Havana Restaurant & Bar

My wife and I had our wedding reception (more of an after wedding meal really) at Havana's on the 30th August 2008. Even today we (and our friends) STILL talk about the amazing food and especially the fantastic service from the waiter Alex.

We sat in the alcove and had 24 friends and guess in tow. Alex managed the delivery of food and service fantastically. There was a Jazz band playing (our favourite sort of music) and, during the course of the evening, they played our special song. The whole night was perfect from the minute we arrived until we all left.

We often return and will do again this August for our first anniversary.

THANK YOU HAVANA for the memories.
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Ed Goodyer
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, July 02, 2009

We had an amazing time on our visit to Havana. The place certainly looks the Part. From start to finish our evening was just wonderful. The Food was cooked and presented beautifully, the service was exceptional. Havana has got to be one of finest restaurants in Brighton, by far the best restaurant I’ve been to since moving to Brighton. This is a place to go to relax, unwind and just have a have a great dining experience. Definitely try there Cocktail, Spiced Mojito’s they are just Yummy.
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Dave
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Last Saturday, 11 of us went to Havana to celebrate my friend's birthday.

The diners were packed in like sardines. The service was patchy. The wine was poor and heavily marked up. The food was dull and very expensive consisting of tiny portions and virtually no vegtables.

We all felt conned, although we expressed this to the manager and he did give us a discount. Still, at 40 pounds/head, much better value and quality can be had elsewhere in Brighton.
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Simon
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, May 04, 2009

Last week my partner and I and some friends visited Havana for a birthday dinner. We had a fantastic evening. The meal was great, and the ambiance had a fantastic Buzz about it. The staff were very friendly and professional and made our evening very special. Overall a wonderful evening. Superb ,keep up the good work.
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rizz
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, May 04, 2009

I stopped into Havana last night. I was only mildly hungry. I had never been to Havana and thought I'd give it a quick try with a starter and a glass of wine. The restaurant was no where near full, with laods of open seats. I was sat in the nearly empty bar area by the friendly hostess, who knew that I just wanted to "sample" the restaurant with a light bite and a glass of wine. I placed my order of gnocci first while I looked at the drink menu. Before long, the hostess reappeared and told me that the manager (who later told me he was the owner) told her that I couldn't order "just a starter". When I questioned him on this, he antagonistically defended his position. I know the restaurant business very well, and am consistantly amazed at how some people stay in business. Had the "manager" simply served me a starter and a glass of wine, rather than sticking to a rule that might apply if the restaurant was heaving, I may well have enjoyed myself, and returned on my next visit with a bigger appetite, and a group of friends. As it stands now, I will never spend two pence supporting this place.

I definitely won't spend my money in Havana. With plenty of other good restaurants in Brighton, and people being generally more discerning on where they spend thier money, it baffles the mind to get this kind of treatment...especially from a restaurant who's outward appearance suggests that they should know better. My review only reflects my experience in so far as it was affecfted by the service...for example, I have to give the food a 0, as I never had the chance to try it, the atmosphere was quite nice, but again spoiled by the service, and the service, though initially good, was ruined by the owner.
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Matteo Watkins
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, May 02, 2009

My husband and I have been going to Havana since we have been together about 7 years, we love it the food is wonderful and the service is exceptional. In this world of fast food and fast lives it is a place to go and really enjoy a wonderful leisurely experience. We love it and they are child friendly too.
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Jacqueline Twamley
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, February 27, 2009

We visited with friends on Saturday for dinner, had a truly fabulous dining experience. Our evening began by us ordering some exquisite cocktails in the cocktail lounge area, which has such a relaxed and beautiful feel to it. After our pleasant experience in the cocktail lounge, we were then escorted to our table, on the ground floor.

Our lovely and very charming waitress greeted us and then explained to us in detail the A la Carte menu, we were also served by another Waiter, and we were all stunned with the level of passion and professionalism shown by the staff.

The food arrived promptly, it was beautifully presented and just to die for. While dining we also had the added pleasure of listening to good old fashioned live Jazz in the background. The place has such a great Buzz to it. A wonderful evening, will most definitely be returning again.
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Vanoska D
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Went there just after the brief closedown to redecorate. Love the colonial atmosphere. Had a band playing and the general hustle made it seem you were not in Brighton anymore! Unfortunately, they were having a bad night. Service was really slow waiting almost 40 mins for starters, then an hour for main course. Got comped on deserts because of the service issues. I've eaten here before so know it can be a lot better. As for food - well as people say below, you come here for the atmosphere. The food is nice but in my opinion, the portions are very small. The prawn and choritzo starter is literally two prawns and three slices of sausage! It's priced accordingly. Unfortunately, the charm of the place does (just) make up for the portion sizes. Definitely a place to take someone to impress just remember to eat beforehand!
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Andy P - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Saturday, February 21, 2009

Booked a table for 5 on a Saturday night. The place certainly looks the part, including a rather chintzy water fountain. The menu is probably best described as ‘modern european’ and has a fair bit of variety to it. The wine list is also pretty extensive, although we saw no sign of a sommelier so you are left to fend for yourself choosing something to complement your food.

And lets talk about the food – basically OK but nothing special – they use good quality ingredients, but not good enough that they make the meal, and together with a lack of seasoning means that the food is rather tasteless. The desserts were top notch however.

Service was OK – not too intrusive – although there was a mix up that resulted in a vegetarian getting a mouthful of lobster soup – waitress was unapologetic, although one of the senior staff was more concerned.

All in all the place is trying to be a top notch London restaurant, but ends up being more style than substance. A great place to go to impress a date who is used to the likes of Pizza Express and Café Rouge (indeed every other table was occupied by couples) but not a place for a foodie.
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John
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, January 04, 2009

Absolutely loved it here, from the food, the ambiance to the service. We went for my partners birthday. We were going to see a show at the theatre at 7pm and I called to book a table for 5pm about 2 weeks beforehand, for which they explained they dont start serving till 6pm. They said however to arrive at 5.30, they would seat us, take our food order and ask the chef to have the food served to us by 6pm and they would make a note by our reservation that we had to be away by 6.45pm. We arrived and straight away they confirmed they knew we had to be away for 6.45pm as we were off to the theatre. The service was excellent, the waiters were very attentive and polite, we had our food order taken and the chef started early to accommodate us. The ambience in the restaurant is wonderful, very romantic. The food arrived promptly and we couldnt fault anything in our starter or main, the meal was beautiful. I had the vegetable soup to start with the steak and bernaise sauce for a main and my partner had the rigatonne to start and lamb for main, both were cooked to our specification and was by far the nicest meal out we'd had in a long time. You must have a cocktail too, they were gorgeous and very potent!!!! Well worth the visit.
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Julia Bilham and Andrew Maunder
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, December 31, 2008