Café Habana

Reviews 5

E.

E. A. Bartholomew

Can Cuban food get any better than this? Not in New York, at least. The wait: Ive been here somewhere on the scale of a dozen times. The only time I didnt have to wait at least 15 minutes was when I went at 8 a.m. (They used to open that early; they probably saw I was the only one there and decided to move it back to 9 a.m.) TIP: if you want to get your meal on while in queue, you can hit up the Cafe Habana To Go right next-door and start with an appetizer of grilled corn, sans line. The seating: Probably the most cramped place Ive ever been. When its crowded (and it always is), youve really got to squeeze by people. Get a booth if you can, and try to avoid sitting against the wall leading up to the bathrooms, as these are the worst tables in the joint. Really, if you have the option, turn them down. You will get bumped and shoved in your seat as people swarm past; even worse, one of the tables is right near the discard bin for dirty plates, so you will probably get splashed, too. The food: So why put up with endless waits and cramped seating? Because the food is ridiculous. Their Cuban sandwich is the best I can imagine. The grilled corn is disgustingly delicious. Ive had the roasted meats, the tacos, the enchiladas, the huevos, etc.--rest assured, its all going to be awesome! If you want something vegetarian, consider the Tlacoyo de Tres Marias, which I ordered on a whim once and was awed by the rich and complex flavors of humble but great ingredients. The drinks are usually strong and tasty here, so get a Dark and Stormy or a Mojito. The service is also really on-point, and the servers are friendly, every time. I doubt youll ever feel like youre just waiting for the food to come out. Cafe Habana is a fun, lively restaurant whose heavenly food more than justifies the long wait and cramped seating options.

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Anderson C

Wait time is HORRENDOUS. Most of the clientele seems to be Asian which I dont mind since I am one myself BUT I do mind when they come by the hordes that makes the wait time for a table EVEN LONGER than usual. *** We came here for Mexican corn or rather my family did because Im definitely not a fan of cheese. The decor is simple. Imagine several palm trees with yellowish painted walls. The space is cramped. It is like eating at the dance floor at one of those basement dance clubs. Yeah, no thanks. Every so often I would feel people brushing by me with their elbows disturbing my meal. *** The kitchen is tiny but it is open view so you can definitely inspect them for cleanliness. The entrance to this place is very unwelcoming first with drapes covering the glass window panels of the doors and then peeling back the drapes you enter a rather dim lit eating space unless you are either by the bar or windows. *** SHOULD TRY but will disappoint is the Sloppy "Jose" BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. Not a hint of BBQ sauce or enough smokiness to mask the lack of sauce for that matter. They do pack on the meat which is the only good thing about the sandwich other than the crunchy exterior of the bread which I liked. *** DO NOT TRY the Cuban Sandwich. This place will forever remind me of the worse Cuban Sandwich Ive ever had in my life. How do you mess up a Cuban Sandwich? Taste was bland with one streak of sweet mustard that sort of gave it a slight taste of just mustard seeds. It was also streaked only on ONE side of the sandwich. The F? A little FYI fun "fact". They are also touted as one of the best places to get a Cuban Sandwich in the city. *** Another little FYI fun fact, save yourself the money and tastebuds, SKIP their Cuban Sandwich.

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DANIEL AFFEN

Service was well below average. There was a girl (dressed rather provocatively with pants that left little to the imagination with caked on makeup) with another girl (who not only worked there, but was literally just sitting there doing NOTHING), who told me twice, "Hell be with you in one moment" (a guy with tattooed arms & scruffy beard). It took TOO long a "moment" to take my order (I was ordering food to go, which they said that I could go around the corner to get it to go. That in itself is poor customer service. Regardless of where its "supposed" to be ordered at, Im standing here, wanting to spend my hard-earned money at an overpriced diner). I ordered a bacon cheesburger meal with fries & all the (supposed) fixings. Cashier/waiter didnt even ask me if I wanted anything extra or omitted from my order ("Would you like everything (mayo, ketchup, etc.) on in?" Nothing of the sort.), but seemed to be annoyed when I asked him to make sure the bacon on my burger was crispy (to which the guy who was preparing my "food" rolled his eyes at the request. Whats up with that??). My total came up to $14.97 (rather steep for a bacon cheesburger deluxe, but hey, its Manhattan), & I handed the cashier/waiter $15.00. He didnt even give me my change (3 cents, but nonetheless...not even a jokingly "Do you want the three cents?", which would have diffused my (increasing) annoyance. I asked him for the total again, & when he told me I asked him for my change-to which he asked in a dumbfounded tone, "You want your three cents?" Yes, Sir, the three cents of the money that I paid you for this "meal" from MY wallet. Yes, that change.

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Sophia Papapetru

If I could give this place less than one star I would. The staff was so unprofessional. I walked in with two men, one is 61" and the other 64". We asked to sit at one of the two booths that seats 4, and the server said no thats for 4 people only (we are European-white skin). All the other tables were approximately 1x1 in size, so they sat us at ONE table so we put two of them together and they told us thats not allowed. The entire time I had to have my legs up on the chair while my boyfriend & cousin were squashed uncomfortable and bumping head while they were eating. When another 3 people walked in they sat them at the booth that seats 4 (they were colored skin) The other booth that seats 4 was being occupied by the employees who were not serving people, and were having drinks and horsing around. Where is the logic in that? You want to chill out so you take tables up for potential customers? Not to mention when I addressed this issue the females that were working there were SO rude and obnoxious. Maybe instead of having a dozen employees sitting around having drinks and taking up useful seating they should be fired. Business not well manages. Extremely unpleasant experience I would not recommend if you are taller than 52" and have more than one person with you.

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seen jee

Recent visit for a mere party of two goes the customer service fulfillment, customer satisfaction in conjunction of quality of food all down the TIOLET! Upon entering in the second level there were no hostesses to meet, greet or direct partons to be seated. The push cart women are blind to serve patrons by selecting what areas to target thus ignoring all other areas. Yet in todays world one who want something you would have to physically go after it yourself, which I sought after every food cart in the passing!! Armed with the bill in my hand and with much heated inner anger utilizing my very choppy Cantonese verbal skills to make a presence, none of the push cart women dare for refusal of service. The facilities host a dead beat attendant in both men and women who are either reading a newspaper or in the state of sleep yet none were turning on the faucet or distributing hand towels. A very steep price for very little food consumed of vile quality for two people totaling $16.50, only to be forced out as another party of three rudely yanked the table which we did not gather our belongings. Unfathomably nasty where the 88 = eight dead beats for eight useless vulgar DOGS! 88 Palace is the dog of this dog world.

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