Havana South Cuban Restaurant & Bar

I am a fan. Hands down the best Cuban restaurant from Athens to Atlanta. Being from Miami, I miss certain cuisines, Cuban food being one of the major ones out of two. Since finding Havana South years ago, I don’t have to suffer anymore. My favorite is the Hemingway chicken, it’s mouthwatering good. As is all of their food. I always get the empanadas too. Staff is excellent and always remember me. Anytime I go out with a new friend, I always make sure to expose them to Havana South. They become fans too!

Finally getting around to reviewing this great place, but we’ve been here 5 or 6 times now. The prices are reasonable, the food is fantastic, and the entire staff is friendly and attentive.
They’ve updated the menu in the last year or so, so it’s worth a stop if you haven’t been in a while. Most recently my husband and I enjoyed the Media Noche & the Mar y Tierra. The sandwich was perfect– pork was juicy, perfect amount of cheese & mustard with pickles. The Mar y Tierra stole the show though– perfectly cooked shrimp in a nice light red sauce and THE MOST TENDER and flavorful skirt steak we’ve ever had.
The food is clearly cooked to order, so don’t expect your entrees in less than 5 minutes, but it’s most definitely worth the wait. As we came in on a slower Sunday night, the manager seated us & checked in with us again after our meal arrived to check on us. She was sweet and attentive, but not overbearing. This really feels like a family-​run restaurant, which I love. We will keep coming back again and again!

The device was good and the music was awesomely welcoming to my ears. The rice was a bit under cooked, but overall it was great

Yo… The drinks are watered down. Didn’t cook the steak to order and they ran out of croquettas de Jamon!
And why on earth is there a child saying the words «hell, death, destruction, darkness»?
#dafuq
On the flipside, the service is nice and the plantains were decent…

I think the foods they serving now are taste better than before.
I forget one waiter name he is really nice. He is always checking out water and how is food taste!

Came to Havana South for dinner and drinks and really enjoyed it! Service was great. We had a really nice server who was very attentive and took the time to explain menu items to us and make recommendations. He also told us about some of the events that were being hosted at the restaurant that coming weekend. Apparently they have live music sometimes, which I thought was cool.
They do have a full bar here, but no drink menu to look at. Our server told us they could make pretty much whatever we wanted though. There was a little display on the table advertising their mojitos, so I ended up ordering a Blueberry Mojito ($ 6.99). YUM!
For my entrée, I ordered the «Camarofongo» ($ 11.95) off the specialties section of their menu. It comes with mofongo (fried and smashed green plantains), grilled shrimp, a little bit of veggies, and sides of rice, beans, and plantains. This was my first time trying mofongo, and their mofongo was DELICIOUS! It was garlicky, which I love, and incredibly flavorful. The only thing I didn’t like about it was that the pork cracklings in it were a little too hard. I still loved it though. For the side of plantains, you can choose between the sweet or green plantains. I chose the sweet ones, of course! Mmm!
We decided to splurge and get dessert and asked our server to help us choose between the original version of Flan or the Coconut Flan ($ 4.95). Our server said he liked both but prefers the coconut flan. We decided to go with his suggestion, and it was pretty good! Nothing mind blowing, but if you’re in the mood for something sweet, it’s a good choice!

Some of the best Cuban food I’ve ever had. I’ve been eating here for a few years since George was the owner. It’s been sold once or twice since and the place has gotten even better. Masitas de Puerco are excellent, although they can sometimes be dry. The Chicken Hemingway is outrageously good and I order it every single time. We always order extra maduros and Yucca con mojo. Great place, great prices and great staff.

Love Cubango sandwich. Often call in and pick up on way home from work. Picadillo wonderful. Empanadas mmmmm. It’s Sunday afternoon. The Salsa dancing starts in a moment. Can’t wait.

Stopped by on our way to Mall of Georgia and it was a great choice. The service was great and our waitress was very friendly. I tried the coconut mojito and it was good! Yuca frita as an appetizer is a good choice. The restaurant while Cuban also serves some Mexican dishes. I tried the vaca frita with black beans, white rice, and tostones. The food was good. My friend ordered the I would return if in the area.

So I returned almost two years later to see if there was an improvement. There were some improvements but the food still disappointed. I ordered masitas de puerco frita with black beans and rice and maduros. Rice and beans were average and maduros were good. The pork was hard and almost inedible. When you make this dish you boil the pork chunks until tender then deep fry at the end. I don’t know what they did but it wasn’t right. They garnished it with a lot of chopped pimentos and a few onion slices. The pimentos threw the flavor off. The cut of meat was too lean also, that might have something to do with it. The croquetas were frozen, tasted like Catalina brand. I still don’t get the cilantro sauce served with the croquetas. Overall my visit was better than the last, but it is not authentic Cuban food, it’s more of a Cuban/​Mexican fusion.

Havana South is a go to restaurant for my husband and I. With all the chain restaurants around the mall, it’s a breath of fresh air and is absolutely delicious. We have experienced times of slow service, but the food is off the charts good so it’s worth any wait time. Hubby always orders the masitas de puerco and I love the vaca frita steak. Empanadas are yummy too. The green sauce they come with is so good! Highly recommend this restaurant!

Great restaurant. Good feel when you get in the inside. Wish they had a/​c though. It felt warm. Although there were fans, the fans werent running.
Anyways to the food.
Skip the pappa rellenos. They were dry and probably reheated.
DO get the empanadas. Very good, crunchy, meat was moist and worth the buy. We only came for the sandwhiches and did not try any of the plate food. All the sandwhiches were under 7.
I got the cuban sandwhich on sweet bread. Although the pork was dry, the sweetbread def help make the taste. Overall a okay sandwhich
we also got the flank steak sandwhich which was the winner.
I’d come back for the sandwhiches. Not sure if Id step up to the plates as they are near the 15 dollar mark.

Felt hungry heading home from nieces lacrosse game at Buford high. I was about to get Mickey Dees but saw this restaurant instead. Cuban food & culture is near & dear to my heart. But it was a great choice, food, ambiance, & customer service was great. Will bring my Cubano here soon.

I’ve been wanting to try this place for while then I saw groupon deal. I liked the chicken dish (forgot the name) so much, too bad it was not lunch menu.

I caught it with the corner of my eye. Small flashing light in a strip center. It was cold and I’m staying at the hotel right behind the restaurant so walked to it. Not crowded at all. Clean, and good service. Typical Cuban menu, but I have to say. I ordered the churrasco with the yellow rice and tostones. The chino hurry sauce for the churrasco was to die for. The food was hot and the flavor surprisingly great. I’m from Orlando FL but will definitely would return given the opportunity. Music playing in the background was very good too. Highly recommended!!!

Great food! It sits back from the road a bit in a strip mall behind a pawn shop. The food is good and service is very attentive. I had the steak, rice and plantains. Been here twice and it was good both times. The service is extra attentive without being annoying!

Came here for a quick lunch on a late Friday afternoon. Service was good there wasn’t much traffic so our party of 3 was seated promptly. The server was attentive and our food came out quick and hot.
I had one of the lunch specials (Monday-​Friday 11 am to 3 pm I believe) pescado frito with white rice and grilled veggies. The fish was lightly battered and very crispy. The meal was great and inexpensive. Would come again if I was in the area.

Found this place quite by accident on my drive from Asheville to Atlanta. Got to the slump-​time afternoon and needed coffee, finally saw a DD on an exit, but when I got off I saw this little gem on the left. After an indy-​car-​like 2 lane switch and u-​turn, I got the most glorious Café Con Leche that I have had since my last trip south of the (Georgia) border.
We lived in S. Fl for years and truly, truly have missed Cuban food. This place is worth the drive. So good!

Summary: Try authentic Cuban way OTP
I found this place on Groupon after my friend Shady wanted to go on a foodie adventure. It’s definitely super far OTP, but we wanted something authentic Cuban. This place was exactly what we’re looking for. It wasn’t super busy but the service was a little slow. Our server was really friendly, but we waited a long time for her to take our order.
I tried a pineapple soda that was good and my friend got a drink called «malta» that is a non-​alcoholic barley drink which I didn’t like.
Food:
We started out with ham croquettes, which I liked. I don’t know why they came with crackers and no sauce. We requested a random sauce we saw on the menu which I liked haha. It’s called mojo sauce. I kept asking a bunch of questions about the food, which the server probably thought I was funny for having so many questions. I don’t think our server was Cuban…
Anyways, for our entrees we got an authentic beef dish called «bistec palomilla» and a «media noche» which is a cuban sandwich on a sweet bread. I liked the sandwich a lot, but the bread didn’t taste sweet at all. I feel like I may have had a better Cuban panini/​sandwich in Miami, but this one was still pretty good. The beef dish was good too. I put the mojo sauce on it to give it a zest. The yellow rice and red beans tasted authentic also.

Best Cuban sandwich in the A. Been coming here since the old location was a hole in the wall. Love the new space — plenty of parking, lots of tables, & great family service.