Havana Rumba

One note: Some entrees at HR come with Black beans and rice (separately) and some with Congris (black beans and riced mixed together)--it's noted on the menu. They're always happy to substitute one for the other.

One note: Some entrees at HR come with Black beans and rice (separately) and some with Congris (black beans and riced mixed together)--it's noted on the menu. They're always happy to substitute one for the other.

I always end up with my congris and my girlfriend's black beans, because she's not a big fan of soup-like things in general. I really have a craving for beans now.

The difference between the congris and separate black beans and rice wasn't a complaint of mine, just an observation.

The difference between the congris and separate black beans and rice wasn't a complaint of mine, just an observation.

Right. You wrote "for some reason," and I was supplying the reason: it's stated on the menu what comes with each entree. No biggie.

The difference between the congris and separate black beans and rice wasn't a complaint of mine, just an observation.

Right. You wrote "for some reason," and I was supplying the reason: it's stated on the menu what comes with each entree. No biggie.

Cool, thanks!

I love their food, but like Laura, have noticed that service can be somewhat slow at times.

Is it just a personal quirk of mine that I find it a little impolite for the server to be asking for my dessert order while my sig. other is still eating his meal?

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.

That is hilarious. Havana Cafe was one of my wife and I's favorite places to eat when we lived in Phoenix. They were the spur that made me start going to small restaurants in strip malls in Arizona, because everything else was part of a chain. It was actually the start of my love for independent restaurants

Wow....did you actually keep that accurate of a count of the times? 13 mins on a busy night is not a huge concern for me. You said it was busy, which is VERY normal for HR. I"m sorry you had a bad experience. I've always completely enjoyed my visits there.

Wow....did you actually keep that accurate of a count of the times?

Yep, we started paying attention once we realized we had been sitting there for 10 minutes with nothing.

I'm not that offended or marking the place off my list or anything, but was just wanting to give a thorough report. Some aspects were good, and some were bad. The last time I ate there was much more pleasant.

Laura,
That's a shame that your experience (mixed, as it seemed to me) would keep you from returning.

I didn't say it would keep me from returning; I said it would probably keep Robert from returning. Que sera sera.

As I said in an earlier post in this thread, I try to really avoid the weekends. I've never been overly impressed (or even impressed) with the service. The food is great. The service, although never out-and-out poor, is merely adequate. It's not just the crowds that bother me on the weekends. It's the call-ahead seating process they us. From what I can tell it pretty much leads the hostess to flat guessing how long a wait you will have, as it totally depends on whether or not other people show up. While no-shows are not the Rumba's fault, I'm just not a fan of the call-ahead idea.

But let it be made clear. The food is amazing. Especially love the seafood options.

I just want to drop off some praise for Havana Rumba. A group of 15 of us went Sat. night for a birthday dinner and it was awesome. The food and service were excellent. The waiter even split the bills (menu says they won't) and didn't add 18% gratuity(menu says they will), which worked out well for him. Everyone tipped 20% or better.


Job well done.

Justin!
I was sitting in the foyer waiting for my son to get off work (he is a weekend host) and heard the crew singing "Happy Birthday" (in Spanish of course).
The place was getting ready to close and was packed! I say all the time that "I want to be just like Havana Rumba when I grow up" Love the people and the food!

We were there from 5 to 7 and heard a few birthday songs.