Havana Rumba

My wife and I had the pleasure of eating at Havana Rumba for the first time this Saturday for lunch and all I can say is that we WILL be back. I had the Cubano with sweet potato fries and she had the chicken fricase(sp) and the food total came to under $20 including 2 iced teas. Both meals were excellent and we left extremely satisfied, although we did pass on dessert due to how stuffed we were.

My girlfriend and I went there one time around 4:15, and the pollo asado that she always gets wasn't quite done roasting for the day yet. We ended up getting an appetizer and waiting it out for 25 minutes, and she practically shed a tear when she bit into it because it was so wonderfully fresh. Personally I love the pollo al mojo, but anything from there is going to be delicious. You can never go wrong with Havana Rumba.

Seems the key to Havana Rumba is to find a time to go when it is not super busy. Which can be tough. Tuesday and Wednesday nights have worked well in the past. Lunch as well. I try to avoid weekends, but that's just because patience is not one of my best attributes. To be clear - the service is always A-OK; it's the wait for a table that does me in.

The Cubano is perhaps the single greatest way to introduce yourself to Havana Rumba. It is how my wife and I both got hooked. Welcome to the club!

lived on the Cubano over the summer! Love Marcos, and Steve.... his wife and son are a trip! The whole crew is sweet. They were all good to my guy David too! I could swear they put crack in their Masas Puercas though!

We had an EARLY dinner on Saturday, and it was fabulous! We started with the vegetarian empanadas. SO SO good. Crisp, not greasy - perfect!

My husband had the fish special - it disappeared rather quickly so I know he enjoyed it! I had the veggie press sandwich with sweet potato fries - both great as usual! We finished up the meal with 2 cafe con leches. All around a GREAT meal!

I could swear they put crack in their Masas Puercas though!

They must get it from the same source as Clay Wallace uses for his Shrimp & Grits....



Deb

i luv habana rumba!

Havana Rumba single-handedly brought Cuban food back into my life! When my partner and I first got together, I took her to my favorite Cuban restauarant (Havana Cafe in Scottsdale, AZ) for lunch. And she hated it. I was crushed. Devastated.

Fast forward eight or nine years, and she tells me, I think I'm ready to try Cuban food again. So off to Havana Rumba we go. She loved it so much that we've been back three times since.

I love Cuban food. Seriously. I could eat an entire meal of black beans and rice. But why? Mmmmm....now I want to go to Havana Rumba this weekend.

Yeah, after our first visit 3 weeks ago we have been back three other times, including taking my in-laws while they were in town. We still haven't had anything bad there, and have been stuffed every time we leave.

We ate at Havana Rumba on Sunday. Always a pleasure. I should've been more adventurous and ordered something aside from the Cubano sandwich (there's nothing wrong with it! I just usually order the same thing when I go), but that's my fault. My gf got the Lechon Asado which is always excellent. We had the Entremes as an appetizer -- Sliced Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, Murcia drunken goat cheese, Spanish chorizo, roasted red peppers and olives. Served in authentic style tapas introduced in Cuba by the Spaniards. So delicious!

They need to find a larger or a second location. It's getting near impossible to get in there on weekend.

We went around 6:30 on Sunday and had no wait. But we were probably lucky.

I've only been to Mojito for lunch during the week, I would imagine it might not be as crowded? But I have no idea if that's true, just guessing.

Robert and I decided to check out Havana Rumba again for dinner last night, and I regret to say that we didn't have a very good experience. We had both only been there once before - I had really enjoyed a vegetarian dinner and he had only ordered an appetizer. Last night we arrived around 7:00 and the place was packed, which surprised me somewhat for a Monday night. However, we were seated right away at a table close to the door. I don't love sitting close to the door when it's freezing outside, but I do like being seated right away so I didn't argue. Almost as soon as we sat down, an apparent "bread guy" dropped a basket of warm sliced bread and compound butter on our table. Only problem was, we naturally wanted to dig into it right away, but we didn't yet have any drinks. We ended up sitting there unacknowledged (aside from the bread delivery) for a full 13 minutes before we even met our waitress and ordered our drinks. However, when she finally arrived, she was pleasant so I instantly forgave her the 13 minute wait. I ordered a Hemingway Daiquiri (light rum, Matuzalen rum, fresh lime juice, grapefruit juice, & sugar cane served frozen, $6), and Robert ordered a House Margarita (18 oz. on the rocks, $6 but $2 off last night). After ordering our drinks, the waitress returned a few minutes later with some ice water, and then several more minutes later our drinks arrived. I loved my daiquiri - yum! The bread and butter was delicious, as bread and butter usually is, and it was really nice that it had been served warm but a shame that it had been delivered so much sooner than our drinks. I ordered the Pollo al Mojo and Robert ordered the Palomilla Steak. There was a significant wait for the food, but not out of the ordinary in my opinion. More than 15 minutes, but I think less than 20, not bad for a busy night. My pollo al mojo came served with a mound of sauteed onion slices on top, a side of black beans and rice and fried plantains. I love plantains and I thought they were delicious. The black beans and rice were tasty but nothing remarkable. The chicken was fine, but nothing to write home about. However, I felt like the meal overall was on the healthy side of things, maybe not as exciting as a gooey cheesy spinach empanada, but less guilt-inducing. I was trying to be sort of good, and I'm sure the dish was exactly as it was intended to be. However, I have to say I really loved the vegetarian plate (Cubano Vegetariano) with the yucca and spinach empanada a lot more. Robert was unimpressed by his steak, which was also served with the same fried plantains. For some reason, his came with a side of white rice and a cup of black bean soup, rather than the pre-mixed black beans and rice that came with mine. He isn't a big fan of plantains but he seemed to enjoy the black bean soup and rice. Even though it wasn't his favorite, he didn't have any problem finishing his steak, and he remarked later that he was full, which can be quite a feat for him. As I was finishing my meal, the greatest offense of the night occurred. I was finishing up the last little bit of my black beans and rice, and I was down to about 2 fork-fulls. I was chewing one fork-full, and had just rested my fork on my plate when a busser rushed up from behind me, and literally whisked my plate away, last bite and all. I was stunned. Not only was I not finished, but he also just simply surprised me by rushing up from behind and appearing out of nowhere like that. He stopped and turned around after he was about 2 steps away and said "Oh, are you finished?" and just said "yeah" because at that point, did I really feel like fighting with the guy for my one last bite of beans and rice? Sheesh! No. If he was in such a hurry to take my plate away, I figured I would just let him have it. Then, as Robert was still eating his steak, the waitress came right over and asked me if I would like any coffee or dessert. Maybe it's just me, but I found it rude of her to be asking me for a dessert order while Robert was still eating his meal. We passed on dessert and headed over to the Zen Tea House for my long sought-after bubble tea instead. I wouldn't be against going back to Havana Rumba for some more of that yummy vegetarian stuff or trying some of their sandwiches or other appetizers, but I don't think I'll be able to convince Robert into going back with me.

Laura,
That's a shame that your experience (mixed, as it seemed to me) would keep you from returning. We celebrated my husband's birthday there on the Monday prior to your visit, and although maybe the arrival time made a difference (we got there at 6:00), we had none of the issues you did. Our server was around when we needed him, and our food arrived in a timely fashion. We had a party of 5, and everyone ordered something different, and since the portions are so large, we all took some home at the end of the evening (delicious!).

For 5 people, we spent around $125, including a 20% tip, which included 3 mixed drinks and 2 beers. I understand that you were disappointed - but isn't it nice to have such a fabulous selection of restaurants to choose from here in Louisville? I think everybody can find a place that they are happy with. There have been several that I won't go back to, either, typically because the food is not up to par for me, but I read others' reviews and they love the same places I won't visit again.

Having said all that, I will say that one time we went to Havana Rumba, and we had to wait about an hour for a table, even though they kept telling us it would only be another 10-15 minutes. But we like the place and the food a lot, so we just try to go earlier in the evening, or not at all on the weekend.