Casual Habana Cafe — Restaurant in Hackensack

This is my first time at Casual Habana, and the wife and I are excited because it's tough to find good Spanish/Cuban in the vicinity.

The main dining room is cozy and warm, it's on the small side but nicely decorated with bright vibrant reds which are very traditional in Spanish culture. There is a balcony at the outer edge of the house with tables for two and a view of the street. Nice for a date night. The noise level is up there, but it's the sound of happy people enjoying their meal with Spanish music in the background.

We started with some tapas, the shrimp in garlic, and the Yuca Brava, which comes in a pepper aioli. Both of them very very good, but would recommend the Yuca which was tart and delicious.

For the main, I ordered the Churassaco with Chimichurri (medium) which came out perfectly cooked and tender. The only misstep was the sauce, which was a bit sweet for my taste but tolerable. I got two sides, black beans and tostones which were somewhat disappointing, as black beans are supposed to be a Cuban staple, and these were mediocre at best.

My wife ordered the roasted chicken in some kind of tomato/pepper sauce, which she loved and got a very generous portion of (my steak wasn't quite as generous). The sauce was spicy, and had an amazing blend of flavors (yes I tasted it).

Overall, it was an extremely good meal at a very reasonable price and The service was attentive despite it being a fair crowded Friday night. I really can't find any flaws here (if we exclude the beans). I'll definitely be back here, and you should try. Love the food and service! Been going to the Hackensack location for a while but now I can enjoy the same great cuban cuisine along with refreshing cocktails closer to home. The owner is always so attentive and personable with guests and very creative with the menu. The restaurant is great for a big dinner party or just enjoying some drinks and small plates with a friend. Good...

I was looking forward to trying this place but my experience wasn't the greatest. The first strike was when I was trying to call to make reservations. I was put on hold several times for long periods of time. I had to call about 3 times before I could make the reservations. When I finally got to someone the lady told me they only make reservations for the outside igloo but if I call the day of, 15 minutes before I could try to get an indoor table which sounded good to me.

So the day of I called the restaurant about 20 minutes before and the lady told me there were no open tables but when I get there they can try and seat me inside. When I arrived the whole story changed. They had an open table and they let the man that came after me have it. I was informed that the manager said they cannot sit me inside which really annoyed me. They shouldn't have given me misinformation. I asked to speak to the manger, Alex, and he explained and I told him if this was relayed to me I wouldn't have an issue but it wasn't therefore I was annoyed. I came all the way there so we just went with the igloo outside. The igloo did have heat but it was in the parkibg lot and serveral work trucks came back there and was a distraction.

Another man named Alex was our waiter and he was good and attentive. For drinks I got the sangria and wine and my friend got the mojito which she liked. The sangria was not the greatest. For an appetizer she got the shrimp in garlic cream sauce which she said was good. For an entree I got the Camarones Enchilados and she got the salmon. My shrimp was tasty and so was the yucca but the dirty rice was hard and crunchy. My friend said she liked the salmon and yellow rice. The bill came to about $90. So all in all my experience was not the greatest and I probably...

My husband and I came from PA to celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. We first called and was told that we did not need a reservation as it was first come first serve. So we headed there and arrived within 15min. When we arrived we were told by the hostess that there weren't any tables, we would have to wait 45min. We decided to wait at the bar. A young couple arrives and knows the bartender, the hostess comes and tells the couple "oh you need a table" and then realizes that we were there sitting next to this couple and my husband makes eye contact with the hostess. Not even 10min. had past. immediately she says oh yes you come first and sits us by the window. She also sits the other couple. They ask to be moved from their table and they sit behind us to my right. They got their drinks first after we had ordered at the bar and was told they'd bring it to the table. They got their appetizers first as well as their meal. We were never asked if we wanted anything else, nor a refill on our drinks. I had to try to get the attention of someone else to get our check because at this point now I felt that my anniversary dinner was being ruined by a waitress who could seem to care less about attending us. We asked for containers and she brought them as she was about to pick cup then check and tried to be nice because of course she is probably concerned about her tip. She didn't even bring a bag while the other couple has food to go and packed up nicely in a bag. I just walked out at this point leaving my husband to deal with the after math. We really enjoy the food and when we are in the area visiting our daughter we like to come here. But next time I'll consider my choices carefully. So if you don’t mind service issues and just think about the food this not...