Havana Mania

I've been going to Havana Mania since it's inseption and I have to say that as a Cuban the food there is very good. Of course I make it better :-) but over all for a restaurant is very good, considering there's nothing around the Bay Area. I've been to a few unmentionable Cuban restaurants that now have closed their doors and I think after 15 years of business Havana Mania needs to take a bow. Here's to many, many more years of great food! Cheers! more

I am not impressed, in the slightest. I have lived in RB for over 6 years now and have frequented this restaurant a number of times. Most of the time, it's because someone insists. For the life of me, I have no idea why people want to keep coming back. The food used to be good (5 years ago) but everything is either dry or way too garlicky and salty (and, I love garlic). Take a look at the menu. Almost all of their chicken dishes are exactly the same. The only difference is whatever topping they put on it. How utterly unoriginal and uninspired. I decided to try something different, a ground beef dish (can't remember the name. Must have blocked it out). Gross. Gross looking, gross tasting. It was a beige mess. The service is lacking. I rarely get a water refill, the waiters keep forgetting orders, sometimes the orders take too long. I don't understand why people love this place. Even there platanos are terrible. Wishing there was a good cuban place in the So. Bay. This certainly isn't it. more

I came with a party of family and friends from the IE on a Saturday (07-17-09). Havana Mania was recommended by family. The place was empty. We were all excited to try the menu, being a group made up of Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Mexicans. It is a rare treat in Southern California to eat Caribbean food. We quickly noticed that all of our dishes had no flavor. It completely lacked the trademark spices that make Cuban and Puerto Rican food so special. The chicken was so dry, our friend could not eat it. My wife made the statement that the Cuban sandwiches are better at the Cheesecake Factory. After a half hour after having eaten the lechon, my stomach became bloated, nauseous, and I felt light-headed. To top it all off, the restroom floor was covered in urine. I was still hopeful and wanted to try a Mojito, but everyone in the party stated the same thing: ""If the food is this bad, you certainly DO NOT want to try a Mojito."" Sorry guys, I'm just keeping it real. Pros: Pretty Plants Cons: Bland Food. more

What a wonderful Cuban restaurant! I was dragged out on a night when I wasn't really feeling it & ended up having a blast. Probably partly due to the fact that Havana Mania makes a delicious mojito - either way, great food and atmosphere. more

A top Cuban restaurant in Redondo Beach, this place is regularly packed during lunch and dinner. Havana Mania has become a highly popular Redondo Beach dining spot due to its amazing Cuban cuisine, fine cocktails and warm atmosphere. Needless to say, it's well worth the wait to experience a famous Havana Mania roasted pork or the Filete de Pollo con Hongos (Chicken Breast filet with Mushroom) and deep-fried plantains. Havana Mania delivers a fun, exciting and delicious Cuban dining experience in Redono Beach. Pros: Great Place, Great Food more

I live in the area and have visited Havana mania several times, I can honestly say that the taste of the food is not consitant. The only delicious entree I've had was the chicken with Mushrooms out of the classis Cuban chicken, Cuban steak, arroz con pollo, ECT. All of these were all a disappointment. Very dry and lacking flavour. I grew up with home made Cuban food and I know it?s hard for restaurants to compare to that but the food has consistently been below standards. I've read other reviews of how this is family owned & operated which confuses me as the food and the services is bad. Pros: Mojitos,muisc,happy hour Cons: service, food,bar more

Very similar in menu to Versailles if you have ever been there. The food is well proportioned and moderately priced. I've been here several times and enjoy many plates. The classic arroz con pollo is one of my favorites. Not a fine dining establishment but a nice eating experience nonetheless. Pros: Modest and tasty more

We have been going to Havana Mania for years now and I have to say, the service has been consistently FLAWED. We don't go there for their service but for their Cuban style Oxtail dish and maybe the appetizer sampler. That's pretty much it! Occasionally, I like to have to a drink there and you can't really mess up a Cuban Mojito, so I would say that's a safe bet. The last time my friends and I were there (which was 3 days ago), we got the staple Sampler, Cuban Chicken, Oxtail, and a Halibut dish. Both chicken plates came as the same dish and way overcooked - with no apologies! We kindly asked for the Halibut that we ordered and it came 15 minutes later, as overcooked and rubbery. We said no more, paid the bill and left knowing that the next time we go there, we can only get the Oxtail plate b/c it is marinated for a long time and always comes out tasting great. MENTAL NOTE: Havana Mania tests my patience w/ their flawed service & food woes. There might be ONE more time I will go there. But w/out improvements, I will make it a point to make my own Oxtail dish and tell friends to come to my house for dinner. I hope you guys are improving as you read this! more

This place is the best, especially at happy hour when you can get a $3 really good mojito. The pork is amazing and any appetizer with yuca is delicious. The staff is personable and really fun and you can pretty much always get a table no matter what time. Pros: cheap mojitos, parking Cons: ambience more

Well, there were a lot of mixed comments in the previous reviews I read, but most said the food was good, the major problem was service. I went on a Wednesday at about 7:30PM.. The place still had a pretty good crowd, but was not full so I didn't have to wait for a table. Actually, my service was very good. I was seated, had a drink, had some bread and placed my order within about 10 minutes after arriving. My food arrived promptly, the waiter kept tabs on me, all was good. The food had very good flavor, my only complaint was that the meat I had was a little tough and dry. Very good setting though, for business or a date (although not an intimate setting). I eat out a lot and this place was pretty good overall. Pros: I had good service, food had good flavor Cons: Some previous bad comments, my meat was a tad tough more

Ok, whoever writes that they are Cuban and loves this place has obviously had one too many Mojitos before the food arrived. Granted the Mojitos are very good. What we had was so-so at best. The Papas Rellenos were bland. The yucca with pork and garlic ??? Where was the garlic? The breaded steak was super hard and tasteless and the lechon asado was also bland and tasted like scraps topped with onions. Pros: Great services Cons: Mediocre food at best more

a nice place. live music on the weekends and monday nights. haven't had a bad meal their yet. more

a nice place. live music on the weekends and monday nights. haven't had a bad meal their yet. more

I can't comment on the food because we didn't stay long enough to eat. We went after reading some good reviews online. We were seated promptly (party of 2) outside on their indoor patio. We waited for 10 mins and no one came to even ask us for our drinks, although two waiters did come out to serve other tables. They weren't even outside long enough for us to wave them over. After 10 mins a server came over but at that point we didn't feel like eating there anymore. We complained to the manager and he apologized and said service usually wasn't like that. He did seem sincere, but bad service is something I don't tolerate. I won't go there again. more

When there on Saturday night very busy, we waited about 30 minutes for a table but it was worth the wait, we order some mojitos from the bar and listen to the music, they call our name and we sat down in a table for 6 under the coconut tree and we order our food, roast pork, chicken filet with onions, the halibut, garlic shrimp, 1/2 chicken and one kid chicken salad ,and the reason I am tell you this is because I have been in many cuban restaurant and usully we order the same thing if availble and it was very tastee and delicious and I know my cuban food I am from cuba, the service was great , the food was excellent and the music was very enjoyable. Pros: One of the Best Cuban Restaurant that I have eaten Cons: Very busy more

I read your response to my review, knowing you would LIE, so I decided to stop back and set the story straight. Your customer service is SO terrible that obviously you don't recall me coming up to YOU directly at the bar to inform you of the situation. Myself and another member of my party ALSO spoke directly to your wife, perhaps she doesn't remember because she didn't care. Both of you were rude, you actually yelled at me...FUNNY how you don't remember that!!! Of COURSE you wouldn't want the general public to know how awful you truly are...but I'm sure after dining at your restaraunt they will see your true colors. Pros: Going home Cons: Havana Mania more

A few weekends ago some friends of ours suggest we go to Havana Mania for dinner. We had 5 people in our party, 4 adults (1 woman 7 months pregnant and diabetic) and one 2 yr old child. We arrived at 9pm and were told there was 1 group ahead of us, and we would be sat promptly. By 9:45 four other groups of 4 and 5 people had been sat before us. When we inquired why we were still waiting and others had been sat we were treated very rudely (yelled at) by the male owner. Basically we were told we had to wait for a table that could accomodate a highchair, -even though we had told the hostess previously that the child was too big to fit in a highchair. They gave us some song & dance about not being able to add chairs to the end of tables, fire code, etc. The female owner was at a loss for words when we pointed out 3 tables currently eating that had extra chairs pulled up to the ends (1 blocking the fire exit). The female owner sat us and went to say a few words to our waiter. Our pregnant / diabetic dinner guest asked the waiter for some bread for the now very hungry 2 year old. We were promptly told that the restaraunt was ""out of bread""...right as the table across from us received a fresh basket. Service lagged (possibly at the request of the horrible owners)...we recieved a basket of bread towards the end of them meal and left the restaraunt at about 10:45. Not once did either of the owners apologize to us for making us wait while they sat random people who arrived after us with no reservations. In fact, I've never seen such outright rudeness in quite awhile. Luckily there are many cuban eateries in LA, and I can think of 3 right now that have FAR better fare. Don't waste your time waiting in this cramped restaraunt, the food is so-so and flavorless and the service is definitely AWFUL!!!! P.S. They only scored a ""B"" from the city...I give them a ""F"" for customer service. Pros: large menu Cons: bad service more

When to Havana Mania in Brea this is their second location, just as good as the one in Redondo Beach, same music, same happy hour, same mojitos and same Tuesday night Special ""roast pork"", great service and food, in my opinion they have the best testing food and mojitos in town. Pros: Great Cuban Food and Mojitos Cons: Can't think of any! more

Good news is the food. Awesome food. We had cuban sandwich, roasted pork, tostones, rice and beans. All were awesome. I'm Latino and this was authentic. Bad news was the LA health inspection rating: C. The place didn't appear crusty, but I have a very hard time eating at a place rated that low. Update: they improved to an A, but now are back at B. They gotta fix this. Pros: food Cons: cleanliness more

I love Havana Mania! I go there often and the food is fantastic. It is in a strip mall and hard to find but it is always packed so you know the food has to be good. As far as the bad review I read here there are suppose to be onions and I LOVE ONIONS and the bananas are suppose to be soft. I suppose she just does not like Cuban food. Pros: food and mojitos are fantastic more