Havana

I really really hate cold food. When a starter of risotto arrives at the table I expect it to be piping hot, not lukewarm. I also expect my turkey dinner to be hot. Neither of these things happened when I frequented Havana for a Christmas dinner party last Friday night. This is supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Brighton. It’s very swish, does some lovely cocktails, but the food was very disappointing. I even though the wine was pretty average. I wouldn’t go back here for food, but will still pop in after a shopping trip for a couple of sneaky dirty Martinis.

I hate to be one of the few dissenting votes here but I was not impressed with this place. The space, while swanky and had great live music on a Saturday night, was way overpriced for the quality.
We started with cocktails-​which were good. Espresso martini and strawberry blonde. Appetizers were ok– Middle East platter which I felt I could have gotten better in hold in the wall places and beet root salad which was not that tasty in my opinion.
Dishes were filet (good but the side of truffle mashed potatoes were too overpowering). The shrimp parpadelle was a disappointment — shrimp was fishy and it tasted like there was no flavor. Rib eye– was not a hit but enjoyed the foie gras burger.
Service was ok, but for a 200 pound dinner, I expect a lot better food and attention to flavor whih I didn’t get. Sorry, never going here for dinner. Maybe for drinks

One of Brighton’s better restaurants and and one to take someone you want to impress. They have a good wine /​cocktail selections and the food is great. Can be quite pricey, but actually the if you get the lunch deal it is really good value for money

Havana on Duke Street in the Lanes in Brighton is certainly one of the most popular and pleasant places to have a top-​notch cocktail followed by a sophisticated supper in the city centre. Such places are few and far between in this kiss me quick city.
The quality of the drinks is amazing. Great sours and daiquiris. Needless to say rum cocktails win out. The food ain’t cheap but it is good and the pretty outside area is a good place to look down on the plebs as they walk on by. Wonderful place!

Amazing amazing food! We had an open sandwich each, smoked salmon with a hollandaise sauce on an English muffin and a side of rosemary, butter and courgettes. Everything was amazing and the price very reasonable. Inside is beautifully decorate too

Perfect place to drop into for coffee/​lunch/​afternoon tea. The pushchair brigade don’t seem to have discovered it, and the music, service and atmosphere are conducive to a quiet chat.
Décor is really lovely, but a bit scuffed around the edges these days — it could do with a lick of paint in some places. As for the customers — well, the website says ‘smart casual’ and the customers are on the ‘smart’ side of that.
Cocktails are yummy here, and the food is interesting, flavourful, beautifully presented and well-​cooked, using quality ingredients. Eggs benedict on brioche excellent, and the ham used was obviously off the bone and high quality.
Great coffee and friendly staff. Don’t let them seat you on those awful banquettes at the front, though — not comfortable. Walk straight in and plonk yourself on one of the sofas!

Not the stuffy formal best, but the best in casual fun dinning… Also great for a date. Really good for drunken Lunch or Dinner, really grown up space, great changing menu to be seasonal with a few all year Favs…
Wish I lived closer

Havana is a bit different from most of the other top restaurants in Brighton, and not necessarily in a good way. The décor is clean and lavish, and it even has a fountain in one corner, but it just doesn’t sit well with the more casual vibe usually found in the Brighton Laines.
I came here recently on a first date (top points to the boy for picking this place!!). It was a Thursday but unfortunately the restaurant was really quiet. This can’t be helped I guess, and did lead to us having exceptional service (although maybe a little too invasive.?).
We were invited to have a drink in the bar area first, we both opted for cocktails and although good, my Strawberry Blonde didn’t blow me away.
The menu was interesting and varied. I plumped for the mackerel rillette to start (pretty good) followed by the nori-​wrapped halibut with crab sauce and ginger foam, absolutely delicious, such delicate flavours, one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. The presentation, although impressive at first view, was a little impractical as the fish came balanced on the chop sticks over the bowl of broth. This meant that in order to eat my dinner, I had to flip the fish into the bowl avoiding splash back — please remember I was on a first date while trying to execute this delicate little manœuvre!
We shared a treacle tart for pudding which was also good. Other plus points were a great selection of breads, and an impressive wine list.
Overall, a great meal with good service, just let down slightly by the atmosphere and surroundings. Its also a little on the pricey side for what it is. And, where the hell did they get the the name from, there is nothing remotely Cuban about this restaurant!

We poppedin Havana on a whim for a quick drink and were happily surprised with what we found.
The menus for both afternoon tea and drinks were vast with some lovely cocktails and wines on offer. The only downside as that as we popped in just for drinks we were given a bench type seat by the door so this didnt induce us to stay too long and relax. This seemed odd as they were hardly busy.
However those that booked for drinks did have tables.
The menu for dinner and lunch seemed lovely and we were tempted to return and try the meals that evening however again booking seemed to be an issue and problematic.
There is seating outside too and inside over two levels and the interior has been done very well.
The prices are average maybe a little high but as its not a chain i think it can justify this with the quality and prsonal touch.

Very nice food in a great environment. Very attentive staff.

Well known for being good, it looks good, the service is good, the food … well lets say I cant remember it, which was the only let down really.
I think your paying for the experience which is good and the set menu is better value as it can get quite pricey in the evening.
I’d built this place up in my head, had a good night but the food didnt blow my mind!

Havana is everything Brighton isn’t: upmarket, posh and a bit swanky. It feels like it’s been lifted out one of London’s more choice districts, and certainly doesn’t fit into the Lanes. Whether they’ve built this choice locale in the right place or not aside, Havana is a bit too swish for its own good. Everything is a bit pricey, a bit too practiced and a bit too much. Not for me, no no, maybe if you like to sit wearing sunglasses and with a small dog in your purse…
This is clearly the clientele Havana is trying to attract with their ostentatious set-​up, and the certainly cluster on the tables out the front. Inside, it’s a similar story, except that the cool cats fit even better with the ridiculous faux marble stuff and predominantly white and cream décor. Everything here is style over substance: the plates of food look fantastic, but are a little light on the actual consumables. The cocktails look flash, but are often more of a mess than a pleasant mix. I’m glad to say I don’t fit in here, but it isn’t all bad: it’s just ludicrously ‘cool’. If you ignore that, it’s a perfectly good alternative to some of the choicer cocktail bars and restaurants around town.

I love this place, its just such a shame it attracts so many posers and WAG look-​a-​likes. If, like me those kind of people make your blood boil, I’d recommend turning up on a mid-​week evening. If they don’t have a table ready for you, pop next door into the trendy (of course) cocktail lounge and have a nice apperitivo. There’s a digital number system letting you know when your table is ready.
Food wise, they cook one of the meanest fillet steaks in the city in my opinion, really well seasoned and the choice of sauces are great too.
Its not very ‘Brighton’ this place but it does serve nice food.

Hmm. Bit too heavy on the theme for my liking, and not enough substance. The lunch menu is surpisingly bland, don’t get me wrong, I love a burger but is it in keeping with this much decadent decoration? I suppose it is just lunch, and you can sit outside in the summer here drinking cocktails which is always fun.
I came here for dinner and felt I had been casted into an episode of ‘Murder She Wrote’, but where was Jessica Fletcher?! I really needed her analytical skills to work out why everything was so pricey. The staff were impeccable and very friendly, and after my very nice Gnocchi, I was ready for some meat. But what is this? Robert Carrier, the 70’s chef, has got his various purée’d veg onto the menu, hmm, celeriac through an icing bag, ill leave that thanks. This kind of thing seems to be coming back into fashion right now, but personally I am more of a chewer. In the end I went for the rack of lamb, which I did enjoy, and I must say that whilst finding some things about the place funny and silly the party of four I was in did have a good time and everyone enjoyed their meal. The only thing is, to purely focus on the food, I don’t know why other places don’t offer similarly creative meat and veg combinations at decent prices. I would be dining out and acting like a ‘Murder She Wrote’ socialite far more often.

If I were to judge Havana purely on its beautiful façade and unsurpassed presentation it would undoubtedly be getting a great review. However, this only serves to leave you feeling a little disappointed, as the price is somewhat over-​inflated. Rather than sublime food you’re really paying for the elegant décor, tie-​pinned waiting staff and generally exceptional atmosphere.
That said, £40 will get you a decent meal and drinks but not the memory of anything particularly outstanding. Also, the name is confusing, as the Cuban theme doesn’t go very far.
Let’s just say that if the food were to match the standard of its exterior I have no doubt Havana would be nationally renowned. This may seem harsh for somewhere commonly regarded as one of Brighton’s top restaurants but, while it’s in that league, it inhabits the lower part of it.

The phrase shooting oneself in the foot comes to mind. If it weren’t for its beautiful façade and unsurpassed presentation, Havana would be getting a stellar review. However, it’s not that simple.
Don’t be fooled by the slick décor, the tie-​pinned waiting staff or the name. Havana is not what you expect. You can tell from the exterior that it’s a special place but once you’ve had the experience you’re left feeling a little disappointed. As you’re looking at spending approximately £40 per head including drinks there are a few things you should know. First of all, Havana is doubtlessly in the top division of Brighton restaurants but due to certain discrepancies it sits towards the bottom end of its league. Its name is misleading, as the Cuban theme doesn’t go very far. For example, I thought the idea of first-​rate Latin American cuisine served in such a beautiful setting would make for a wonderful experience. Sadly this was not the case.
Whilst the food was definitely of a high quality, it didn’t reach the heights the price suggested. The best thing I can say about my £20 Sirloin Steak was that it was correctly cooked: it was nothing special.
By the end of the meal you realise that you’re paying for the pleasure of the service and the surroundings, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, if the food were to be of an equal standard I have no doubt this would be a nationally renowned place. Such a shame it didn’t live up to its appearance.

The Havana is a über swish place to grab a bite or a cocktail on the edge of Brighton’s famous Laines. Its a really unique venue in a converted theatre, it kind of looks like a temple with white walls and pillars. Inside you’ll find cream sofas, a grand piano and a fountain!
The outside seating attracts posers from all over the city with big shades and tiny dogs, but the staff are far from pretentious. The cocktail menu is made up of a lot of their own creations, the Brighton Beach is amazing. Food wise the menu is modern European including risottos and deliciously seasoned meats.

I was in Brighton for the weekend at the beginning of summer and we wanted to go to a really nice restaurant. Havana looked nice and it was in a Michelin star guide (no Michelin stars, but still…). We walked in and the atmosphere and layout were great — it is like visiting the Caribbean. It is very airy and has high ceilings and an upstairs.
The food, however, was not impressive. I’m used to paying a lot for food at nicer places, but I expect to get fresh and decent food. This place is severely overpriced and the fish I had was not fresh, which is very disappointing as it’s a restaurant in a seaside town. I also don’t really understand naming a place Havana and then only serving «European» food. It was a bit odd as there are Cuban drinks on the menu, but no Cuban (or even Latin) food to be found anywhere. Although, I probably would not have minded had the food been good.
The tablecloth was also dirty when we sat down and the service wasn’t great. If it had been a mid-​range place maybe I wouldn’t have minded so much, but I felt like we had been mugged by the time we settled our bill and left.
Maybe it was an off night, I don’t know, but I’d say this place is fantastic for drinks outside or in the downstairs area but move on for food as there are much much better places in Brighton.
We went to the Gingerman the next night (much smaller and not as much of a scene) which served really good food at fairly reasonable prices (and was worth it) as well.

When you step inside the door, you almost feel like you’ve been transported to a Caribbean resort — fans on the ceiling, white panels on the walls, furniture covered in soft earth tones. Then’s there’s an impressive bar set in dark wood that highlights the waiting area. The staff is very attentive, and there seemed to be just as many servers as guests.
The menu is fairly short, but decisions are still very difficult. The only problem I would note is that the menu didn’t seem Cuban at all. But aside from that, everything we ordered was delicious, albeit a little pricey.
PROS:
— Excellent service
— Beautiful décor
— Great food
CONS:
— Menu is not representative of Caribbean food, let alone Cuban (it’s very good food, but not what I expected coming to a place called «Havana»)
— On the more expensive side
NOTE:
I’m an American that visited Brighton-​Hove on a recent business trip. I’m a big Unilocal fan, too, so I’m eager to help populate the UK databases with reviews to make Unilocal UK as useful as the American versions!

Me and my boyfriend went here on a special occassion. It’s very expensive, but then you do get what you pay for. We had cocktails, which although took there time to get to us were delicious and very alcoholic!
The meal was gourmet but filling and probably one of the tastiest meals I ever had. Staff were friendly although not as attentive as we’d hoped.
However, the food spoke volumes and the atmosphere is lovely, romantic, with a water fountain in the eating area.
The only reason I’m only giving it 4 was because of the service but after a few cocktails I didn’t really care anyway, haha!