Havana Cafe

The black bean fritters are fantastic and the Papa Rellena was absolutely to die for. The Sangria is $ 28 for a pitcher and that is about 8 glasses so a good deal and it was delicious. Service is a bit slow, but an enjoyable place none the less.

The Mojitos are top, top notch, the customer service is beyond friendly, and the food is delicious. Love it.

My wife and I opted for a dinner of small plates (calypso chips, datiles con chorizo, tamal cubano, empanaditas, papa rellena) and a half pitcher of red sangria.
The food very good almost across the board. The only exception was the cilantro-​lime cream sauce that came with the papa rellena, which didn’t really taste like lime, cilantro, or much of anything. Everything else, however, was great. The sangria was good as well, offering a nice counterpoint of sweet to our largely savory dishes. Best of all, it did not include half a pitcher of soggy fruit salad; please take note every other tapas restaurant.
Definitely worth a visit, but not if you are in a hurry; the pace is very relaxed. That does not mean service suffers, but your meal will happen at a fairly leisurely place. I will be coming back to go give some of the main courses a try, especially the cubano.

Best Maduros Fritos!

I have eaten at Havana Café several times, and the food and experience gets worst every time. This latest experience will be my last time. I was not impressed with the service or the food. I took my girlfriend there on a Friday and had dinner around 8:00. The drinks took forever to arrive, our food actually arrived before the drinks did. I ordered the Chicharrones de Pollo which is like a fried chicken dish. I went to take a bite and didnt realize it had foil on the bottom of the chicken. The chicken wasn’t cooked to order, it was pretty much reheated. You ever taken a bite of food and bit down on foil, not the most pleasant experience on the pallet. The chicken was warm and they didnt even do a good job re-​heating it. My girl ordered the Sailors Paella which had a variety of seafood on rice. The dish was 24,00 but not nearly worth the price. The dish said their were suppose to have crab, calms, mussels, scallops, shrimp, fresh fish on safforn rice. I couldnt find any crab, scallops or calms in the dish. It was mostly fish in the dish. Not only that, but the dish had a fishy smell to it. The seafood clearly wasn’t fresh. It was old seafood. Not impressed at all. The total bill was around 60 bucks. I felt like we were scammed out of our money.
Ths is the last straw, we will not be eating at this place again. Also when we left the restaurant there were bunch of people standing outside smoking, (next to a liquor/​smoke shop) I barely could breathe walking out of there.

It’s so nice to have something different!
We ordered the Empensdas and Black bean fritters for our appetizers ! The salsa dip with Empensdas was wonderful ! I loved my Mojito! I had a pork and black bean dish that was really good. My hubby had a house sandwich, that came with fries and amazing black bean rice! The service was excellent and patient explaining the menu and different dishes. We loved it and will be back!
The food was different and delicious !

Liked it a lot! Great waitress, just wonderful! Gaspacho soup was on spicy side, tapas were just right. Shrimps, empanadas, relleno all very good. Friend of mine ordered pulled pork, said it was delicious. Don’ t come thete for atmosphere or fine dining, or you willbe a bit disappointed.

When I worked in Scottsdale, I used to come here for lunch. This place was my refuge, a cool, tranquil oasis in the desert where I could have a mini-​vacation without leaving the city. The food is fantastic – I have never had a single thing on the menu that I didn’t love. We tend to make an entire meal on appetizers. My favorite are the Frituras de Frijoles Negros (black bean fritters), the Calypso Chips (crispy plantain chips with the most amazing black bean dip you ever had), and the Moros (black beans and rice cooked together.) My partner swears by the Fried Calamari and the Albondigas soup. Everything is prepared to order, and the service is excellent. This is one of my favorite places to eat in the Valley.

I will not be going back because the owner would not honor my $ 15 groupon. My waitress asked her 2 times and she said no. There are plenty of great places in North Scottsdale… this is not one of them.

I have been visiting this location of Havana Café for 20 years now. Let me start by saying I love the food. The atmosphere (décor, tables, wallpaper, carpet, paint) has NOT been updated in all that time.
Here I am at the end of December sitting out on an enclosed patio. I was chilly and kept my jacket on throughout lunch. My pollo Cubans was generous with black beans and rice and a citrus sauce covering the onions and chicken breast, yes I loved it. Hubby had arroz con pollo rice with chicken that he enjoyed very much. They make a killer Mojito but I didn’t realize that they were only three bucks on Monday. We paid $ 3.75 for an ice tea! I really don’t see how they can charge that! I know that in Havana, Cuba they have not updated things due to the US boycott. But that really shouldn’t effect this restaurant it’s time to revamp. But don’t change your recipes.

Amazing Cuban food. Great service. The waitress was very nice and very helpful. The food was pretty good. Tried three appetizers. I’m not a big fan of squid so I didn’t like the squid as much but that’s not a diss on the restaurant. I’m just not much for squid. Other than that, really great! The coffee is so good too. :)

Decided to stop by here with a friend on a whim. I kept seeing groupons for it (which I didn’t get), and decided… why the heck not.
Very nice décor, reminded me of some of the places I visited in Florida. Immediately seated, very friendly waitress!
We started with the 1lb of steamed mussels, which were very tasty! The broth was great for dipping the bread in. Pretty great price, honestly.
Then…I we shared a cup of the pumpkin soup, which is seasonal. Holy moly was it good. Creamy, pumpkiny, a little spicy. The more you ate, the more you wanted it. I could easily do a whole bowl of that with some bread and call it a night! The waitress said people would call in August for it… but it’s only available now, and it goes quickly. I can see why.
I had to be cliché and have the cuban sandwhich, which was very good. Side of black beans and rice with fries, nothing to complain about!
Friend had the Chicharrones de Pollo (fried chicken). Pretty basic friend chicken dish made with masa rather than traditional friend chicken batter. Interesting flavor, very juicy, quite good.
Washed it down with some negro modelos, and we were good to go.
If I had any con to add, it would be that it was a bit pricey. For most items, if the prices were about 40% cheaper, they would be a better value. But, it is what it is.

(Lyrics — Barry Manilow — Copacabana)
Her name was Betty, she was the owner
With chef hat covering her hair and a chef coat pressed and fair
She would do Flambé and add some salsa
And while she tried to be a star
Bo Bites always attended the bar
Across the crowded floor, they worked from 8 til 4
They were fun and they had each other
Who could ask for more?
At the Café, Havana Café
The hottest spot north of Phoenix
At the Café, Havana Café
Food and passion were always in fashion
At the Café … they plate and ate!
Havana Café is a long staple of the Phoenix valley and one of those gems that every foodie needs to discover!
Unfortunately, for me the located is a little off since it doesn’t look too appealing to the eye from the outside simply because of what’s around it. I think signage of the restaurant is fine.
My partner and I ordered based on the recommendation of the server; the Sailors Paella and the Pulled Pork. Overall, my favorite of the night had to be the Seafood dish — a mixture of crab, clams, mussels, scallops, shrimp, calamari, and fish on a saffron rice. The pot came out nice and warm and my first bite reminded me of some homemade meal with love! I wasn’t too crazy about the Pulled Pork, but not to say it wasn’t good. Cooked with Habenero peppers and bell peppers this dish had some pop!
In the end, the service here was surprisingly very good and on top of things. Very knowledgeable and my water was filled at all times. The ambiance might need a little spruce up. I’m no décor expert by any means, but I didn’t care for the fake plants and the furniture was lawn chairs. I’ve never been to Cuba, but if that’s the idea then I would definitely have a makeover to capture the American style and flare. — Enjoy!

Going to start this one with 4 Stars because we only had Tapas and didn’t have any of the delicious looking entrees.
We went there for Happy Hour on a Sunday. What time is Happy Hour on Sunday? How about this; ALL DAY 4−9p!
Such a wonderful waitress that seemed thrilled to be working there and knew the menu in and out. Why? Well because she was Spanish. I haven’t been to a Cuban Restaurant before and always assumed Cuban Food was Cuban Sandwiches, well that’s Cuban Fast Food. Cuban Cuisine is more like Spanish Food with their own Island Twist! Also very similar to Puerto Rican Food with a slightly different twist as well.
Some awesome specials on food and drink. We kept it simple with a basic Mojito that was great!!! x3 :-P
We ordered some food from the Happy Hour Menu and some of their Tapas off the dinner menu.
I will list them out for ease of reading.
Seviche-​Basic but good! Loaded with fresh fish and veggies!
Frituras de Camarones-​Think Shrimp Cakes/​Patties with a great sauce!
Calamari Frito-​Calamari fried in Almond flour, crispy but not caked in batter, really the best Calamari I’ve ever had!
Croquetas de Pollo-​Delicious crispy little chicken treats with an awesome sauce
Yuca Frita-​Great little Yuca fries with another awesome sauce
Pastelito de Picadillo-​Great little puff pastries filled with seasoned ground beef
Albondigas-​Little tender balls of beef with an incredible brown gravy!
Repollo Relleno-​Cabbage Leaves stuffed with Chicken and veggies covered in a creamy lime sauce!
Mojo de Ajo-​Warm Garlicky lime and oil that is great for… Well, EVERYTHING to be dipped in! Great for bread dipping!
Just a fantastic experience for us since we loved Tapas Bars in Chicago and ate our way though Puerto Rico for a Week! We will definitely go back for a Full Dinner as our mouths were watering over their Seafood and Pork dishes! Semi-​Local place with a nice Island feel as soon as you walk in the door. Also take a look at their schedule for music and dancing as they clearly like to party it up there and make you feel like you’re 2000 miles from Phoenix! :-)
Great stuff! Thrilled we found this place. Strangely enough because we were sent to a dive bar next door and saw this and knew we needed to go back.
Take the previous LOW reviews with a grain of salt. I don’t like to insult other people but I will guess they’re just not up to speed on what Spanish and Island food are all about. This menu was put together like Pros!

Food here is great pretty much everything on the menu is delicious they even have Portuguese beer the desert was very yummy the waitress was very friendly will be back again

This place is darling. The food is delicious. Service is great. We will be back. My husband had picaddillo and plantains. I had crispy chicken with black beans and rice. Everything we have ever had here is so tasty.

This place is racist! If there are any Cuban or 100% hispanic families, they will be served before you and you might not even get served!
I made a reservation for five people at 6:30PM (July 16, 2014) since my wife is Dominican (Cuban food is similar to Dominican food) and it was my dad’s birthday.
Anyway, we got there at the same time 2 other hispanic families did at 6:30. We were shown to our table in the corner of the restaurant and then we were ignored for the rest of the night!
7:00PM, no waiter to be seen anywhere. I politely walked over to the wait staff station and told them we were ready to order food.
7:20PM– After almost an hour, we were able to place our order.
8:00PM the two hispanic families paid their bill and left after eating! Meanwhile we still hadn’t even gotten any of our food!
When we asked the wait staff, all they said was, «WE DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER YOUR FOOD WILL TAKE, YOU CAN LEAVE IF YOU WANT!»
Obviously, they didn’t want us to be there and they didn’t want our business!!!
I can’t prove it was racism but that is what it certainly seemed like. We were all dressed nice and only talked quietly while sitting at our table. My wife is 9 months pregnant too and they left her there hungry while the other families ate! Of course, the staff never mentioned anything about my dad’s birthday. They didn’t care.
And to top it all off at the end, the bill we got was for all the food we ordered and never got!!! My dad’s friend said he didn’t want to pay for food he never got (and probably wasn’t even cooked yet) They corrected our bill; we paid for our drinks and left at 8:15. Then we went to Arbys for dinner.

We have been to this restaurant twice now. The first go-​round was due to a Groupon that we purchased in order to try out new places in our area. The more recent time was within the past week and I have to say that the second trip was more memorable than the first.
The first trip we decided to order our own dishes and have some Sangria. Everything was tasty, service was good, and the place has a fun ambiance to it with a porch /​patio like feel but indoors. This second trip we had the better idea of sharing the tapas sampler plate and adding on a meatball tapas plate.
The sampler comes with a great mix of the individual tapas plates they offer and gives you the chance to try a whole bunch of items all at once and really determine what you enjoy and what you don’t, so you’ll be better informed on future visits. The meatballs were a great addition to this plate and would have been a great option in general!
Our server was very friendly and checked back in on us regularly to ensure we were doing well. The food came out pretty quickly and it was easy to sit and enjoy the place while we waited.
Overall: A
Order the tapas sampler plate — if you’re super hungry, add another small tapas plate. Get some Sangria. Enjoy!

Here is the problem with Havana Café: Its overpriced. I ordered a Emparedado Cubano sandwich as carry out. I liked it. It was tasty and came with french fries and moros (black beans and rice concoction). It was supposed to come with cabbage salad but that appeared to be missing in action when I opened the box.
It cost me $ 16.
If I pay that much for a sandwich, french fries, and rice/​blackbeans, they need to be amongst the most delicious things I’ve tasted in order to justify that. But they weren’t. They were just barely good.
If they cut the price in half it would be a great meal worth the price. Until then I would avoid this place. I wont be returning unless they do.

We tried this place thanks to a Groupon… when we arrived we noticed the place was full but most of the tables didn’t have any food on it, just drinks… and almost everyone seemed to be waiting for their food… it took so long for our server to show up that we were very close to leaving…
Food was good, service was bleh-​OK…
For a place with $ 20+ entrees I would appreciate real chairs…
We were already hungry when we arrived, after being seated it seemed it took like forever for our server to show up… the bread alone took more than 20 minutes… we asked for more and it took 10 more minutes, we asked for more and our server brought it sooner, it is just that she missed to drop it at our table and was chatting for like 5+minutes at a table nearby… while I knew for sure the basket on her hand was our bread. It was very frustrating.
Appetizer arrived at the same time as our food (big no-​no in my book)…
On the plus side, someone else took really good care of us refiling our drinks.
Portions are big. Hubby had the pollo ajillo (comes with white rice) and I had the Cuban dinner sampler. Hubby liked his dish, and I thought mine was good too. The pork is like carnitas, the chicken had this lemony broth that gave the rice/​beans a really tasty flavor. The ropa vieja was not my favorite but was good as well.
For appetizer we had ordered the chorizo stuffed dates (datiles con chorizo)… oh well, I am yet to find out if Cuban chorizo is the same as the chorizo I know from Mexico, because I didn’t taste anything other than bacon and dates. The appetizer was warm at best and am not even sure if the bacon was fully cooked. Usually for foods wrapped in bacon the bacon is really crispy and this was not the case. Of course, I am not an expert on Cuban food and even though the flavor of date and bacon was interesting, this was not exactly what we were expecting from the way the appetizer is described in the menu.
Needless to say, we won’t be back…

My boyfriend keeps talking about his friends from Cuba that moved away a few years ago wishing I had the opportunity to try their cooking.
So when Groupon had a deal for this place, he scooped it up hoping it was even half as good as what he’s used to. Happy to report, it was fantastic.
I wasn’t extremely hungry so I ordered Sopa de Polo and Frituras de Frijoles Negros. The soup was a little on the bland side so I ended up using a lot of pepper and a dash of salt, nothing I couldn’t fix. The black bean fritters were amazing!
I can’t remember what he had but he kept saying «wow, this is good» and «this is exactly how I remembered». We will defintely be back.