Havana

I've had lunch here 5 times now and enjoy it every single time... as do the friends I bring here. I do find the service just a little slow (probably at the kitchen end), and if they had live music I'd just move in. The usual hassles of parking and Paying thru' the nose in Walnut Creek exist in this area on Bonanza St. too. The parking people in this city are insane, there must be one for every 4 block radius! If you want to have something a little different, tasty, not overly expensive and listen to some great Cuban music (while drinking their delicious Mojitos of course), this is a great spot. I've had almost everything on the menu (by trying what my friends ordered too) and it's all good. Pros: Cool, different lunch spot Cons: Slightly slow service? more

Traveled back to Bonanza Street for lunch Tue 6/30/09 over to Havana & sooo glad I did! I've passed this restaurant many times on my lunch walks in dwntn Walnut Creek & driven by the one in Alameda many times as well...now I'm a Havana fan =) LOCATION & RESTAURANT: Next to Fujian Restaurant, the view outside upfront looks small, but this place opens up to quite spacious & clean restaurant. Meter parking all over this place, else garage parking on Cypress Ave & Locust Ave (about 1-block South). Color schemes are a tropical blue & green w/ comfy seating tables & booths & a welcoming bar area too. Just sitting here about 1-2min enjoying the scenery of the place, I just loved it...the decor, music, & seating is simply welcoming to anyone. SERVICE: Great! Colleague & I arrived 5-10min before noon (the lunch crowd) so there was only one other table taken. Hostess/Waitress greets us w/ a pleasant smile & ""welcome"" upon entrance & let us chose where we wanted to be seated. Didn't catch her name, but this Hostess/Waitress basically was covering the floor w/ greeting, seating, order taking, & follow-up. Other colleagues of hers brought out food to other patrons @ times & also did follow-up. By the time we finished our lunch, this place was decently 1/3 full. Great service all around tho...keep up the good work team ;-) DRINKS: Havana Mojitos range $7-$9 & are delicious! They have ""Mojito Mondays"" apparently too (half off). Colleague had De Corazo (Silver Tiquilia, Chambord) & I had De Mango (Parrot Bay Mango Rum)...both were excellente. FOOD: Fresh, hot, tasty, juicy, & just damn good! The chef is definitely cookin' w/ ""cuban"" love up in here! We shared the Crab Cakes which were 2 lil' cute palm-fitting cakes that had a nice crunch on the outside yet a soft bite of crab of on the inside; the Pineapple Aioli sauce added nicely to these hot cakes & greenery. My colleage had the ""Bistec a la Havana"" & I kid you not this marinated skirt steak was served grilled & juicy perfectly...of course I tasted this, so I can vouch my own opinion on this dish. I got the ""Chicken Adobe""..the Filipina in me jumped on this 'cuz I saw ""adobe"" *tee-hee*. It wasn't a Filipino chkn adobe dish, but rather adobe seasoning I believe for the chkn. Another grilled & juicy entree that brings taste satisfaction. All this was scrum-didly-umptous! Final tab just over $59. Everything we ate & drank gets a recommendation, as well as this location! Would I come back? Absolutely! I'd do this location again & very much tempted to try out the Alameda location now. Patrons next to me on this luncheon enjoyed a salad & a pressed sandwich...I don't think I was starrin' @ the gent's sandwich (that's what I tell myself), but it looked reeeeally good as he enjoyed it. My 1st taste of ""Cuban Cuisine"" & came out very pleased. Pros: Great food & customer service with tasty mojitos Cons: Larger dessert menu more

If you're looking for a quiet restaurant, look elsewhere. The service is friendly and attentive, which makes you feel welcomed and noticed. The food tastes a bit bland, although the portions are adequate. Somewhat overpriced considering the food quality. Pros: Friendly service, good drinks Cons: parking, noisy, bland food more

Great first date place - went on a Wednesday and was promptly seated near the bar - great atmosphere. Ordered a pitcher of mojitos, and while it seems expensive, considering we got 8 drinks out of it, not expensive at all - best mojito i've had in the east bay. stayed late - well past closing. Met the manager Felix - cool guy. did shots with him. Would definitely recommend - crab cakes were excellent as was the garlic fries. Can't wait to try the entrees. more

Havana has a friendly staff who tries hard to please. The mojitos and tapas were good, although everything was a bit overpriced. The mixed green salad and scallops were nicely done, although the scallop portion was small. Crab cakes were tasty but a bit watery. Desserts (we got the flan and mousse) were nothing memorable. Be prepared to wait a long time for a table on a Saturday night, although some bar seating is available. \r \r Here's the gotcha: do not park in back of this restaurant! I got a $25 parking ticket for doing so and, when i called Havana to ask about this, i was told that those parking spaces are not for Havana customers. There's other parking nearby, so be prepared to pay for it and walk a little. Pros: Good tapas and mojitos, friendly staff Cons: Pricing, parking (do not park in back!) more

I love this place! Great lively atmosphere, happy and friendly staff and truly innovative food! I've tried almost everything on the menu, so I was happy to see some new specials on my last visit. The Shrimp Ceviche should definitely be added to their regular line up. To top it all off, their bar has one of the best looking crowds around Thurs. through Saturday night :-) Great spot for groups of singles! Pros: New and exciting fgoor and atmosphere! more

our friends said to go for the Mojitos. they are definitely the star of this restaurant, but we also found the food to be innovative, well prepared and priced right. plantain crusted halibut stole the show and our waitress was the sweetest around. Pros: food, drinks, service Cons: very busy on friday and saturday nights more

Havana really blew us away with their catering for our engagement party this past weekend. We figured that our budget wouldn't allow for a spectacular spread, but we were 100% wrong. The food was absolutely fantastic. We had crab cakes and mini cuban sandwiches for appetizers plus ropa vieja w/rice & beans, plantain crusted halibut, arugula salad and a great caramel flan for dessert. What impressed us the most was the great service and special attention to set up and decor. I highly recomend their catering services for any type of occasion. Pros: scrumptious cuisine, attentive and friendly service Cons: zero more

This was one of the best appetizers I have had anywhere. The crispy shoestring boniato fries really topped it off. I've had chimichurri sauce before but it never looked so vibrant with such a unique flavor and kick. They should definitely bottle this stuff! Pros: Tapas, Service, Price Cons: No live music more

Stumbled on this place last night and was pleasantly surprised by the vibe and cuisine. Paella was awesome as was the Cuban Sandwich. Great bar atmosphere and everyone was very friendly. I'll definitely be back soon. Pros: Great Food, Cool Atmosphere Cons: nothing that I could more

Ive tried the place a couple of times. I know cuban food. I have yet to be impressed. I think the food lacks flavor. Seems like the place to go if you want to have a mojito and pick up on a date.\r Pros: young people to hang out with Cons: yung people to hang out with more

I have dined at Havana several times over the past year, and the food has always been excellent. I especially recommend their seafood dishes, but friends are taken with the cuban sandwich. I have also had the chicken adobo which is also very tasty - my husband's favorite. Salads are crisp - especially the arugula salad. The black bean soup is also wonderful and a perfect start or a meal in itself if you are not too hungry.\r \r The atmosphere is a bit loud but we just expect this and it is not a problem. The decor appears authentic and is very fun. The wait staff have been consistently friendly and offer great suggestions to help plan the meal. \r \r All in all, a great place to go with friends -not your average, mundane dining establishment!\r \r Pros: Friendly staff, great food Cons: don't take reservations more

The mojitos are great. You should NOT go here for a meal. The food is marginal at best. If there is one thing I know, it is Cuban food. This is NOT cuban food. It is a bunch of cuban (and non) cuban ingredients thrown together in all the wrong ways. It looked pretty- but there was no flavor. \r \r The drinks are good. They should expand their tapas menu (nothing on there currently impresses), and call it a Tapas bar. Pros: cool decor Cons: TOO EXPENSIVE! bad food. more

For the money, you can do much better...\r \r First, the seating is miserable. It is cramped, loud, uncomfortable, and decorated from IKEA.\r \r Second, the food is overpriced and very bland. Little flavor, fair presentation, and the kitchen absolutely ignores special requests. This is not Cuban food, but rather a poor attempt at making food that resembles Cuban food...\r \r Third, the service is probably the worst I have had in a long while. Water is not re-filled. We were served appetizers but given no plates! I requested plates three times and the waitress forgot...\r \r Fourth, the drinks are not that good.\r \r Fifth, no reservations which makes planning an evening difficult.\r \r Bottom line, the place looks like it might be fun from the outside. The venue seems good and the menu looks appetizing. When you dine there, however, the flaws of this restaurant surface... Cons: Uncomfortable seating, bland food, bad service more

just moved to pleasant hill from SF and have been finding it hard to locate a great afterwork spot. Havana is it! Their mojitos are the perfect way to unwind and they taste even better when you pair them with some of their tapas (i love the scallops and the fried plaintains). friday nights get really busy if you show up around 8pm so i try to get there early and snag a seat on their long bar table. parking is definitely difficult on weekends, so show up early to circle around the block or just pay for parking across the street. Pros: Hip, fun atmosphere Cons: parking more

AMAZING foods...we couldn't decide what to get, so decided to go with 2 full size salads and a selection of tapas......there was NOTHING on the table that we didnt like, and we had some pretty picky eaters with us!! Street parking is tough, but after business hours, you can park in the wells fargo parking lot across the street for $4 (pay first, and leave the receipt on your dashboard)...i'll definitely go back again and again! Pros: Food, service Cons: a bit loud more

We wandered into Havana on a Thursday night because the menu looked decent and the decor was unique. The mojitos were OK, although they are small and cost $7, which is expensive considering they use cheap (Bacardi) rum. We ordered a selection of tapas and all were average or below average. Their ""twice-fried"" plantains were dried out and tasted like cardboard. The scallops were overcooked, and the crabcakes tasted like they were out of the freezer section of the supermarket. Service consisted of the waiter taking our order and someone else dropping off our food. Other than that, there was no attention whatsoever. I will never go back here. It's worth the extra 10 minute drive to a Berkeley/Oakland restaurant for MUCH better food and ambiance at the same prices. Pros: Decor Cons: Food, Service, Quality more

I've been twice now, and enjoy the drinks and ambiance. The food is simply not good. Bland, flavorless and plain are words that describe it. Still, a nice spot to have a drink before or after dinner. Pros: drinks, ambiance Cons: food more

We visit Walnut Creek about once a month and were very happy to stumble across this restaurant on a recent stay. Chimichurri Steak, Scallops with a Ginger/Citrus Sauce and their shredded beef dish (Ropa Vieja) were all excellent and very different. In a town that mostly offers Italian and Asian restaurants, this is a very refreshing alternative. Wish there was one in Chicago! Pros: Food, Tropical Atmosphere, Service more

I love this place for drinks and the sort of ""scene"" but not for food. It's just sort of bland and unexciting and I guess I was expecting something a bit more spicy and fun... I wouldn't go back for dinner, put it that way. Pros: Fun drinks Cons: Sub-par food more