Havana’s Cuban Cafe

Delicious food, good prices, and nice wait staff. Good place for lunch. I had the oxtail and moro– very very good.

Looked forward to going here since it opened and I finally went on Saturday night. I should’ve waited longer! If you’re looking for well seasoned Cuban food, don’t go here!
I’m sure the rent is high in Edgewater but charging $ 12.99 for Cuban crackers when you can go to La Gran Via bakery in Union City and pay $ 1.00 -$ 1.50 for the EXACT SAME crackers is criminal!
I had the lechón asado with moros as to me, this is the litmus test to determine whether the food is authentic Cuban – it was bland, lacked salt and seasoning. The rice tasted like it was cooked in a pot where rice had burned and stuck to the bottom. Same for the beef empanadas – BLAND! The only thing that was excellent was the side of hot sauce which is a chimichurri and brought some flavor to the dishes. The yuca was boiled with no salt and tasted again… BLAND!
The rice pudding was dry and very compact. Sweetness wise it was good but the texture was bad. The flan and the tres leches was ok – nothing great.
What made the experience even more painful – literally – was the keyboard/​flute/​sax player they had playing music the ENTIRE TIME. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure he’s talented but the place is small and his music was LOUD and he never took a break. If you want to have a conversation at dinner, go before 6pm or better yet, go somewhere else. The only thing Cuban in that place is the name. There is no way there is a Cuban cooking in that kitchen. Won’t go back there again.
The only reason I gave this 2 stars was 1) the hot sauce and 2) because the staff was super friendly and accommodating to change requests.

My favorite ropa vieja and empanadas!

The best Cuban/​Latin food in the area! Authentic Latin food. Service is quick and professional! you can also bring your own brown bag, then step right next door and enjoy a real Cuban Cigar at their newly open Cigar Lounge! Say hello to Pauly the owner, while your there.

Cute little spot! We were visiting some friends near by and stopped in for a quick empanada pick up. FYI… There’s a cigar lounge next door… not really my thing, but I thought it was cute have a these two paired together.
Its located near the water in edgewater… duh…lol Parking around back, small outside seating area in front. On the small side, but nicely set up for the amount of space they have. Old Havana theme style décor, cool vibe.
Menu is typical Cuban restaurant faves… apps like Croquetas (Croquettes), empanadas (Beef, Chicken, Cheese, & shrimp), & chicharrones (fried chunks of pork or chicken) & papa rellena (stuffed potatoes with beef). They have sandwiches, of course the Cuban is a choice, your typical meat platters like skirt steak, grilled chicken and red snapper, salads and some type of bean soup. They didn’t forget dessert at this spot, get ready for all the faves your looking for like tres leche, flan, cheesecake, dulce de leche, and rice pudding.
We ordered a bunch of chicken and beef empanadas to go… didn’t wait long… friendly service. Place was pretty empty, but they seemed to have a lot of orders coming in over the phone. Empanadas were delish!
Prices are reasonable… nyc skyline across the street is breathtaking!
Hopefully we’ll be back on a dinner date with our friends that live near by!

Ordered take out on a Saturday night through grub hub. They showed up 30 min earlier than expected which was awesome. The food is absolutely to die for. The food was fresh and very tasty. Shrimp in spicy red sauce was my favorite. We will definitely be back.

«Fraud Restaurant» My wife and I went this restaurant on Friday. We ordered from lunch special menu which is for only Monday through Friday. On the menu, it said a cup of Espresso coffee or Café con Leche is complement with lunch. Even we asked before we order, and a waiter told us a cup of coffee is included l. However, we are charged for two cup of Café con Leche at end. Food are ok, but nothing special and not authentic Cuban food as well.

Ordered take out and delivery is slow. It took over an hour for the food to be delivered, and I live within a 2 minute drive of the place. The order was missing tostones, but they offered to bring them to me which was nice. Then they called back and offered a refund or credit because it turns out they didn’t have green plantains. Oh well.
The alcapurria was soggy and REALLY greasy– oil squirt in your mouth greasy. But, the shrimp empanada was tasty. I got the oxtail and black rice which were both really really good. My dinner date aka baby daddy got the bistec a la milanesa which I thought was meh. The steak was dry, the «Spanish sauce» was basically nonexistent. It was trying real hard to be a Spanish version of parmigiana but some dishes are best left unappropriated. He liked it, but I also wouldn’t call his palate discriminating.
We’ll probably try this place again, but maybe next time we’ll go. It’s definitely worth another shot.

Had no choice to give them one star in order to write this review. They owe us stars. I’ve ordered here several times and the food is adequate. The delivery time is horrible but the service is worse. You’re probably saying how can that be when you’re having it delivered. They advertise you can pick two (2) sides. So, you should be able to order any 2 they offer, right? Not here. This is the 2^nd time it’s happened and they just don’t get it. I’m sure they don’t care but they lost my business. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

I’ve ordered from here once before and remember it being pretty good, however my delivery experience last night was anything but.
As others have said, delivery takes quite a while. Last night they delivered in 50 mins which is fast for them. I’d be okay with the wait if it was worth it.
What we ordered:
Black bean & soup of the day. The black bean soup is, I believe, just black beans, water, and oil. Nothing to indicate otherwise and it barely had any black beans. Soup of the day was like a chicken noodle. It was pretty tasty, however it had tons of minuscule bones, the size of a pea or smaller, so every bite I had to sift through the contents in my mouth to find them before I choked on it or chewed it.
Avocado and onion salad. Pathetic. No salt or lemon (c’mon now) and the avocado was brown and stringy. I’d rather be told they don’t have it than pay for garbage.
Cuban sandwich. This was pretty flavorful and good albeit a bit greasy and seriously lacking pickles and mustard. Couldn’t taste the mustard and the pickles were razor thin. I’m not an expert on this sandwich so really I don’t know.
Chicken empanadas were literally just filled with dry ass chicken… What kind of empanada is that?
Lastly, the tres leches cake. It was cloyingly sweet. This is usually one of my favorite cakes but this one I couldn’t finish. Entire package was sticky, as well.
Probably my last time giving this place a chance.

I like the food but do not like the service. They’re cranky and miserable. The menu isn’t kept up to date either. No batidos (shakes) yet they offer them on the menu. Overpriced a bit too. There’s some seating outside and plenty of seating inside.

The food is subpar and pricey for the quality. We ordered the oxtail and it wasn’t worth 15.99 and we ordered a beef empanadas for 2.50 and it was so small and we received only one. My guess they have higher prices to keep the lights on. The food was only ok

Love the food, the service is great even though the delivery time is horrible… it’s worth the wait…

Love the food here! Closest and best cuban food I can get since I dont get to Bergenline these days. The irony my best meals here would be the Cuban tamales and chorizo dish… is delish!

Oh my god. So effin good. If you haven’t eaten here yet, I suggest you make it a point to go as soon as you can.
If you enjoy tasty rice and love pork (let’s be honest who doesn’t) get the con Gris!!!

Ordered the OxTail with rice and beans and tamal via GrubHub
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Oxtail was pretty good portion was adequate for price/​location
Beans were watery, it wasn’t horrible but missing that Cuban taste
The Tamal was not worth it it was all corn with miniscule strands of meat, **Make your tamales meaty, stop being cheap!
—
Overall the food wasn’t bad, it was quite good — I didn’t visit the location however I am sure the place looks fantastic!

Doesn’t it suck when you loved a spot but then have to let them go because something changes for the worst? That’s my story with Havana’s Cuban Café.
Before moving to Bermuda I lived in Edgewater for several years. This place was always the place the family and I ordered from. On a regular basis. Why? They are close, pretty decent delivery time, and the closet thing to authentic cuban food without having to journey out to Bergenline. We always did takeout, never dined.
Even though overtime the food went from amazing to watery beans with a side of blatant attitude while ordering — we still continued ordering. It’s three of us total and we eat a lot so everyone normally ordered their own plates and we shared the sides. So while ordering obviously I have to give my order, than two more. No. Not this day. I was told «I don’t got time for this» after trying to explain the order that was repeated to me was wrong. I always give my respect freely and especially respectful while dealing with businesses knowing first hand the amount of work that goes into it. All to say that I was very confused, then I felt this weird feeling as if my long lasting relationship had just crumbled in front of my eyes. If you’re not capable of interesting with customers via phone, you should only accept online orders. Grub hub, seamless, your own website. If it wasn’t for the lack of quality customer service, we would still be ordering from them.

Solid food. I dined in with my family, as we felt like Cuban food after watching «Chef» on netflix. Started off with chicken and cheese empanadas (cheese was better, chicken was slightly dry), croquettas (better than most Cuban take-​out/​delivery), and tamales (moist and yum). All three appetizers were gobbled up by my daughter in an instant. Then we shared Havana Special Sandwich (typical Cuban pork/​ham sandwich with house special sauce), which was solid, and roasted lean-​pork. Don’t be discouraged by «lean-​pork» as it was moist and flavorful as pork shoulder can get. Which went along amazingly with «hot sauce» they served with the meal. Service was good, and music was wonderful (much better than expected as this is not a fancy diner-​in restaurant). Price was good.
Only down side was drink choices. When they asked us what do we want for drinks, we told them water and iced-​teas, which they asked back «with lemon?», we said «sure». So we were expecting few glasses of water + glasses of iced-​tea, maybe with few wedges of lemon.
Minute later, we were served bottled Snapple Lemon Flavor, and poland spring water in a bottle. Perhaps our expectation was too high (but they had a nice white cloth on table which got me). Think of this place as a solid take-​out /​delivery with solid food, and you won’t be disappointed. But not really a full dine-​in restaurant.
I would eat from them again~

Pros–
* amazing Cuban food.
* excellent service
* Coat Rack in Front
* large Bar area
* very nice staff
* Decent pricing
Cons–
* Dining areas are kind of tight and close.
* Waiter was a bit grumpy but it was busy!
I had the chicken and rice, it was amazing but I wanted it a bit more spicy like my attitude. Lol
My wife had a Cuban sand which and holy cow was it AMAZING. We would have liked to go back for a second round but Née York has so many great options. We will be back again in six months and deff visit this place.
Cheers

I read the reviews, and wasn’t sure what to expect but I liked the place.
The service was slow, but not a deal breaker. There weren’t that many people and we were not in a rush so it worked out for us.
The food wasn’t bad. I got the grilled chicken. It was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. I liked it.
The yucca was good. I wish they gave me more of it. The salad was not impressive but pretty good and my boyfriend liked his shrimp.
The service could be better but it’s a nice to go for a chill quick bite to eat. Not the best Cuban food I had but I would not rule it out