large, firm block that seemed like maybe it had been re-heated.
While there is the possibility that I ordered wrong, the dark, tacky atmosphere, prices, mediocre service, and loud music pretty much turned me off to this place. The live music was decent but way too loud and we had to listen to Happy Birthday in English and Spanish three times in the hour that we were there. Seriously.
|