Habana

I celebrated my cousin’s birthday the other day at Habana, located at the Lab mall in Costa Mesa. I always get worry when she picks the restaurant…because she’s pretty easy when it comes to food. To my surprise, it’s a cute Cuban restaurant for a “mall” restaurant. I wished I took pictures of the restaurant because the outdoor patio where we dined at was nice. However, I soon found out that the restaurant doesn’t have a bathroom. You have to use the mall’s bathroom.

All the girls were ordering Mojitos but since I had a long drive back to LA, I went for their red sangria. It was pretty good; I had to force myself to slow down.

We started off with complimentary bread. I liked that it was sweet.

My cousin’s friend ordered the tuna tartare. I took a bite…hey her friends should expect me to snack on their food. It was good—I probably should have ordered my own dish…

Another friend ordered the Sofrito Steamers (manifa clams, black and green mussells served in a white broth). If you don’t want me to touch your food, just order a dish with crustacean.

I ordered the potato croquette. It was ok and it did its job –helped soak in the alcohol.

I shared the sirloin in red wine reduction with grilled artichokes and Peruvian potatoes with my cousin. My cousin no longer needs me to recommend restaurants to her. The sirloin was juicy and loved the Peruvian potatoes with it.

For desserts…my cousin’s friend bought a cake from Vons…gasp. It was a sweet idea but from Vons or whatever grocery store??? Habana was cool and didn’t force a cake-cutting fee.

I would have been happier if we’d just chip in for one of Habana’s dessert..

If you’re in the OC and need a good restaurant for a large group, dine at Habana.

Address: 2930 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone#: (714) 556-0176
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