Havana Grill — Restaurant in Chicago

Accidentally stumbled upon this place while looking for a yummy dinner in River North. I love Cuban food so this jumped out as soon as I saw a sign advertising half off sangria pitchers while walking down the street.

Immediately I liked the looks - it was slightly dark and quaint. The bar looked large and plentifully stocked. Score!

My friend announces her oncoming migraine, no drinks for her which just made me feel like a super lush ordering a pitcher of sangria for myself so against my better judgment, I declined a drink.

Then she states that she lost her appetite so she's getting the appetizer empanadas and that left me with the unfortunate dilemma - do I get a full out dinner and eat by myself or follow her lead and just get an app. So I went with the latter and got calamari.

DISCLAIMER: why in the world would you order calamari at a Cuban restaurant?!?!?! You wouldn't and I shouldn't have - stupid stupid stupid (insert a Chris Farley interviewing Paul Mcartney reenactment here). It was bad. Over fried and dry while still oily enough to leave me feeling like a total greaseball. My friend had what I would consider a very small portion even for an appetizer and she was not at all impressed with her selection either.

Feel bad giving it such a bad review based on two appetizers, but either our choices were poor (very possible) or this is an indication of the rest of the menu. The atmosphere was really nice and the server was also pleasant enough. I would give it another shot if I were in the neighborood, but I wouldn't order the calamari...

Went with family to Havana Grill to celebrate my birthday. I am in from out of town and had read some reviews. Had really good reviews about the food and atmosphere. Also was interested in sitting outside and they have plenty of outside seating. It is located on Clark Street which has been turned into a full block of restaurants that have outside seating, continuing from COVID. They closed off the whole street and it is really cool. The atmosphere is wonderful and it was a beautiful day on Saturday. The food is amazing there! I did make a semi-reservation because I really don't take reservations but because there was 8 of us I requested to sit outside. When we arrived we only waited like 5 minutes. Service was excellent and the wait staff was very friendly and helpful. The menu is pretty extensive with original Cuban food. Ordered a flight of mojitos which includes three. Got the coconut, mango and original. They were all good but I especially love the coconut one in ordered a regular size as well. They have a great drink selection with lots of specialty/Cuban drinks. I had the pork meal and it was so good. The meat was very tender and flavorful. My cousin had the date and my son had the Cuban sandwich. Everybody was very pleased with their meals. The one thing I was really looking forward to was the coconut flan and I wish I could take a hundred of those back home with me to Phoenix! Their coffee is also very good. They have regular coffee and also Cuban. I plan on coming back to Havana Grill every time...

We have been wanting to visit this joint for so many years, given it is only a 10 min walk away, but for some reason we kept forgetting! We love Cuban food, we just spent 8 days in Miami doing nothing but eating good Cuban food, so this is a good treat for us back in Chicago. The chimichangas are crispy and filled with a ton of chicken, it was a bit bland for us and that creame base sauce didn't really help. However the empanadas were awesome just by themselves, the filling were very flavorful, and what made them even better was the basil garlic olive oil dip. It basically comes with everything else, so I put the chimichangas in the tip and all of a sudden it tasted 10 times better. The Ropa Vieja was very tender and packed with explosive flavors as it should be, so are the accompanying rice and beans. The Cubano sandwich was on point, with pull pork and just the right amount of cheese and pickles, I personally prefer a little bit more mustard. The Steak Jabarito was a bit bland, the steak needs more seasoning, but if you dip that in the basil garlic oil, your are good to go! The desserts were just okay for me, I can't really taste the guava in the guava cheese cake, nor could I taste the lime in the key lime pie (it was just sour). The pie base was wet and hard, rather than crunchy and loose. It felt store bought to me. Over all, solid Cuban joint, we will come back for more specialty dishes and see how they compare to the joints in Miami! The prices are very reasonable, and...