I had a great experience at Havana. I had amazingly delicious oysters. I forgot where they were from, but they were meaty and sweet. The presentation of the food was gorgeous. I watched other people's orders closely and they looked so pretty and delicious. I ended up with the lobster moqueca and they include a generous portion of lobster meat in the dish. I didn't end up having room for dessert, but will definitely be back next time! read more

Nice dinner. I thought I booked the parilla for a more casual experience, but apparently I didn't. No matter. My husband really loved his paella and I just had shrimp appetizer, which was quite good, and a salad. The salad could have been fresher, but it was tasty. Nice wine list. Good service. read more

Honestly wasn't expecting much from a Cuban restaurant in Maine, but this place is definitely a cut above most of the other restaurants in Bar Harbor. Made a reservation for Saturday night dinner a few days before - smart move as there wasn't a free table in the house. I ordered a mojito to start (delicious), and the bartender whipped up a fresh pina colada for my boyfriend even though it wasn't on the menu. For food, we split the tuna tartare and the paella. The former was fine - the tuna was fresh, avocado was...avocado, but there was nothing stand out about the dish. The paella, though, was amazing, and a hefty portion even split between us two. The bowl was jam packed with delicious seafood, and event though it didn't come in a paella pan, you could tell it was at least cooked in something like one because the rice was studded with socarrat (the crispy caramelized bits). Didn't have room for dessert at the restaurant, but we ordered a quatro leches cake to go. Ate it the next day on the road, and it was fantastic. read more

My group gave this restaurant so much trouble, I'm amazed that they were able to accommodate us so well throughout the meal. We were seated immediately as we arrived, but due to certain circumstances, a few members from our party had to step out for a bit of time. We took our time ordering the food, but half of us ended up ordering their meals first. As the remaining members returned, we were given the amuse bouche to start. The starters were so good that it quickly took our minds off of how underdressed we were. I personally ordered the Chicken with mole sauce and the crab cake appetizer. Though it wasn't visually appealing, everything about my entree was great. The crab cake was amazing as well. A few of us ended up splitting entrees as so we were pretty surprised when the staff offered to split our tab for us. The service at Havana is exceedingly above par and their food is definitely worth trying. Thank you for the meal. read more

Havana - Crab cake on a crab plate :) - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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We went to the Parrilla twice in three days and ate almost everything on the menu. Anything coming off the "mixed grill" is exceptional. Lobster Cake is also fantastic. read more

Havana - Wine tasting flight at the Parrilla. - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

As close to perfection as I've experienced. I am sure there are better restaurants but none that my budget, social circles and travel routes have led me to. One of the must-do items on every visit to Bar Harbor, which we do about once a year. (On one visit a few years ago, we actually went twice in one visit, on back-to-back evenings. But that is perhaps excessive - it's always nice to try new things too.) What makes Havana so special? It's not the one thing they do really well, or the one bad thing that they don't do. But rather, it's the number of positives, and the almost complete lack of negatives. So to share my opinions I am finally writing this review after perhaps 6 or 8 visits over that many years. First, the food. It has never disappointed in any respect. It gets top marks for taste, innovation, appearance, portion size, and choice. Every thing that I have ever ordered, though it may sound odd at first, is really more intriguing than odd. (Lobster with vanilla? Yes - it really does work!) And it always works, even if the description may leave me wondering after I order, if I made the right choice. As soon as the plate appears I know my choice was correct, even before tasting. Every visit has left we with memories that stay with me long after the meal is over. The style is not really Cuban per se, but almost everything has at least some Cuban influence; the use of plantains with the scallops, fresh salsas, avocados, etc. Plenty of Cuban and hispanic style cocktails - mohitos, sangrias, etc - they're good but I'm more into wine lately. Even the chocolate cake had Cuban undertones - more on that later. But don't worry if one of your dining party is not into "ethnic" food; without the name nobody would describe this as a Cuban restaurant - just creative modern American. On my last visit we shared the "proveleta" appetizer, an herb-crusted, grilled smoked provolone with toasted bread and pickled onions. Outstanding. For my entree: grilled scallops with citrus gremolata, plantain fritters, agave and bacon, served with a charred salsa verde. Well, I didn't know what a "charred salsa verde" was, and maybe wondered for a bit how they would manage to char a liquid, but they did, and again, it was outstanding. The plantain fritters were an excellent accompaniment for the large, perfectly cooked scallops. A visually beautiful presentation, and a perfect portion size, both in appearance and in reality. (I really dislike it when the food "looks" small on the plate, even if after finishing it I am satisfied.) Choice: top marks here too. On occasion I visit a restaurant where I am forced into a selection because of limited choices. It is always better to have too many choices and spend 10 minutes trying to decide between "my 5 top choices" - knowing that I probably won't go wrong with any of them - then really having no choice at all because I was really in the mood for, say, seafood, and there was only one such item on the menu. You will never have that problem at Havana. Service was excellent. Waiter was knowledgable, friendly, there when you needed him and invisible when you didn't, etc. As were all the other service people we dealt with. As always. There are at least 3 dining areas, including an outdoor area they added since my last visit 2 years ago. They're all decent but I prefer the original indoor area. It's elegant with white tablecloths contrasting with the bold saturated colorful walls, modern lighting, not too crowded and just right for comfortable dining with no stuffiness. This time that room was full so we were seated in the back room, a little less formal but also fine (though the chairs there could use some improvement). And a cool-looking bar that we don't have any experience with except to pass through on the way to the dining room. Looks like a nice cozy place to have drinks and an appetizer though. Pacing was just right. The dining experience there usually takes us just under 2 hours, and at no point do we feel rushed or impatient. For desert this time I got the flourless chocolate cake. One of my favorite things to try, they "Cubanized" it by pairing it with "bruleed avocado", green mango, and chili sugar. How can a curious diner such as myself resist? Bruleed avocado?! What's that? How do they do that?! Well, I just had to find out. While excellent, and getting extra credit for innovation, I thought the bruleed avocado added little to the dish, which was still as a whole, excellent. (Just 1 point short of my current best-anywhere flourless chocolate cake - see my "Red Inn" review.) That's about all I can say for now. Recommended without reservations. (You know what I mean - actually, reservations are recommended!). Writing this a couple of weeks after my last visit, memories still fresh, but sad knowing it may be a year or more before we can return. :( read more

Grabbed takeout on Thanksgiving. They had a special Turkey dinner for $52. I jumped at the opportunity to have a traditional meal during our weekend holiday trip. I ordered through the app they recommended and selected my pickup time. I sat in my car and entered during my time slot, picked up my bag and headed back to the hotel. The food was well pick and hot! Luckily we had plates in the room because none were provided. The meal had the works! Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, squash, green beans, and fresh rolls. They also packed a pumpkin flan for dessert. The page said it was a meal for two but, there was enough food to feed a family of 4. Incredibly generous and so fresh tasting. The Turkey was honestly the best cooked Turkey I have ever had. I'm not typically a fan fan but I figured I should try it and I was pleasantly surprised. We didn't go back for their traditional menu because we were only in town a few days but I will definitely try them when we return. read more

Havana - Thanksgiving turkey dinner - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Fancy place, with pricey menu. My medium filet was medium well. The Brussel sprouts were tasty. The halibut was good with a nice coconut flavor. In essence I should have read the other reviews and stayed away from the filet and gotten the signature lobster dish. When in Maine... read more

Interesting and eclectic menu and a nice change from the rest of the Bar Harbor menus. Service was great and we really liked sitting outside on a cool night. We had wine, the sausage party, scallops, proveleta, and lamb meatballs. Lamb was fabulous, scallops very good, sausage had a great selection (we took some home too since we ordered a tad too much) the proveleta was interesting - liked it but thought the chimichurri sauce was a bit spicier and too much (which is purely my taste and easy to worn around). Highly recommend and would absolutely go back. Fun night out! read more

Ok, the search is over. Best meal we had in Bar Harbor. Drinks were great! We started with a dozen oysters & the spring rolls ( you must order the spring rolls) then we had paella & lobster dish, incredible. We walked out completely satisfied & agreed - best meal of the trip read more

Havana - Paella - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Great service and excellent food. However, took off one star because the Tres Leches didn't taste like the real deal.

Absolutely fabulous food, lovely atmosphere and genuinely caring and friendly waitstaff and management. It's such a bonus when the manager comes around during the meal to find out how everything is and stays a few minutes to chat about things. Four of us had dinner here on our first night in Bar Harbor. Some of the menu highlights were: black bean and chorizo soup - we hear it is not on the menu every night and some people call in hopes that it is so they can come over and order it; smoked pork with crispy corn pancake and jicama slaw; Indonesian chicken over Manchego cheese grits accompanied by green beans with ham; and best of all, not to be missed -- lobster Moqueca - fresh lobster meat simmered in a savory coconut broth with whitefish, red peppers and onions, and served with a saffron/cilantro rice. That dish is probably worth jumping in the car and driving the 3 hours to get there. I'm still thinking about it a week later! For dessert, we shared that flourless chocolate torte and the tres leches - angel food cake soaked in coconut milk, sweetened with condensed milk, and evaporated milk, topped with a lime infused buttercream frosting. Don't be fooled by the name of the restaurant, Havana. It is not Cuban food. If you are in Bar Harbor, you really should not miss going here for dinner. read more

Havana - Tres Leches Cake - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

I'm giving it four stars because the waiter was a bit of an asshole. I'm not sure he meant to be but nevertheless he was not friendly. The food was good! My husband ordered the mixed meats, which was amazing. I ordered the carnitas and I thought they were pretty good. The food is tapas style, which I didn't know before we ordered. It was a bit pricy in my opinion but then again it's downtown Bar Harbor. read more

Havana - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

A highly recommended restaurant on this small island. Nice environment and delicate food are provided here. We started with a taste of a small potion of dish which is made of one kind of fish(forgot the name) cheese and sweet cookie. The sweetness of cookie and salty taste of cheese are perfectly combined. We ordered crab cakes for our appetizer. It is the best crab cake I have tried on this island. The crab meat is soft, but the skin is crispy. The fishy taste of crabs is perfectly avoided. The main dish we ordered are fish of the day and lobster. The fish dish is mediocre, but the lobster dish is creative and tasteful. It comes with coconut sauce and rice. The sour and sweet tastes of coconut sauce decorate the flat taste of lobster. This restaurant is highly recommended because of its nice environment and delicate food. read more

Havana - Detail: they provide three kind of sauces for bread. - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

Havana is run like a fine machine. The table was ready on time, the service was perfect and the food and drinks were incredible.

One of nicest restaurant at Bar Harbor! You should definitely make a reservation before coming here because it can get busy. We started with the Proveleta with Andouille Sausage and it was pretty tasty! We also ordered the Seafood Paella and the Lamb dish. The paella was decent but it was not something to rave about so I would skip the seafood paella and order something else. The Lamb dish was pretty good! It was delicious! I would definitely order that again. The service was great and I highly recommend anyone to visit this restaurant if you're planning to visit Bar Harbor! read more

Havana - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Oh man. This was such a great experience. Our waiter, in his mask, was wonderful, friendly and attentive. The atmosphere was quiet and intimate. You can tell they have high standards for their staff. The food. The food was amazing. I had the filet mignon, which is my favorite beef cut. It was simply delicious, I can't even do it justice with words. My husband got the pork chop special, he loves pork chops. He was making happy sounds the whole time and told the waiter it was the best pork chop he had eaten. I honestly thought he was going to pick up the bone and gnaw on it. Lol. I HIGHLY recommend this place if you like phenomenal food and don't mind paying for it. read more

Service - great. Potion - great. Flavor - okay. We wanted to have some paella and this was where we went. We ordered quite a lot food. Firstly the complementary bread was very yummy with interesting sauces to dip in. Then we ordered half dozen oysters - yummy, and mussels. I am personally not a fan of its base sauce. Could taste very strong wine based but not flavorful enough. Then for entree I got paella. It was slightly over cooked. Came in a great portion but I didn't think it was high quality made. Decor is def fine dining this bill is on the higher side. read more

Havana - Seafood Paella and Lobster Moqueca -okay - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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Called last minute for a reservation and they were very accommodating! Beautiful outdoor patio with social distancing in place. Drinks and wine selection were on point. Love the mix of seafood with Latin flare! The seafood paella was especially excellent! 5 stars for excellent service and food! So happy we got to experience Havana! read more

I came to Havana for the first time back in early May where I enjoyed a 3-hour impromptu dinner after a trek to Cadillac Mountain and Thunder Hole! My table was full of all kinds that the people across from me was amazed and asked about d eat dish! I then went back with my family in mid-June. Loved the menu and the hint of Filipino dishes was easily detectable & mouthwatering good. I can eat their Maine cheese plate, Adobo, and Flan everyday! The chef is very creative and so friendly! Caipiranha and piano four were my favorites for drinks (the former to remind me if my Brazilian BFF and the latter to remind me of my adventures in Peru :-) I'm sure President Obama would agree that the dining experience here was awesome when he visited a few years ago. read more

Pleasantly surprised by our wonderful dinner here. After looking at online reviews, we settled on trying this place for a different dinner while in Bar Harbor for the weekend. My boyfriend was thrilled to have a Cuba Libre with a bottle of real Coke and I had the mojito which was delicious. Proveleta was amazing and the steak was also great. Ambience was perfect - we really enjoyed the live music and could tell from sitting at the bar that many other guests were locals who all knew each other. Very friendly and welcoming atmosphere with great service and cocktails from Kristina at the bar. We will be back next year! read more

Havana is a must visit, if you aren't on a budget. For real. The whole experience is enchanting. It's a small place, so Seafood Paellayou probably want to make reservations. The food, drinks and staff are second to none. Told them on Open Table that the occasion was my anniversary and they got us a card and had it waiting on the table. It felt like a very personalized and thoughtful gift. Our compliments to the wait staff, executive chef, pastry cafe, and management for making the night a very unforgettable place. read more

Fantastic: - service! - presentation - "extras" - complimentary cucumber dish (bite), bread spreads OK: - paella I was actually a little bit puzzled that the reviews for the paella were so positive. I am a total paella snob... I lived in Valencia, Spain (home of paella!) and ate the best most divine paella ever there. The Havana paella was not bad, but it wasn't what I expected... it felt too charred, too smoked... like it took on the flavor of sausage too much. I felt that the best part, the rice that gets burned on the bottom of the pan ('la paella'), wasn't really there. I guess I might really be too spoiled -- I would literally scrape the rice off the bottom of the pan and I could just... lick it off my fingers! But, here, it was served in a bowl, not the original pan... it was just a totally different flavor profile. One that I was not used to. But one that apparently worked for many (just not me). I had actually wished I ordered the mussels... because smelling it served around me made me feel so much regret... mmmm. read more

Thank you for such an excellent dinner to celebrate our son's birthday ..we thoroughly enjoyed the delicious meal and our waiter, Brandon was just the sweetest...oh the paella was probably the best we've ever had! No wonder the Obamas chose to dine here in 2010! read more

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Great Paella. Salad was fresh and delicious. Nice atmosphere. Excellent service. Good place for a nice night out.

Had an amazing dinner tonight! The lobster cakes had big chunks of delicious lobster, the Springs rolls had such a unique savory flavors and the seafood paella was some of the best I've ever had and I've been to Spain! Our server Abbie was so lovely and attentive and massively attributed to our amazing experience. read more

Excellent! Good break from the more tourist filled options in bar harbor. Everyone loved the oysters! Service was exceptional and great recommendations from our server. All four people in our party were satisfied with each entree. Good spot and better with reservation read more

Havana - Lobster moqueca - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

This restaurant is worthy is be graded with 5 stars for their food, service and environment!!! We had a reservation and were greeted by the hostess upon entrance and were seated immediately! Our server was great and very attentive! The food were amazing, the prices are a bit pricey; but you get what you pay for. All the food we ordered were delicious, I will attached the pictures for your viewing. It's worth the money so if you're around Bar Harbor, pay them a visit but make sure you make a reservation ahead of time. read more

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Amazing food! Totally recommend the pork adobo and Lobster cake! My friend ordered the ousters, which were good. And grilled chicken and mashed potatoes. read more

Great restaurant with excellent service! Creative and well executed food. Cocktails were spot on! You canning go wrong here.

The food is amazing and while they are struggling to make the ambiance seem as lively as possible, they are very COVID conscience and the table spacing makes it challenging, at leas for the area we were seated at. The service was top notch and let's just say you could see their smiles right through that required mask. Definitely on my list of highly recommended places to enjoy a dining experience read more

We went without reservations and were seated in the outdoor "Parrilla" area which was fine. After reading the reviews it seemed like reservations were a must to be seated inside. The outdoors seemed like a fun area, but forgot or didn't realize there were completely different menus for inside/outside. The outside Parrilla section had mostly tapas style small/large plates. The indoor menu was more desirable but we were ok with the lesser prices Parrilla menu options at the time. Nice drink options. Got the mojito which was fine, but nothing special considering the price/size. The food was lack-luster, especially considering the price. We ordered the mixed meat (chicken, shrimp, beef, andouille; $33) and mixed veggie boards (carrots, zucchini, stuffed bell-pepper, green-beans; $31). It took quite a while to get our food, which we are generally ok with if the food matches the anticipation. The meat options were all overcooked and only luke-warm to room-temp when they hit the table (and it wasn't like a properly rested steakhouse lukewarm or anything). Maybe it was just a bad day, but the grill seemed to be the main event considering you can see it from where you're seated outside. Maybe i've watched too much Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares but either it sat too long on the grill and then the pass or things were pre-cooked before-hand and then heated up on the grill. The veggies were ok except for the stuffed pepper which had two honk'n slices of only 30% melted American cheese stuffed with random veggies. I hate to be a hater, but this meal tonight didn't match the rest of the 5-star Yelp reviews and 5-star $$$ expectations. Sorry... read more

Best place to eat in bar harbor !! Good. Service. It's all excellent. Get there early and stay late

Food price / quality ratio 9.5. Atmosphere is contemporary Caribbean, artistically and functionally designed. The menu is weighted towards seafood, with some very creative non-seafood offerings. The evening's specials were unique and boldly prepared. Both my wife and I had the halibut special. Generous portion, thick cut. Exquisite! Incredible presentation (see photo). A medley of flavors, textures, and colors that you can only get from a true Chef/Artist. Small, but well thought out dessert list. Huge selection of apertiffs, brandies, ports, and libations of all types. Make reservations to assure a table is available, as there is limited seating. This is not the "pub fare" you will find at 90% of the other local restaurants. This is fine dining at it's best! Go Chef Aaron! read more

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Havana's offers two very different options - open air seating outside (no reservations taken) and enjoy the street-level Gastro-pub with small plates and lots of different Brazilian-inspired choices. For a nice date, make a reservation for the inside "fine dining" experience. We opted for the later. So the cocktails are really incredible. I ordered a whiskey sour with the well bourbon and it was the best I've ever had (and a generous amount as well). She had the caipirinha- which is kinda like a Brazilian mohito - it was WICKED good!! The dinner menu is not overwhelming. We went with the cheese plate appetizer, and she had the halibut while I had the ribeye. Everything on the plate was delicious. Our only problem is we needed a wagon to roll us home after. Havana's didn't disappoint - highly recommend. read more

My review is kind of mixed based on certain aspects of my experience. This restaurant came highly recommended by a number of locals in the area. Based on the food, I can definitely understand why it was recommended. Our service however was not very good. Our server was so nice, but very forgetful and just kind of all over the place. We were there for almost 3 hours, which in my opinion is just too long for dinner. My pork chop came out almost rare so I had to send that back in, but honestly besides that the food was wonderful. I think maybe add there been a few extra servers to take the pressure off the waiters that were working it might've been a better experience. read more

Booked way in advance as I knew it would be hard to get a res. The food was amazing, seafood paella dish could be shared if you had a salad and appetizer. Loaded with mussels, chorizo and shrimp, generous portion of sweet lobster and huge scallops. The other dish was the scallops served over spaghetti squash and plantains. Dessert was heaven chocolate-latte. Service was good and you didn't feel rushed. The owner came over and told us they have been there for 20 seasons. If you are in Bar Harbor don't miss this place read more

Havana - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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This has become one of my favorite places in the world. I would recommend this place to anyone visiting bar harbor for a special occasion. I had the spring rolls and the paella which were the best I had ever had. The cocktails were amazing. COVID precautions were taken with social distancing and everyone wore masks. MAKE A RESERVATION. We were celebrating our anniversary and wrote that on our open table page. Everyone wished us a anniversary and they even wrote us a card. It was Incredibly special. read more

The food is unique. It has south american touch to. Everything you order but a must place of you are looking for fine dining in bar harbor. We went there for our first anniversary and it was worth it. Order filet mignon if you are a steak lover. Stay away from appetizers as they are overly pricey for the portion size. As the servers they are very helpful. read more

Havana - Filet mignon and catch of the day. - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

My brother-in-law made my husband and I reservations at Havana during our stay in MDI for our honeymoon. First off, Havana is a pretty romantic setting. We were seated in a corner of the dining room, in front of the window. Beautiful tapestries hanging above us. We were greeted by our waiter who presented us with a card from the Havana staff congratulating us. Our waiter was wonderful. The food was tasty and the presentation was impeccable. We also had the pleasure of meeting Mike, owner of Havana, who came by our table to see how things were and where we were visiting from. At the end of our meal, our waiter presented us with a plate that in chocolate spelled out congratulations. On the plate was whip cream and a chocolate for each of us. Great final touch to a wonderful meal. Thank you Havana staff! read more

Havana - On our honeymoon in MDI... When we arrived we were presented with this card. - Seafood Near Me - Bar Harbor, Maine

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