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| - I really want to love Havana Grill. It's a small Cuban restaurant with a friendly staff and good bartenders, but the food is . . . well, it's just okay.
I've been there a few times and I've tried out the croquetas (deep fried ball with ham filling) , Sandwich Cubano (pork, ham, and cheese with dill pickles on a bun), tostones (fried plantains) and arroz con pollo (Cuban classic roasted chicken with yellow rice). Just listing out those items, I keep wondering why the food isn't a slam dunk--I mean, I said "fried" several times, right? Well, somehow the food is consistently under-seasoned. Every time I've ordered the tostones, I feel like I dump the entire salt shaker on them to provide some flavoring. And I haven't been impressed by any of the other dishes either, they all just felt flat. The only dish I would rave about is the side dish of yellow rice, which really was wonderful.
Now my understanding is that Havana Grill is the sister restaurant of Florida Cafe (a Cuban restaurant on Vegas Blvd in downtown Vegas). And that's odd because I've never had a problem with seasoning there. At the end of the day, the food at Havana Cafe ranged between 2.5 stars and 3.
But I've also been here for happy hour and this is a great spot for drinks with friends. The bartenders make an exceptional mojito and they are on their game and attentive no matter how full the bar gets. I've brought a few people here for the happy hour deals and every one has left happy. 4 stars for the bar and the friendly bartenders.
So the place rounds out to 3-3.5 stars based on the great bar and the not so amazing food.
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