Havana Restaurant & Bar

I used to be a fan of Havana...my partner and I have had several excellent meals there in the past and considered ourselves regulars.

It's funny how one act of stupidity can ruin a place.

Last Friday we visited Brighton in the afternoon to do some Xmas shopping. We had with us our small, well behaved Jack Russell. We decided to visit Havana and sit OUTSIDE with our dog. We were told that we could NOT sit at the central tables but had to sit at the side tables and 'tie' the dog to the side area. There were NO other customers at all outside and this policy seemed completely bonkers.

Naturally we left and enjoyed a very pleasant tapas meal in the lanes at a restaurant who brought water and tidbits for our dog. These small personal touches make all the difference.
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Saturday, November 24, 2007

My Partner recently took me out for dinner at Havana for a romantic evening.

I had never been there before and had heard good things so I was extremely excited. Was it as good as what people said. It was simply fantastic. Great interior, wonderful service and simply delightful food , which was to die for…..Was I Impressed ? Most definitely.
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Thursday, November 15, 2007

I agree with most of what is said about the atmosphere and service here. But for vegetarians, the food is disappointing. There were 4 vegetarian choices of starters, but 3 of these had mushrooms - not all vegetarians like mushrooms. There were 2 choices for vegetarian main meals. I chose the nicoise roasted vegetables - and that was all it was - a plate of slices of roast vegetables (I have never had al dente roast veg before!) stuffed with olives. Once again, vegetarians get a raw deal - we ordered some extra cabbage, but I could not eat it as it had ham/bacon in it. They need to think about protein content for every vegetarian main course.

If you are vegetarian and happy to watch your friends pog out while you eat your meal in 5 minutes, then that is OK. Shame, because the actual one starter I could have and the puddings were excellent.
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Wednesday, October 03, 2007

What an absolute delight of a place. This place must rank as one of the best , if not best places to dine in Brighon. The level of service is as good as it gets, and the place itself just ooozes with WOW, and one must not forget why we came here for in the first place, the fine Food. The Food is just fantastic, Cooked to perfection, with great taste. A wonderful, wonderful place.
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Sunday, September 16, 2007

I'd agree with practially everything that has come before this review. Very attentive service, good food, good range of wines, a little bit over-priced (but then perhaps it's worth it for the good service service).

Yes, great place for a celebratory meal or simply a place for an impromptu blow-out. Certainly the best restaurant I've come across since moving to Brighton / Hove.
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Salopiantree
Saturday, August 25, 2007

This restaurant is incredible! It's as if you were eating inside an old colonial house. The food is to die for! I went for my birthday with friends. I had the risotto to start followed by the lamb, which was so tender and perfectly cooked! The cocktails are incredible too and the staff are gorgeous and lovely! It's definitely worth the money. I've been three or four tiems now and each meal has beenunbelievable
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Alice Wawrik
Thursday, August 09, 2007

While in Brighton to watch the Pride Parade we stopped for lunch at Havanna in Duke Street. We knew nothing about it but it had a free table for us to sit outside and the food looked quite good on the other customers’ tables. The prices are a little high but you forget about it as soon as you get your first bite. We started with a warm Chicken Kidney salad presented on a thin slice of toasted bread and a bed of mixed leaves that was just spectacular; and another starter of Roma Tomato with Mozzarella Sorbet (yes, Mozzarella Sorbet) that had plenty of novelty points and was greatly refreshing, sitting as we were outside in the sun in the middle of the day.

We continued with a Fruit de mer Linguini which, while very good, were the weakest execution due to a slightly overpowering creamy sauce, and an excellent Steamed Cod on Black Pudding, juicy, tasty and managing to pull off the odd combination brilliantly.

We were very happy to have landed in Havanna by mere chance and so happy with the food that we decided to order dessert -something I most definitely never do. Katia got the prettiest construction made of Coconut, Cactus and Mango -the mango treated to appear as a fried egg’s yolk on top of the rest using one of Ferrán Adriá’s more spectacular tricks. I opted for Strawberries with a Yoghourt Foam and Sangría Sorbet. the presentation was exquisite, the taste of the main piece superb and the Sangría Sorbet added a note of adventure that rounded the whole thing beautifully. We savoured the desserts in awe, made another comment about the lucky encounter with a great meal and parted with the place before we succumbed to temptation and started all over again. Highly recommended.
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Roberto Hortal
Sunday, August 05, 2007

I was in Brighton at the weekend with a friend we ate at Havanna. As a vegetarian I find some menus are a little uninspiring but this restaurant truly exceeded my expectations. Not only was the food exceptional but the service was excellent. The staff were extremely professional and friendly. I would most definately go again and recommend to all my friends.
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Tuesday, July 10, 2007

If you are a fan of fine Food, and excellent service then Havana is a must visit. We ate at Havana recently for my leaving do. It was just fantastic. What a truly beautiful place.

We were spoilt as soon as we walked in. What amazed us was that even thogh there was 25 of us dinning, the level of service and quality of food was just outstanding.
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Friday, July 06, 2007

What a delightful place. My wife and I recently had lunch at Havana and enjoyed it enormously. The menu was extensive and very reasonably priced. The Food was just splendid and the service just spot on. We will have no hesitation in recommending and Havana to our friends and cannot wait to return.
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J.J T NORELIVEY
Monday, June 25, 2007