I came to this restaurante almost 3 years ago and LOVED it! Mario was so incredibly welcoming. I remember I had ordered the chillo frito and before frying the fish he brought it out and showed it to me raw, so that I could marvel at the freshness and quality of the fish. The meal was perfect, tostones de pana fresh and crisp and the house mojo sauce, was like nectar of the Gods.
The first time I came to this restaurant I literally stumbled upon it. And it was such a delightful experience, from the quality of the food, to the owners impecable and friendly service, to the family ambiance, there was even light salsa music playing and we felt welcome to dance around our table, it was simply ideal! I thought about returning to this restaurant literally for over a year! but never had the opportunity to come back since I live in SJ area and don't frequent the west coast too often... However when some friends and I decided to stay in Rincon over the weekend my only plea was that on our way back we stop once again at Havanas so that I could enjoy a perfect meal once again...
However when we arrived I quickly become sadly disappointed, as I realized that so much had changed! There was extremely loud merengue rapiao and bachata playing on two huge speakers blasting from inside the restaurant out onto the street. After a couple minutes sitting we could hardly hear each other talk, or even hear ourselves think! The bar looked different, like it hadn't been kept up, and the menu was smaller, seems as though they decided to cut out some options. Right away I thought... it MUST be a different owner. My friends and I proceeded to order the food, I once again ordered the chillo frito, come to find out they no longer served tostones de pana. Everyone else ordered other items from the limited menu. When my meal came out, it was practically inedible, it was truly evident that the fish had been reheated, either by microwave or refried in old oil. It just WAS NOT GOOD! I asked for the mojo sauce so that I could try to make something out of my meal, only to find that the quality of the mojo was no longer the same, it was now merely olive oil, and pico de gallo with some cilantro.
Everyone picked at their food in the same unimpressed way.. and as you can imagine I was highly disappointed and even embarrassed that I recommended the restaurant with such enthusiasm! Finally, as we concluded our meal, I inquired with waitress, the name of the owner, to my shock it was the same owner! He came out from the back kitchen and well honestly he looked tired. Something had definitely changed in him, he was missing the fire and passion that he once had when I first met him. He was lacking love, and you could taste it in his food, and feel it in the ambiance.
All in all I give a 2/5 stars. Not because the second time around was worthy of two stars but because I know that this restaurant and the owner/chef have REAL POTENTIAL! I don't know what went wrong! But it was disappointing to say the least. I truly hope that the owner reads this and that he becomes inspired to reflect upon himself and perhaps once again put the same amount of love in his restaurant, as he had before! read more