Habana — Restaurant in Costa Mesa

I'll start with the good. The ambiance was wonderful. Cozy, inviting and different than pretty much anywhere in Costa Mesa. The chairs were comfortable as well. The fries were hot and crispy. Now for the reasons that I'm giving this place 2 stars. We ordered the kobe burger medium and it came out medium rare. Not the end of the world. The menu described that there would be chipotle and tomatillo sauce. I found that to be false. Also, there was a red onion wheel on the burger that was the same thickness as the burger. It was the only thing I could taste before I removed a large amount of it so I could taste the $22 dollar undercooked burger served on a stale brioche bun. A word to the wise, if you're going to charge that much for a burger, everything on the plate should be intentional, on point and above all else, flavorful. I'm sure the bun would have been soft and delicious if I ordered the burger on Friday when it was delivered, but alas, here we are on Sunday clearing out the "good enough" section of their pantry. I digress. The banana ketchup they served with the fries was weird. I would have asked for normal ketchup if the server had come to check on us. IF the server had come to check on us. My date ordered a $5 dollar diet coke and didn't receive a refill. The server was probably from the same section of the pantry as the stale brioche bun. Upon being seated by the very friendly host, he "greeted" us with, "are you ready to order?" No suggestions, introductions, recommendations or even eye contact. Sad. We were ready to pay and end the complete and utter lack of an experience for at least 5 minutes while we watched our server stand in front of the POS screen probably entering in his credit card tips before we saw another server walk by and hand him the card. The only reason this place is getting 2 stars is because of the friendly hosts and hot, crispy fries. I've been here on a few other occasions and have always had a good experience here hence why I came back with someone who had never been here before but, after tonight, I sadly won't be returning. There are several other options for unique experiences and great service at a very similar price point that my return business will cease to exist. Take care....

My roommates and I wanted to go to a dressier place than the restaurants we normally go to when we celebrate a birthday. The reviews looked good and the pictures of the food looked promising. We were a little late for our reservations and because the restaurant is at the Lab (a small shopping place), parking was pretty hard to find.

The overall ambience of Habana is really nice. There is an outside and an inside to the restaurant. The outside is pretty romantic/trendy with trees all around to give it a more homey feel. We were seated outside, which was great except there were lots of leaves and little bugs on the table. The waiters are all quite friendly and they started us off with drinks. We ordered Sangria and thought it was $7 for everybody, but in actuality the sangria was $7 per person in this really small cup. The tables are a little more crammed and we were seated right next to the indoor dining area, so waiters were constantly walking in and out. My roommates and I wanted to take pictures to remember the night, but it was really difficult as we were in people's way and vice versa.

I ordered the plantain crusted chicken which was super delicious. It came with a cucumber and squash salad, some mashed potatoes and tomatoes. I really liked the chicken. The outside was crispy, but the chicken was moist and juicy. There was a sauce drizzled on top that really made the flavor pop. I also tried a bit of the ropa vienna, which I liked as well, but if I had to choose again - I would order the chicken. :P

The restaurant provided us with a complimentary flan dessert for the birthday girl, which was great of them. Oh, and there are free rolls and butter! I have to say that after walking through the inside of the restaurant, I prefer the outside more because it;s more open, airy and free while the inside is a bit stuffy and dark. If only the tables outside were a little cleaner.

With all our picture taking, I have to say that our waiter was super pleasant and patient and gave us no hassle at all. I have never tried Cuban food, but after eating at Habana, I have to say that this has become a definite favorite...

4.5 AMBIANCE: I give the place 4.5 stars for the intimate date night, sultry mood it gives off. Perfect spot, if that's what you're looking for. Even better if you're into the whole cozy idea of a restaurant, for me that's where I docked them the 0.5. I'm not a big fan of the crammed up area and where you're practically within breathing distance from the next table over. Idk how people can get intimate with such close setting but the dim lights made up for it...I GUESS.

3/ 5 FOOD: Can't complain on the food here. It served good food. On this trip the food ordered was: SEAFOOD CEVICHE: awesome ceviche! bursting with fresh and just the right amount of citrus flavor and good big chunks of seafood...buuuut....their plantains were a bit on the stale side. I should say this, it was placed as garnishment, so maybe it was only meant to be a garnishment. not quite sure. Damn my tummy for thinking I could eat it all. ROPA VIEJA: i agree with all the reviews that have preceded me. the place is known for this dish, and for good reason. soft, tender, juicy, melt in your mouth pulled meat that screams heaven and kept it nice and simple with the white rice to let the meat truly sing and shine on its own, but again, i don't know if it was just that night, my plantain "garnishment" was stale. SKIRT STEAK "ESTILLO CHURASCO': to be honest, i expected more of this dish since it was one of the pricier DISHES. it was a bit on the sour side for my taste, and though tasty, not worth the $24.

2.5/5 SERVICE: Call me a harsh reviewer, but our server was on the SUPER uninterested side. Granted I'm not going to dinner to make friends with the servers, but come on...have a little smile. Don't act so smug and indifferent around us. She just gave me bad mojo, wish I could've had better service here. Then again, this spot is located at the "anti-mall" so I guess her too cool for life for attitude must've been warranted here.

Overall, I wouldn't say the place was bad, but I wouldn't say the place was great either. It's a good one-timer place in my opinion. It left me with no reason to come again but no reason to complain about my...