Havana Nights Piano Bar — Restaurant in Vero Beach

This is my 2nd time dining here. Last year my sister and husband visited us from NY and he loves to play the piano so I thought this would be the perfect place.. AND it was a hit. Great food and fabulous piano music. The guy was excellent. They were coming again to visit this year so I booked in advance think the experience would at least match last years dining. I am sorry to say it was very disappointing. This is a very upscale place with high end prices so I expected excellence. There was not even a piano player that night, so disappointing. There was, what I would call, karaoke rate singer that was not that good at all so the music entertainment was 2nd rate for what we expected. We expected top rate music. Now for the food....the pasta and seafood dish, my boyfriend and brother in law got had good favor but was only lightly tossed in the sauce, the halibut was very good that my sister got. I got the pasta with pesto and pistachio/sun dried tomatoes for 38.00. I added chicken for 14.00. Wanted to try something different. Did I make a mistake. It was probably 1/2 cup of pasta, it was smothered in olive oil, it was drowning in oil and no favor AT ALL. No spices, very bland. All i could tatse was oil, pesto and the bitterness of the sundried tomatoes. The dish seemed to have this stale olive oil taste. The chicken was a slab of roasted chicken with the brown skin still attached just dropped on the side of the bowl. No thought process in the adding of chicken. We ate our meal...well they ate their meals, we finished our drinks and left. I don't think I will be back and will have to find another place to take my family. All total, with tip, the bill for 4 was just over 400.00 for dinners and with 3 glasses of wine and 3 martinis. That breaks down to about 100.00 pp. I...

Use to love this place, however last night: our dessert had just arrived, I was still drinking my glass of wine when we were told "YOUR TIME IS UP" - the manager's friends hated their reserved table near us and wanted a booth. Anyone in ear shot of the man knew that, as did the manager who had pulled up a chair to join them. Etiquette training is needed Lesson learned

UPDATE TO COLLEN (OWNER/MANAGER) RESPONSE:As for your enlightening response, Colleen. I thank you for the apology for handling this badly.

1. If there is a two hour minimum you should advertise that. I do not think we should be blamed for the fact our 3-courses took over two hours to reach us. Maybe you should have stated that BEFORE I ordered a second drink (left unfinished) and dessert.
2. I wish I had known that those who live close and make “a fuss” (your words) get better service, compared to myself who drove 2 ½ hours (and normally bring locals with us)
3. I do feel bad for the waitress who had already told me that the “fussy” (your words) people had booked the "table" and it sat empty for TWO hours before they arrived and started making a “fuss”. When you told our waitress to lie about "another couple coming", you might have at least waited for us to leave the bar before you moved your “Fussy” friend to the booth. I suspect our waitress was actually embarrassed to have to lie to someone old enough to be her grandparents.
4. I hope you will have improved your hospitality and etiquette skills should we decide to return, which my husband says is...

This was quite the gem! My husband and I went to dinner here to celebrate my birthday. I had the Atlantic Salmon and my husband, Swordfish. Both were absolutely flavorful and done to perfection.

Our go to places for celebrations like The Tides and Ocean Gril Restaurant, while both very good, paled in comparison. For dessert I had the Creme Brule. It had the thinnest crust which made a satisfying crunch before getting to the creamy delicious part. My husband had the Cheese Cake with chocolate and a shiny sheen on top. It was magnificent.

Colleen, the new owner was charming and attention was paid to every detail. The serving staff was attentive, quick to answer any questions about the menu and made you feel welcomed, even with it being full, we were taken care of so well without feeling rushed.

There was also a Piano bar with pianist Peter Valentine playing many beautiful Jazz tunes, along with Bassist Gary Hasse gave Havannah Nights a classy New York Jazz Club feel. Later on in the evening the tunes and the crowd went wild.

All in all it was memorable and we left feeling like we made new friends, new memories and found a new family celebration spot.

Prices were comparable with any of the other high end restaurants, and what one would expect with fine dining, wines, drinks, excellent service and live music.

Oh yes. We will be back.

It's unfortunate to be limited to 5 Stars, when they deserve 10.

Congratulations Colleen, your restaurant is a destination for fine dining and...