Havana Beach Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Florida

On this day May 22nd, the year of our Lord 2023. My family returned to Havana Beach Bar and Grill. First time we came to Havana was 9 years ago. We’ve loved it ever since. Always delighted with the experience.

Not. This. Time.

First. Our experience with the host stand was pretty bad. We tried making reservations like always by calling Havana but two different hostesses told us you longer take reservations for anyone except hotel guests. Sad. I still was able to make reservations through open table. Thank Goodness. When we arrived ten minutes early the hostess made us wait until the exact time of the reservation. Lol. We looked at our ready empty table just standing there. Me holding my three month old. My 6 and 9 year old bouncing off the walls. My 80 year old parents Standing there waiting. Just not great. How about you just sit us and treat us like guests? Hostess name was Audrey. She didn’t know what was going on. She wasn’t friendly. We were treated like just the next people coming in. You guys are an expensive place. Your service needs to match the price.

Second. We sat down at 6:30. We received bread at 7:30. We got salads at 7:35. We got dinners at 8:15. The server touched our table 4 times the entire evening. Seriously. Only 4 times. I figured he was either brand new or he was slammed. But for a Monday night and their being empty tables in the restaurant I don’t think it was the latter. When the food hit the table my 80 year old mother didn’t get her entree. Turns out the server didn’t enter it in. They hadn’t cooked it. So they rushed her one out about 10-15 min later. The manager said they were comping the entree. Which is fine. I asked the manager if our server was new and he said he wasn’t. I then told manager about the poor experience and he offered free ice cream. I told him no thanks. I mean…. After waiting so long holding my three month old, you can’t put three month olds in high chairs that young, we needed to leave as soon as we finished eating.

The cap to everything…. The server brings me the bill and says, “my manager removed the automatic gratuity for your poor experience tonight Sir.”

Havana…. This was the outrage of the night. The kitchen took forever. So instead of management taking responsibility for that, the worst of it, they punish the server. So of course I left the guy a tip after that. I hadn’t planned on it but when he told me that I felt compelled. I didn’t want anything free. I wanted an apology and a real explanation what happened. Never got that.

We won’t return. Get a better host stand. One that is welcoming and friendly and happy to see people. Get a manager that touches tables and asks how this are going. Limit servers to 3-4 tables each and make sure they have a server assistant. We asks one of the “assistants” for ketchup and it never came.

You guys used to be first class. What...

Disappointed by the Service — Especially from Our Waitress, Yara

My friends and I visited Havana last Thursday, the 10th, shortly after the lunch rush to celebrate a graduation. We were a group of seven and were told by the hostess that we’d need to split into separate tables, even though there appeared to be enough space to accommodate us together. While not ideal, we agreed and sat down in good spirits—unfortunately, that changed quickly.

Our server, Yara, approached us with zero greeting, no smile, no introduction, and no apology for the long delay in even bringing water. From the start, she came off as rude, uninterested, and slow.

When we noticed a larger table had opened up that could seat all seven of us, we politely asked Yara if we could move. She rolled her eyes and said she’d check with the manager, then disappeared for quite a while. Eventually, we asked the hostess instead, who kindly took initiative and moved us to the larger table without hesitation. Yara later returned, offered no acknowledgment or help, and seemed annoyed that we had moved without her.

Things continued to decline from there. We waited over 35 minutes for our food, and while several servers helped bring it out, the one bright moment was seeing Brojhan (I hope I spelled that right), a server we had met the day before who had provided a great experience. I asked him for a strawberry jam he had recommended previously, and he kindly said he would get it. However, Yara saw him and became visibly upset, making a comment about how I was being “difficult” and “asking for too many favors.”

At that point, the experience went from disappointing to unacceptable. Yes, the service was slow. Yes, our food took longer than expected which we all realize is not a big deal. But being treated rudely, dismissed, and insulted by our waitress ruined our entire lunch. We were a group simply trying to enjoy a celebration—and were nothing but polite and patient throughout.

We tried to speak with a manager afterward, but were told by the hostess that none were available. We were told Ana Keough had just went to her office.

To be clear: the food was excellent, as it always is at Havana, and this review is not meant to take away from that. But if Yara is your server, prepare for a difficult experience. She was by far the worst part of our visit, and I hope this feedback is taken seriously—by the management and by Yara herself. Everyone has bad days, but taking it out on guests...

“Awful experience!” 1 of 5 stars

This is by far the most miserable experience my family and I have ever had at a restaurant. When we walked in they said all the had available was the patio. Now normally we don't mind sitting outside and even with the rain this time we were willing to try. Initially light wind and rain didn't phase my husband daughter and I, sure it was uncomfortable but again we were willing to try. About 10 minutes in to our meal and after we ordered, it was like a full force hurricane, I'm not exaggerating. Wind blowing so hard that we were holding on to our glassware there were about 4 tables outside and of course they all wanted to move so when we asked to move to tables further back or inside our request was denied. My daughter was shivering and had blue lips, they brought us all towels which helped but if your having to provide people with towels to shield themselves from the wind and rain that's a big problem. Not to mention this place is not cheap! We have NO problem paying for good food but when you pay $172 for eating in the worst conditions I've ever experienced you'd be upset too. What's even more upsetting is the food was great for the 5 seconds that it was warm. My daughter was so cold and miserable that she took hers to-go. When we spoke with a man who claimed to be the manager we got a pretty generic response "we're sorry we're going to get curtains" this place is supposed to be top notch I really can't believe they sat back and allowed the hostesses to sit people outside in those conditions. They also had 2 tables inside that were empty the entire time we were there! When we asked about them we were told they were reserved, funny we were told earlier when we tried to get reservations that they did not take them. Maybe it's because we were staying at the hotel? I'm not sure either way our treatment was the worst....

We will not return and I will make sure everyone I know who comes here is aware how they treat paying customers. The staff and management did absolutely nothing to make things right, beyond disappointing.

Our waiter was as accommodating as he could be but his hands were tied. This was on 3/18/16 we sat on the patio closest to the gulf on the right side. Around...