Havana Central Times Square — Restaurant in New York

It sucks that I have to write this review because I have been to Havana Central time square location for a few years now and have always enjoyed it, but my most recent experience was truly awful.

My mom and I came here this past Saturday, 2/15/2025. Because it was valentines day weekend, I wanted to take her out to eat, but we were not prepared for what was going to happen. Usually, when we come here, we each order our main dish, with a side of beans (each) and 2 small salads, so naturally, we did the same this time as well. My mom ordered arroz con Pollo with a side of beans and a salad as an addition, and I ordered camarones al ajillo also with a side of beans and a salad as an addition. When we got the food, we noticed it came out cold and we were missing the 2 salads. It was hard to find our waiter, so we informed another waiter who took our food back to the chef. When they returned with the food, it was hot, which was great, but there was a new problem. They brought out only 1 salad when we ordered 2, and only 1 side of beans when we also ordered 2.

At this point, we asked for the manager and explained the situation. However, his response was less than savory. He brought a copy of our receipt and laid it on the table and proceeded to blame us for not knowing how the menu works (even though we explained we've been there many times for a few years now), and told us that if we order an entree, we are only allowed one free side (which we were aware of) therefore we could not have the salad. We explained that we are aware of that and that we were not expecting 2 salads for free but rather an addition (that we will pay for) like we always do. I also told him that this doesn't excuse why we didn't get what we ordered if we are paying and the cold food. However, he didn't respond and said he would take off the salad from the total price. When he asked us what we wanted to do with the food, we told him that we didn't want the food anymore and that we would prefer to get our receipt and go since it was clear he didn't want to help us, nor apologize. He then took the receipt, crumpled it in our faces, made a "oh well" gesture with his arms, and walked away, never returning. The manager, by the way, was a skinny, light skinned male around my age (in his 20s).

My mom and I were shocked at the fact that not only did he not apologize, but proceeded to explain why we were wrong and destroy the receipt in our faces. At this point, we were still hungry and deciding what to do, we tried to eat some of the food since we had another engagement after but we couldn't even fathom finishing the food after what happened. We then found out that a lady who was dining next to us also had been served cold food, and they were attempting to double charge her.

It really sucks because our waiter did apologize and asked us if we wanted a flan or some type of desert on the house, but we were so upset by how the manager treated us that we declined. I should say that we were not upset with the waiter. We were upset with the manager for how he treated us. He did not apologize, nor did he try to remedy the situation. His behavior was childish and rude, and when he left, he just proceeded to talk with the front desk girls. Needless to say, we left hungry and had to order pizza elsewhere. I was upset because we paid 77 dollars for food we didn't eat, and while the money can be made back, I wanted this to be a nice dinner for my mom to show her appreciation for valentines day and I was genuinely so upset at how the manager treated us.

I am writing this review because I want people to learn how to advocate for themselves if they are not receiving proper service, and I want the manager to take accountability for what happened. My mom and I would have been satisfied with an apology from the manager and something to show that because we understand that the food industry is not an easy job.

Needless to say, we will not be returning, which I'm pretty sure the manager doesn't...

I came here to meet up with someone and try out their happy hour. I knew it was in the Times Square area and could very likely be a tourist trap but we wanted a central spot for both of use to easily be able to head home afterwards and this was the spot we decided on. It is very much a tourist trap though. Anyways, the happy hour offering was pretty disappointing because although they promote a bunch of flavors the only ones offered for happy hour are the regular classic margarita, classic mojito, red sangria, house wine and select beer. There's flavored margaritas and mojitos but those are regular price. They also promote 1/2 price empanadas available at the bar only during happy hour and with the purchase of a drink . However, there's a max of 3 empanadas per drink. Empanadas choices include Beef Picadillo, Chicken Sofrito, 3-Cheese , shrimp, Sofrito & Ropa Vieja. We didn't do that because the bar was packed! They looked like they were crammed in shoulder to shoulder.... We made reservations but got there a little early and we had to wait a bit but it wasn't a super long wait or anything. They had a live band which was nice but it's fortunate we were seated a. It further back because we had trouble hearing each other over the music at times so it seems like if we were towards the front we definitely wouldn't have been able to have any kind of conversation and the whole point of meeting was to catch up. So we noticed they were participating in Restaurant Week at the time so we decided to do that menu. We really wanted to do the RW me u but add on some a la carte items but they didn't allow that. Also I saw they had a rewards program and you're supposed to get a free appetizer or dessert so we were hoping to use that in addition to the other items but they said we couldn't use the free app and do the RW menu... It worked out because we didn't really enjoy the food like we hoped so it seemed not getting the ala carte saved us. Our table spread consisted of : Appetizers - Picadillo empanadas Havana corn on the cob Entres- Ropa Vieja with white rice and black beans Pollo y Camarónes al Ajillo with yellow rice and black beans Dessert - Churros dough sticks with dulce de leche and chocolate sauce My friend said the empanadas were okay but had more dough than meat. The Havana corn was different. My mouth had an elote expectation and that was my fault. It wasn't bad just not what I was looking for. Now the apps came out hot like as if they were freshly prepared but the food came out like it had been sitting somewhere for awhile. I Do NOT like sending food back at all but both of our entres came out cold. We let the waitress know and she was really apologetic about it and took them back right away. Not too much later we received fresh plates with piping hot food which is what you would expect. My friend was wondering if we initially received lesser than because we ordered from the RW menu and that could have been possible but I would think that defeats the whole purpose of the restaurant participating in restaurant week. I hope that wasn't the case though. The ropa vieja was okay. The Churros were very greasy and hard so we didn't eat them. Our waitress disappeared for a bit but she definitely had quite a few tables so it wasn't her fault. For the rewards program you have to spend a certain amount to get back I think maybe $5. And for the free app or dessert you have to use that within 30 days. Unless I try a different location I doubt I'll be using either the rewards or the freebie. I think the Ridge Hill location has been closed so the only other location is in Long Island I believe. I'm happy to have another restaurant checked off the list it this isn't one I'd put in...

My wife and I chose this restaurant because of the Cuban food and live music. We were disappointed on both counts.

The evening started on a positive note. We had a reservation and we were seated immediately.

We were given two food menus and one multi-page beverage menu. The waiter was gone before I could ask for a second beverage menu, so I had to get up and find a waiter so that we could look at our options at the same time. When I got the second beverage menu, I immediately noticed that it was incomplete, because the second menu did not have the featured cocktail, a prickly pear margarita.

The beverages that we ordered ended up being delicious, so things were still going pretty well at that point.

After we ordered our food, we sat back and listened to the band. The music itself was excellent, but the band is tucked away in a tiny corner near the entrance. We could not see the band at all. For me, the whole point of live music is the connection created between the band and the audience, but that was impossible without having the ability to see the band. I did not do a scientific analysis of the other seats in the restaurant, but, as best as I could tell, most of them are also completely cut-off from any view of the live performance. Without that connection, it is just a really loud restaurant with music that might as well be coming from a CD player.

The biggest disappointment was the food. I ordered the salmon. I took a few bites and then had them take it away because the salmon was not at all fresh. I cannot remember the last time I did this at a restaurant. My wife had the Cuban sandwich, which she described as “average.”

To be fair to the staff, they did try to do everything they could to make up for our bad experience with the food. They did not charge me for the salmon, and they offered us free desserts, a gesture that I really appreciated. After the salmon, however, I did not have much of an appetite, so I passed on their kind offer.

The vast majority of reviews for this restaurant are 5-star, so perhaps we were just unlucky. If nothing else, I hope that this review gives others a sense of what to expect when dining at this place. Just don’t...