Habana To-Go

I love coming to this place just for the corn. even though their prices have increased throughout the years. I still can’t find a place that prepares their corn as good as them. this is a good alternative if their restaurant is packed. The only problem is finding a seat sometimes when it’s busy.

Plantains were excellent! As was the lime lemonade. We also got the Cuban sandwich and corn – not the best I’ve ever had, but very good. Finished up with two café con leches. The to-​go was the best for us because we were in a bit of a rush and there was a line at the café while the this was pretty empty. We ordered, sat down at an empty table, and had our food in a few minutes. We’ll definitely be back!

Ate here two times on our visit to NY, great food and the staff were really great each time we went. The corn is a 7/​10, had better in LA, but this is the closest anyone has gotten to authentic street corn in a restaurant. I had the chicken mole burrito, shit was so good.

Thanks Unilocal for taking me here. Vibe was incredible. Food is great definitely gonna go back to try other stuff

I’m going to give it a 7/​10, because the food here is good. We originally intended to go to Café Habana, but then found Habana To-​Go. Their takeout venue does have a few small tables. We didn’t want to wait for a table at Café Habana. I’m happy to sit in a tiny spot with dim lighting as long as I can get my food quickly.
The food here is good. But based on what I’ve heard about the corn, you would think that nobody has ever had elote before. Is it that hard to find corn with cotija & chili powder out here or some variation of it? While delicious and wonderful, it is not too difficult to make either.
Grilled Corn Mexican Style ($ 3.50) — with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, chili powder & lime:
I love corn on the cob and elote is one of my favorite ways to eat corn. The corn was cooked well with a few grill marks on some cornels. It wasn’t not too spicy and had plenty of cotija, so you are probably going to lick the cheese off your lips with every bite of corn. Cotija is not all that easy to find in grocery stores, as far as I know. So it’s nice to be able to order it here.
Cuban Sandwich ($ 9.50) — citrus marinated roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, chipotle mayonnaise and pickle on toasted roll:
The sandwich was not bad. Since the menu states ‘Voted Best in NYC,’ I can’t help but wonder who voted and what other sandwiches were in the running. There seems to be several Cuban sandwiches in NYC that carry that title. I say that jokingly, of course.
It tasted pretty good, but I actually found it a little dry. I think the meat could have been dressed a little more with the chipotle mayo or there could have been more Swiss cheese in the sandwich. The bread was nice and crunchy with some grill marks running though it.
Limeade ($ 2.75) — nice beverage to accompany meal
The food overall is quite good. The corn itself is not too expensive, but when you think about it, an ear of corn is usually a little more than a dollar and the ingredients on top of it are not expensive. The cuban sandwich was okay, but I don’t really know what makes it worth $ 10. Nevertheless, I would be happy to return for a quick snack.

Never leave here without the grilled corn Mexican style.

The café con Leche and Mexican corn are out of this world! !!! Delicious definitely coming back for more next time I will try other items on the menu :)

Small coffee shop that offers an array of food and flavirs.
Located in the Lower East Side of NYC. I have had the eloté, tacos, coffee, and Mexican hot chocolate. The eloté was very good made with yellow sweet corn and the toppings are delicious. They have a couple of different tacos to choose from and the Mexican hot chocolate is Incredible! Made with milk, Mexican chocolate, and cinnamon. I can have one everyday! It’s that Good! Small location with a few tables and chairs and a small counter. They offer take out and delivery. The staff was friendly and professional.
Good food and not expensive at all. Can’t get any better than that!

The food here is good. But it is way overhyped! People, corn is just corn! It still tastes like corn no matter how much cheese or lime juice you squeeze on it! I’ve tried their corn over the years, and it’s never blown me away. For a cob of corn that costs $ 3.50, I really wanted it to blow me away, because I can probably buy my own corn and grill it at home and it’ll taste the same.
This time, I also tried their steak sandwich and their cuban sandwich. I forget the price, but they were at least $ 10 each. Again, the food is good, but it is not THAT good. It’s just a simple sandwich you can get at any corner deli in NYC. For the price, the sandwich is tiny, and there is barely any meat in it. In fact, the steak sandwich had more peppers than steak, and the pulled pork in the cuban sandwich was so dry, I didn’t bother to finish eating it.
This is a nice place to come to once in a while, but unless you’ve never eaten corn before, or you don’t have access to delis, don’t ever wait in line to eat here.

Grilled mexican corn is awesome. So sweet and delicious. Fast and no frills.

Went here when looking for just a quick bite. Stumbled upon this restaurant and remembered I previously wanted to try Café Habana. I still never have — but this is the same idea.
For a quick bite — even for something more than a quick bite — this place was quite impressive.
The food was delicious! I had the eggs with chorizo, yellow rice and black beans. My girlfriend had the vegetable platter. We shared tostones and guacamole.
The food was just great. We didn’t try the corn though it looked amazing and seems to be one of the major draws of this restaurant.
I love any authentic ethnic restaurant with no frills that focuses on flavor and food rather than décor and fluff… this place DEFINES that concept. I highly recommend this to anyone in the mood for authentic, inexpensive, yet high quality food.

The Cuban sandwich is religiously good and the service is a lot faster than at the sit down restaurant. f you’re a big eater get an Elote (corn) also. You can even get beer here. I. They have a lot of options (oddly enough many are not Cuban, they are Mexican). It is a great place to grab lunch if you live or work in the Soho area.

Nolita has become one of my favorite neighborhoods in NYC. Café Habana, and Habana To Go are true Mexican food gems in New York. I still stand by my position that it is difficult to get good Mexican food East of the Mississippi, but will contend that this place is a little gem. It is affordable, fun, and they use fresh ingredients. The only thing it lacks is the home grown chiles, and other spices. I am not a big fan of the Mexican corn on the cob that is the big rage in New York. I find that the heavy toppings drown out the taste of the corn. Somehow, I do not believe that the Native Americans, and early settlers ate it this way. Anyway, for Mexican food I am as old school as it gets. Still, make the trip to Habana! You will not be disappointed!

This is the to-​go section of Café Habana.
If you come here and try their cuban corn, and really love it, then why not Habanather. After all, it’s called Habana Ther To-​Go. The «Ther» has been dropped from time to time, but then so have many babies, on their heads, no less, and they turned out fine. Including me, actually.
I’ve only had one thing from Café Habana, because their prices are a little steep and it’s really hard to get in to this part of Manhattan in a car even at the best of times. But once I braved the traffic and got what I came for… two orders of the crazy, buttery, extravagant Cuban Corn.
I liked it… it tasted great, buttery, garlicky, fancy, enjoyable, and good value for money. My travelling companion was blown away by it. She was making orgasmic sounds the whole time she wolfed hers down. Then she got half of mine too. So for her it’s a clear ⁵⁄₅ but then she also liked the Crazy Corn at Lloyd’s Taco Truck in Buffalo (it’s awful), my judgment is slightly more discerning though not necessarily better. And I think it’s good, but not great.
So based on the Cuban Corn they score a solid 4. One day I will try the other food here, preferably when I’m on foot.
And preferably when it’s less hot. Speaking of hot, they should rename Habana To-​Go, Habanero To-​Go because my goodness it gets sweltering around here in the summer.
Or Cabana To-​Go, so that my gf could come here to pick up some Cabana Boys. As long as they have muscles, are clean, and cute, and studly, she’ll be all over that. And yes I’m okay with that. I probably encourage it. Probably.

$ 2 Mexican corn! It’s juicy, smoky, and sweet. The mayo is not overwhelming, the cotija cheese is delicious, and the chili powder/​lime juice combo completes the taste. Such a perfect snack for anytime.
It’s usually not too packed, so you can get your corn fix quickly. Dunno what else to add that hasn’t already been said… corn!

Went into Café Habana and was told it was a 20 minute wait so I thought, «maybe habana takeout has seats» and yep they did!
I got the mexican corn and chicken taco (8.17 total) and my friend got a mexican corn with a fish sandwich. The chicken taco was small and good, it was not worth 4.50 though. The mexican corn was delicious. Diet coke was 2.25 for a can, thought it would have been in a glass bottle, beyond expensive even for noho.
There were also many little flies flying around, it was kind of revolting, but what can I say, it was open door and open window and it was insanely hot.
Will definitely be back though but will avoid some menu items.

It was only a matter of time before the crowds flocked here. After all, who has the patience to wait for Café Habana? (#1) If you’re not all about the ambiance of the adjacent and vastly more well known neighbor, then the To-​Go version is a reliable option on the go.
So where to start? It’s easy to feen for the super famosa grilled corn (i.e. elote!) even if they feel and look smaller than before. Even at $ 2+, it still qualifies as a cheap eats option in Soho. Caked in cotija cheese and a generous helping of chili powder and the zest of some lime, it is quite possibly their most popular item.
Let’s not forget about the Cuban Sandwich ($ 8.25) which was supposedly voted as «best in NYC» by some publication. Not sure if it truly is, but it stands to be a must have when ordering in conjunction with the corn. Stacked to the 9s with a slather of chipotle mayo and a heaping of various meats, it is a tasty (albeit messy) sammy.
The service is just as hustle and bustle as next door, though I find that they’re a bit more robotic when it comes to cranking out food and calling names. It’s almost like Starbucks, except instead of lattes, it’s cobs and sandwiches. It should be noted that there is a wait here as well on the weekends and the hipstery, model laden, young crowd always keep it interesting.
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
(#1) This guy (
). But that was years ago.

I’ve been here so many times and this place has changed a lot since my first time here about 3yeara ago! I remember the corn the famous corn for 2 $ and it was huge I mean you could easily have that as an entrée but now it’s a size of an appetizer plus its more expensive. Also o feel that they don’t put as much ingredients on it as in the past
Other than the size and hike in prices the flavor is the same.
GET THE CORN MUST EAT AT THIS PLACE
AND THE CHICKEN BURRITO!

Came here thanks to a recommendation from fellow Unilocaler Adam S.
There is a full sit down restaurant next door, but I didn’t feel like waiting for a table. This spot has 2 tables an 6 bar stools.
Food: Cuban Sandwich. It was good, it was big and had all the right flavors. I could use a little more cheese, but thats ok. It’s $ 9, not bad considering the location.
The rest of the menu: It threw me for a loop. I was expecting Cuban food and the menu has a lot of Mexican. Then I found out the original place was in mexico city and a lot of Cuban artists used to go there… the whole thing makes sense now.
Bottom line: If you want a quick bite that will fill you up, go here! I might give the full restaurant a try if it’s not packed.

we came here for one thing and one thing only. the grilled mexican corn.
ambience: since we were looking to get in and out quickly, we opted for the to-​go location right next door to the restaurant. no line, same menu, and fast service. there are a couple small tables plus bar seating at the window. that’s all you really need to enjoy your corn.
overall: the corn. it’s delicious. it’s cheap. it’s exactly what you dream it would be. next time, we want to try all the other items on the menu. we were smelling and staring at everyone’s food around us. yes, we were those people.
you made us happy, café habana. very happy.