Havana Rumba Express is no longer an Express

Hadn't seen this reported yet.

Wife and I had been there several times for eat in and carry out from the Express side of the house. Went in Thursday night to get some carry out and the hot food bar is no longer there. They said it is now a regular Havana Rumba so I got a carry out order from the menu and had a glass of red at the bar while I waited.

We'll still go, but that Express concept was very fast and an extremely good value compared to their regular menu pricing.

Just wanted everyone to have a heads up if they have plans to visit specifically for the Express menu\food.

I wonder if the other locations will return to being open for lunch? They discontinued lunch service to concentrate on this concept, since the concept part of this restaurant is now gone hopefully they'll return lunches to the other locations.

I went last week and was surprised by how quickly they changed it over- I am in there once a week or so. I am not surprised, honestly. It was confusing for people, with express service customers wanting to sit in the bar, and many requests for the regular Havana Rhumba items from customers. They still have all of the great tapas, which are a fabulous value, and that was what we had most of the time, so it isn't much of a change for us.

Mark,
The Havana Rumba on Shelbyville is still open for lunch- but only Thursday, Friday and weekends; I've been many times. According the their website the original St. Matthews location is also open for lunch the same days.

Deb

Mark,
The Havana Rumba on Shelbyville is still open for lunch- but only Thursday, Friday and weekends; I've been many times. According the their website the original St. Matthews location is also open for lunch the same days.

Deb

Thanks! I've noticed that being open on Saturday but didn't realize it was open the other days. I know when they 1st started the Express they said the other ones were not going to be open at all for lunch, I guess the plan changed.

I went last week and was surprised by how quickly they changed it over- I am in there once a week or so. I am not surprised, honestly. It was confusing for people, with express service customers wanting to sit in the bar, and many requests for the regular Havana Rhumba items from customers. They still have all of the great tapas, which are a fabulous value, and that was what we had most of the time, so it isn't much of a change for us.

I think the problem was trying to pursue two concepts in the same space simultaneously, both the tapas/bar and the express. Should have stuck with one or the other.

Or maybe they were just testing the express concept, learned what they need to, and then finished converting it to a full restaurant.

We went Sunday night for dinner. We had been once when it was the "express" format and specifically went again knowing that it had been reformatted. We prefer the non-express format. The manager came by the table behind us and the women said they came expecting the old format but were extremely pleased to have seen it changed. They said they will return far more often now. I think we'll do the same.

I tried the new chimichurri entree and thought it was fantastic. The steak was cooked perfectly and the green chimichurri sauce was very unique (maybe avocado in it?) The grilled vegetables I requested as my side were surprisingly flavorful.

I will mention though that the goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers were not on the tapas menu. I'm not sure if they were still available if you had asked. That was one of the things we had tried on our first visit and had liked.

[Robin Garr]

goat cheese stuffed piquillo peppers.

Given the family relationship between Havana Rumba and Mojito, I assume this is the same tapa that's on the Mojito menu. It's amazing!

I like the potato things on the Tapas menu.. those things are like dope !

Stopped by yesterday and lurked the menu... oh dang. It's the same HR menu with the addition of maybe 15 tapas that look incredible. Can't wait to try it!

It's good to see businesses being proactive like this. If something's not working, dump it and adapt. I'm glad they didn't ride it into the ground and close like so many others before them.