Please find another Cuban spot around town, I do not recommend this place. Some 20+ years of service are seemingly coming to an end. Last time I came it was nothing but subpar food and bad service. On top of that, the business owner justifies a servers bad behavior despite agreeing the server was "naturally a rude person". Beware. read more

Miami kid from a Cuban family. This place is legit. If you want AUTHENTIC Cuban food, this is the spot. What do I mean by authentic? Well, Columbia is NOT authentic Cuban food. It's good, but it's not authentic. This is not that. read more

Don't let the modest setting fool you: there is some truly excellent Cuban food being served here. We had Cafe Havana cater our wedding, and our guests couldn't stop telling us how delicious everything was. The key is that Cafe Havana focus on a few authentic Cuban staples (Ropa Vieja, empanadas, Cubano sandwiches, etc.) and makes sure they do them right. Whatever you order, you won't be disappointed. Bonus- Jose was a delight to work with: flexible, responsive and super-friendly. He makes sure his customers are taken care of, a rarity today. read more

Ownerrrre is super rude costumer service sucks ass -1 star I ordered to go and decided to sit and stay and owner asked for me to get up and go because it's a full service restaurant even though I ordered food from they place read more

Third times the charm...each time it gets better and better. The women working there are like going home for dinner and having them talk about their amazing foods. Their Cuban food is on par / better with any place I have ever eaten. Gracias! read more

Amazing food, hard to find good Cuban food in Bradenton but I think I've found it! Great customer service and food was delicious. Everything taste very homemade. Definitely will be going back and highly suggest it to others! read more

I have eaten at Café Havana many times. I had a terrible experience a few weeks back and decided to leave this review. When I walked in, there were less than 10 customers in the restaurant. I was ignored and had to identify myself. Then I waited for water and silverware and bread. I ordered a coffee which took over 10 minutes to receive. The staff present were on their phones, goofing off, and staring me. I must say that I almost felt unsafe. I had ordered my dinner so I waited and waited and waited. When it was brought to me I immediately had him remove it. The portion of meat had to be a tablespoon on my plate. He got belligerent. I left money for the coffee and left. (I did ask to speak with the manager, but the indifferent server said he was the manager) The entire experience caused me emotional stress. I will never go back. Tampa Cuban is worth the drive for sure. read more

Great food, excellent service. These best cuban sandwiches in town. Excellent prices. The cafe con leche is worth the trip

Had a great experience for lunch. Had a Media Noche and it was amazing. Good and friendly servers Oils definitely go again.

I really don't know what the hype was all about. The food had no flavor. The beans tasted like it went bad. The $4 milkshake tasted like plain milk. Will not be going back!! read more

Exceeded expectations great broiled chicken and yellow rice with plan teens and potatoes. Large variety of menu for mamey, Mango shakes Papaya. Large dinning area. read more

HELLO dear yelp friends ..me and the wife stopped in this place because it was recomended by a friend,,,when we arrived there were a few people there already we were greeted by the server and seated on a booth ...we looked over the menu and my wife had a few questions ..the waiter explained the choices and took our order..when the food arrived we were excited to try original authentic cuban food ..i must say that it was good although not fantastic ,,but for the price it was better than even places that i have tried in miami ..the place was clean ,jose the manager very friendly and again the waiter provided good service ..so overall i would try this place again ..for the folks that think its not that good ,well we are not in havana but in bradenton so unless you are willing to travel to cuba for lunch ..try cafe havana its actually pretty good..BUEN PROVECHO !!!!!!!!! read more

Just tried this place for takeout for the first time. Great selection and awesome plantains and rice! Definitely will be back to try their breakfast. read more

We walked in for coffee because I love coladas and cafe con leche , we originally asked our order to go , then we change our mind and wanted to dine in and for some reason they gave us a hard time . There was so many tables open . So finally the host seat us down and the server comes over and tells us that if we order to go we can't be seating and eating there . I told him "we change our mind can we dine in ? " he gave us the a rude face and walked away and told the manager . Long story short we didn't get service at all which is fine I guess but it was a really bad experience all the employees kept looking at as as if we were doing something really bad . Bad service ! We felt unwanted there . We even clean our own table because we felt bad on how they were treating us . Never visiting this place again . I give it two stars because coffee was good but again how can you mess up coffee . read more

The absolute worse pork asada I have ever had. It was soup. Gross. With onions! Just tasted like they scooped dirty dishwater into the bowl. I took one bite. I spit it out then I decided I would only be eating rice and beans with plantains for dinner. Thankfully it tasted good but clearly I was not welcome in that place. read more

They are a favorite place to go for lunch especially for the Friday special. Generous portions and friendly staff

The building itself is quite humble. The cups are plastic and cheap. Please do not let any of these things cloud your judgement of this wonderful food. I ordered the daily special of chicken fricassee, which came with yellow rice, plantains, and black beans. The chicken was a leg and thigh that had been cooked to the fall of the bone state and was seasoned perfectly. The giant scoop of rice was perfect for soaking up the sauce. The black beans were the first black beans I have ever had at a restaurant that weren't over salted. My dish tasted as though I was eating food a Cuban grandmother had cooked for a family dinner. The food is thoughtful and well executed. My wife ordered a standard Cuban sandwich. In short it was perfect. If you have not had a Cuban sandwich before, rather than me trying to describe it for you, I urge you to go and try one for yourself. Best of all, the bill for two was less than $30. I have paid a lot more for food that wasn't nearly as good. read more

We come here once a week, and love the food. The staff treats you like family. We enjoy this once a week treat very much. Ground beef burrito is phenomenal. read more

I tried this place a few years back and was not impressed. We tried it again recently and the feeling did not change. I usually gauge a Cuban placed based on the pork and I have to say their pork is quite boring. We went for an employee lunch and everybody felt the same way about their food, that it was rather bland. If you wa b t good Cuban food, check out Joses. read more

I was a little disappointed with this place but it's still a great place for lunch. The empenadas were good although the beef empenada needed more beef. Half of it was nearly hollow. The beef was better than the chicken. The cuban steak sandwich was a little dry and needed some kind of sauce. After putting a little hot sauce on it with some of their special mojo sauce (basically just garlic butter), it made the sandwich quite delicious. Overall, the food was good but there was nothing special about it. Everyone at my table enjoyed it but no one was taken aback by any of the food. read more

I wasn't overly impressed with this place. After reading reviews, I was really excited to try it while on vacation rather than going to another run-of-the-mill chain restaurant. For Cuban food it may have been quite good, I just wasn't overly impressed with the quality and/or flavor of the food. I went with the obvious choice, a standard Cuban sandwich. It wasn't bad, there was just nothing that made it stand out or left me wanting more. Just an average sandwich. Like I said, for what it was maybe it was really good, I just wasn't blown away by any means. It didn't help that the service was a little underwhelming. However, it is not very often that you get the chance to try a rare cuisine like Cuban, so I did appreciate the uniqueness of the menu. If you want to try Cuban cuisine this is the place to do it. I guess I just am not overly impressed with what Cuba has to offer! read more

After reading the 5* reviews my Cuban husband and I thought we give it a shot. So today we went by and I had the "special",Fricase de Pollo w/ black beans, and my husband had the Palomilla w/ red beans. I cannot say enough as to how disappointed we were with the lack of flavor in our foods. Not a spec of seasoning was used in the preparation. Definitely NOT the Cuban way of cooking. It was pitiful that we spent our money on this food. The only good thing I can say is the little waitress Tiffany and Jose. We mentioned the lack of flavor of our food and the son of the owner related to us that he could not do anything about it. We give it 5 thumbs DOWN. read more

Absolutely Amazing Food!! We discovered this place on Vacation a couple years ago. I've been here 4 different times now and the Food and Service are consistently good. My favorite is the "Friday Special" Chicken. Best Chicken of ANY kind I've ever had. The Beef or Chicken Empanadas are both AMAZING as well as the Pastries, the Guava and cheese especially. I also love the yellow rice and red beans! Super flavorful. The Traditional Cuban sandwich was ok, I'd still rather have the chicken or one of the steak entrees like the Churrasco. My son is obsessed with the Chorizo Quesadilla which is outstanding! Cafe Havana is definitely worth checking out you won't be disappointed! read more

There are few times in life when you find a Cuban that makes you say "wow... I could eat this every day" but Cafe Havana truely makes the best authentic Cuban sandwich in Bradenton. The bread extremely rich and fresh tasting, complimenting the savory roast pork and ham. They tend to use only 1 slice of pickle on each half, which I find not enough, so be sure to ask for extra if you're a pickle lover. The mango milkshake is also to die for, my whole family loves it. My one complaint is that our server was a little careless and lazy. We had to ask for our check several times and he wasn't doing anything. read more

Good rice and beans and good steak. Forgot my beans which is why I took away one star. Delicious and good service!

Food is good ,price is very razonable !!! Place is clean but the service something is not the best, server didn't know exactly what he was offer to us we ask a few questions and he didn't know what he offer us . read more

I came here for the first time and it's will be my last the waitress that to care of us kept rolling her eyes at my family ask for a tuna salad sandwich and they understood a tuna salad also ordered a breaded bistec and they gave me an empanada it was hilarious then I called the owner the restaurant because the waitress kept being rude and saying sarcastic phrases towards my fam and he defended the waiter saying it was her way of expressing herself lol. He never apologized for the situation and told us that if he didn't like it to not come back. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to no one .I would of put no stars if could've. read more

Good cuban breakfast, coffee, sandwiches, dinners and desserts. Casual dining. Restaurant and bathrooms are very clean. Staff is very attentive and last, check out their prices, very inexpensive. Good place for a good meal. read more

Cafe Havana - Breaded steak. Very good! - Cuban Near Me - Bradenton, Florida

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Cuban sandwich was not anywhere near as good as I was hoping. Pork tasted like it was heated up in a microwave and not enough mustang, missing that tang. I might have only had 1 or 2 pickles on the one half of a 12". I'd take my chances elsewhere. The tres leches was pretty good, just kind of soggy bread but good flavor, texture left more to be desired. Rice and beans were very good, but ask for extra onions, only got one little cup for a pretty big serving. read more

Definitely the worst Cuban sandwich I've ever had. The pork was not roast pork traditionally used in a Cuban sandwich. It was like bad, warmed up thin-sliced deli meat. The pickles were not crispy, they were limp and almost nonexistent taste-wise. The sandwich also does not come with any lettuce, tomatoes or other ingredients typically served on a Cuban in Tampa or Miami. Lastly, after waiting 10 minutes for the bill I had to find the waiter myself and ask for the check. The Cuban coffee was at least decent. read more

What a wonderful dinner. The empanadas were great, my ropa viejo was delicious... and our server, Guillermo was so attentive and took such good care of us. read more

Cruising by Louisville and had to stop. Was one of our favorites when we were locals and they did not disappoint me this time. Everything I've ever tried was amazing, yucca, plantains, pulled pork, pollo - oh My! Wish I had one in Nashville. read more

Came in at 1 o'clock, sat at the counter for over five minutes without being acknowledged. All the servers looked at you but no one did anything about it I even asked the gentleman next to me is this a self-service type of establishment? AT 1:10 I decided to walk out and go somewhere else. I'm on my way to Mirna's Cuban cuisine on 441 where the food is worth the wait. Never again Café Havana. read more

Worst Cuban food I have ever eaten. Black Bean Soup with rice, fried plantains, cafe con leche, fish 'Cuban' sandwich. Everything was inedible. Went on Tuesday, it was open, but says on Yelp that it's closed on Tuesdays. Maybe aliens had taken it over. read more

I have been coming here since middle school now being a freshmen in college I live three blocks away coffee is life here oh my goodness the way they boil there milk Cuban is always favorite just writing this review makes me hungry thinking about it AWESOME I recommend this place to a lot of my coworkers. read more

Came here for some Spanish food on our vacation. Loved it. They were very friendly it's cheap and I'm full :) would definitely recommend! read more

Cafe Havana - Cuban sandwich with tostones - Cuban Near Me - Bradenton, Florida

Let's just say that Sarasota/Bradenton is a tough place to find good, authentic ethnic food. Not sure why. Since this is the case, I thought, perhaps, Cuban might be the way to go since it's not that far from Miami. Food didn't disappoint too much. It was o.k. Probably would have rated 4 stars if it weren't for the woefully lacking service. As I walked in, I made it clear to the guy at the counter that I was visiting on business and not familiar with the restaurant. Although he did walk me through the (very) limited menu, he just kind of left me there in the middle of my order not to return until after I had wandered to the cash register where some other guy was ringing up a different customer. No one offered me a beverage so I just kind of asked what to do. They pointed me to the cooler in the back of the dining area which had a pretty decent selection of ethnic beverages. As I walked back to the cash register with a Jamaican soda in hand, the second guy at the counter starts ringing up my order and brings a styrofoam container in a plastic bag - my dinner. So, I kind of fumbled around and asked whether I could eat it there (rather than my hotel room 10 miles away). He was surprised, and apologized that the weren't aware that I wanted to eat in. Huh? Anyway, nice guy; he took my dinner out of the box and arranged it on a plate. Again, the meal was nearly a 4-star but had to dock it two stars for the awkward moments. P.S. The restaurant is definitely a classic "hole in the wall." It's basically in the back of a gas station mini-mart in a sketchy area. Price was reflective of that with the entire meal including beverage and dessert pastry for less than $14. read more

So my car is getting fixed. Me and my boyfriend are hungry and we are literally 5 minutes away so we order an Uber to drive us there. We get there order the food to go and then we decide to eat quickly there (because at the tire shop there's nowhere to sit obviously). We even tell them "we're actually gonna eat here if that's okay" the guy replies "yes that's fine" . We sit down and start eating. A server comes over and tells us "we are sorry but if you order the food to go you cannot sit down and eat here, it's not my rules but you cant eat here if the order is to go" MIND YOU we were the ONLY people there. It was not busy at all. We were in the middle of eating our food and get interrupted that we can't eat there when we just spent money there. I've been coming here for a long time and to be told we can't eat the food we just bought there is insane to me. Not going back. Thanks for nothing cafe havana read more

So delicious. So happy I found this place on Yelp on the long drive from Tampa to Pensacola. Very friendly. Delicious free little espresso shots passed around. A little off the interstate but so worth it. Ordered two Cubans and dessert. So big we took our leftovers home for supper. read more

When some workmates first took me there I was a little hesitant because of area. ( It's situated between a bad neighborhood known as duplex city and a large swath of industrial parks and trash dumps.) But I was turned around when I tasted the food. Now it's one of my favorite places to go. I always order the special of the day and am never disappointed. The prices are reasonable, the portions are more than enough and the service is always fast and friendly. I highly recommend it. read more