Havana

Great mojitos, good food, and avoid the tables in the back.
This is a common place for my friends and I to have dinner and a couple drinks to kick off the night. Their mojitos are on point – not too sweet, not watered down, and I can taste the mint and lime. Restaurant mojitos have been a hit or miss for me, but Havana has been consistent. I prefer the original but my friends enjoy the flavored ones as well.
The restaurant is dimly lit and gives you a sense of intimacy. The lively conversation at each table seems to act as a natural separator. They can easily accommodate parties of 6 or less. Any more and you might have to lego your way around.
I’ve tried a few of their entrees and my favorite is the Plantain Crusted Cod. The fish is tender and full of flavor, and the sides are perfect compliments. The entrée itself is a fair amount of food, but if you want to get a tapa I suggest the Twice Fried Plantains.
During one of our visits we were seated in the back, to the right of the bar because our party was too big. There was almost no light, so we all pulled out phones to read the menu. We also couldn’t see the ground very clearly, and I kept having a feeling that it was somewhat dirty. Close to the bar, close to the bathrooms, general disorganization, are my shoes sticking to the ground… Just wait and opt for something closer to the front of the restaurant. You’ll have a better experience.

Food is great but the standout here is the mojito selection! I also like the pulled pork, but you gotta order tortillas on the side (doesn’t come with).

Made the trek up here for WC Restaurant week with friends. Circled around for street parking but didn’t find anything close. Also the meters all still take quarters, which I had none of. So I ended up at a parking garage (with tokens — first time I’ve seen this) a few blocks away. Also paid parking 7 days a week. Sorry enough about parking — just irks me and one of the reasons I don’t come to WC.
Havana doesn’t take reservations so we came on an early Sunday evening. The place was about half filled but good amount of people coming in and out. I started out with the pineapple blood orange mojito. My friend, as well as the waiter, said they were known for their mojitos here. It was good, sweet, but I didn’t feel like it was very strong. Not enough of the good stuff, I guess. The restaurant week menu didn’t have too many options so it made it easy to pick. I had the shrimp ceviche and paella. We all got different things so I was able to try some of the other dishes too like the plantains appetizer, the fish entrée and the steak entrée. I liked my ceviche and paella the best though. Ceviche was fresh, clean tasting and served with thin plantain chips. The paella was pretty good too — plenty of meats and seafood. But I missed the little bit of hard rice stuck to the bottom of the pan. It wasn’t that big of a portion, served in a small skillet. I had had a snack earlier and wasn’t able to even finish both the appetizer and the paella. So they helped me pack it up for lunch the next day. Oh and the best part — restaurant week menu is only $ 20. So inexpensive. Haha.

TLDR: A Cuban restaurant with some hit-​or-​miss food and good Mojitos.
I’m going to start with the Mojitos because this place was introduced to me as ‘that one Mojito place’. Their Mojitos are pretty good, but I feel like most places have petty decent Mojitos. I think their selection is what sets then apart, they have have an entire menu devoted to their assortment of Mojitos, all of which are pretty good. I prefer the traditional but, they generally recommend you try one of their less conventional flavors.
The first time I went there I got the cod and it was delicious. I’m usually very picky about cooked white fish but this over was amazing. It also came with some sides that were just as delicious. We also ordered some appetizers, all of which were very good.
The second time I went there I wanted to try something new do I ordered the paella and it was not good. I thought the reason I didn’t like it was because if the meaty taste of the river, but even my BF didn’t want to finish it, and he never has ANY problem scarfing down my uneaten food.
Next time I go I think I’ll be less adventurous and stick to the cod. I give it one start less because of how starkly different the paella was from the other things I’ve tried there.

This place certainly would meet my expectations of a Cuban restaurant — parking is bad, but everything else was good to very good. I will certainly return to try something new!

I was in town for a walk and the driver at the Marriott suggested coming here. I must say, I really enjoyed it! The service was great. The drinks delish. The food worth coming back for. We had the empanada’s, ceviche and salads… it was a light meal, but worth coming back for!

This place is nice, the food was great. The Mojitos are refreshing.. Parking is not the best is this area.

Worst dining experience ever involving atrocious service and mediocre food. It took 20 minutes and 3 requests to receive our water. When one member of our party did not receive his cod entrée until everyone else had finished eating theirs, our waiter did not apologize and instead tastelessly threw his co-​workers under the bus, stating that «someone in the kitchen is not performing.» When the entrée was finally delivered to our table, it was plopped onto the table by a young woman (not our waiter) without any explanation. (Someone from my table saw the woman asking our server to bring the dish over to us and our server shaking his head and shooing her.) Our waiter appeared 30 seconds later with an offer to comp the entrée and a dessert as if he was doing us huge favor. By the way, we had been waiting for nearly 2 hours at this point. I do not believe he ever apologized but instead said something along the lines of, «Gee, I am not happy about this.» No kidding, neither were we! Since I had so much time to kill, I observed several other patrons sharing a similarly negative experience. I watched smiles turn into frowns as they waited for their food and/​or server to check in on them, which was not happening frequently. One man seated next to us literally had his head in his hands. And as I walked to the bathroom, I noticed that half of the tables were on their phones instead of eating food.
Whatever food we ate was not good enough to salvage our night of terrible service. I will not be returning.

I have been coming to Havana for a few years now and always loved their food and mojitos. So when it came time to pick a spot for our wedding rehearsal dinner, there was no other choice for us ! The venue for the wedding was at Scott’s which was walking distance from Havana so we thought it would be perfect.
We had a pretty big group (about 35) so they set up the private room for us. They even had menu cards printed with our heading choice and the menus. The menu packages were very reasonably priced. The food of course was amazing and so was the staff! The moment we walked in the door, they took care of us and were very friendly. Overall, it was an awesome experience. I also had a lot of questions during the booking of the event and they were very prompt in answering them. I am so happy that we decided to have our rehearsal dinner there. Our guests were raving about the food and the mojitos! I definitely recommend this place for your next event. Even if you are just looking for a good spot with great food and drinks, this is the place to go. Love it.

Not really sure how I feel about this spot.
Five stars for the staff!
Three stars…
The first time was pretty good — empanadas, ceviche, and paella. The seafood in the paella was so fresh; flavor and texture of the rice and everything together was amazing! it tasted like a home made dish!
The second time, the paella had a cold center. The rice was mushy and the shrimp was a little hard. We kindly told the waitress, who was very friendly about the situation, and she offered to take it back to the kitchen. My mom was starving so she wasn’t really thinking about sending it back but since the waitress insisted, we did. We got it back and it seemed as if they just microwaved it or something.
*The manager was pleasant, she came over apologizing for dish. We got a complimentary desert :) but wish we could’ve had that amazing paella we had the first time!
I had the plantain crusted cod, no complaints there! It’s a satisfying amount of food. I wasn’t craving for more but I also wasn’t stuffed.
I think they can tidy up the place just a tad bit better. There was an odd stench but we couldn’t identify where it was coming from. I don’t want to elaborate on the details of this stench for my readers (yours) appetite reasons!
Check it out, it could be a hit or miss. I’ll still be coming back some day but it’s not something I’d rave about when I’m recommending places to friends.

Went here for my hubby’s bday in March 2016 and invited family & friends to celebrate with us. I didn’t have the greatest experience but believe in second chances. Thanks Joelle for taking ownership and taking my feelings into consideration. Much appreciated.

This is one of our go-​to restaurants when we’re in Walnut Creek. The place has a nice vibe and great food! I always get the Bistec A La Havana. I’ve also tried other dishes on their menu, but this one is my FAVE! I don’t really like the beans it comes with, so I usually substitute it with the corn. I also love their twice fried plantains and shrimp ceviche for appetizers. The mojitos are also delicious. I love love the Honeydew flavored one!

Very beautiful place. The Mojitos ar delicious. I had a raspberry vanilla mojito. Wait make that two. I had two raspberry vanilla mojitos.
Started with a wedge salad. it had a spicy dressing and roasted pumpkin seeds. Great starter. For dinner we both ordered the same thing. Roasted port with purple potatoes. Dinner was very yummy.
Obviously pricey being that it was in Walnut Creek. But I had a great experience non the less. If you’re with someone special and want to try some good Cuban food, give this place a go. You are sure to love it as I did.
Make sure to have a drink or two. :)

We did an impromptu double dinner date with one of our favorite couples. They’ve been here before so they suggested we come with them again! Luckily, we didn’t have to wait for a table and were seated immediately. We were served by Cat, who by the way, is an amazing server. She had all good recommendations, she was attentive and super friendly! Overall, she was such a great server. We didn’t even get upset when one of our dishes came late because they were totally apologetic, and always kept us updated on the status. Service was awesome!
Now for the important part: the food! I am a fan of tapas style restaurants. That’s because I like variety and I like to try a little bit of everything. It’s a good choice for the indecisive as well. We got to try the empanadas, paella, plantains, steak, and the cod! Everything was delicious! There wasn’t one thing that I regretted. The portions are just perfect. Definitely plan to come here with at least 4 people so you can try a bunch of different things! If you come with folks with bigger appetites, you may have to double up on the paella order like we did!
They also serve pitchers of sangria! It tasted like a fruity lemonade! You get over 4 glasses if you go with the pitcher for $ 32. I think this is a good deal if all of you can kill an entire pitcher.

this really could have been better with a little effort. none of the apps were great, the cerviche was okay but the empanadas were way too greasy and heavily fried. the puerco cubano was just okay. the flan was okay too but it’s hard to mess that up. they had a big list of mojitos, but we didn’t partake.
so many good options in Walnut Creek, and better cuban places in the bay area.

I would be giving it a 4 if it wasn’t for the shard of glass I found in my mojito and the way management handled it.
I went last night for my birthday celebration with my coworkers. Half price mojitos on a Monday, what more could a group of girls want? Good food of course and they have that too. Black bean soup and Cuban sandwich were perfect.
When I ordered my second mojito I took a sip and found something hard when I bit down. GLASS!!! I let my waiter know who was very apologetic and confirmed it was glass. He said he would take my drink and let management know.
Management showed up without introducing herself. She apologized and said, «that’s not part of our recipe» smiling and joking about it. Not a laughing matter to me. She offered us free desert. She said I’d get a free one anyways since it was my birthday. I told her I didn’t want desert and she said «I’ll just bring out a few things»
THANKS FOR NOTHING. I’d rather have you pay for my tables drinks that night or at the very least not take it so lightly. Sadly because of the way she handled it, I won’t be back.

This review is primarily for the half price mojitos in mondays. You’re palate will be be screaming for more just after one!
Also, we orders the habana ceviche which tastes pretty good when coupled with the chimichurri sauce.
The ambience left me wondering how great this place must be for holiday parties or small group gatherings. It’s so festive. Glad to see in a lot of the reviews here that this is indeed the case.

Came in here for a drink and ended up staying longer and ordering some tapas. I really enjoyed my experience! Here are more details: —
Located right on Bonanza between Main and Commercial. Parking is available at parking garages all around the downtown area, or if you get lucky and snatch a spot on the street.
Walking in & seeing the colors & décor of the place, I felt I was transported to South Beach Miami. They did a really good job designing the interior to match the cuisine and the name.
The host greeted us with a smile and took us to a table, the seating is somewhat cozy, adjacent to other people inches away. Our waiter, Sid, came over and explained that this was American Cuban cuisine. Gave us a run down of the food, and was prompt in everything.
We started with a Mojito, I had the Blueberry Vodka Mojito and my friend had a Traditional. I really enjoyed mine but my friend found it a bit too sweet. Instead exchanged with same as mine and she was content.
So then decided to dive into some tapas, I ordered: —
Tuna Tartar: Delicious and creative
Chimichurri Steak: Very Tasty
Shrimp Ceviche: Did not taste much shrimp, name is misleading, it was meh.
Then to my surprise, I noticed they have rum flights! After going on a cruise to the Caribbean last summer, I became a fan of dark spicy rum. So I selected 3 of the oldest:
Dorado
Zacapa
Zaya
After two rounds of tasting, you can tell the Dorado was the tastiest!
So overall, cool concept, unique food, great service, tapas are a little petite @ $ 12 a plate, recommend being more generous ;). But I will certainly come back again!

I’ve eaten here with girlfriends for lunch, and also placed and picked up a large to-​go order for a party in our office. Quality is consistently good and they had no problem getting our somewhat complicated and personalized orders correct.
Dining in is always pleasant with the combination of their classy interior, great mixed drinks/​mojitos, and attentive staff. My favorite lunch item is the eggplant and roasted bell pepper sandwich with cheese. It’s delicious! (My only complaint is that I wish it were a little bit more substantial). To fill me up I just add an appetizer to my lunch: the ahi tartare is excellent and comes with spicy yucca chips which makes it easy to share.

This is a delayed review from Fridays happy hour. ⁹⁄₂₅
I actually should be doing homework, but I am having bit of writers block, sooo, I thought a little Unilocal review might help with getting the juices flowing.
So, me and my girl decided we needed something a bit stronger than the usual vino, and her suggestions was «$ 20 mojito pitchers at Havana» and my response was, what time should I be ready. Well, we got there what we thought was 15 minutes before happy hour was going to be over, turned out we actually had another hour, so you know what that means, yessssss, another pitcher.
During our first round, we had the boniato garlic fries with dipping sauce, I was a bit more parcel to the chimichuri aioli, than the bbq sauce, and somewhere in between us finishing the first pitcher and ordering the second pitcher we also had the calamari topped with a fried herb salad with the fire roasted jalapeño-​cilantro sauce and the paella with clams, shrimp, chorizo, fish with peas and saffron rice.
Everything was great, from the crispy calamari to the garlicky fries. Our bartenders and wait staff were both attentive and informative and always had a smile on their faces. I will be back to try more food and different flava mojito!