Habana

I took my boyfriend to Habana to celebrate his 30th birthday. The first time I heard of Habana was from a video I saw on Facebook about their brunch on Sundays. I always wanted to come, but never made the trip to Costa Mesa. They also have a location in Irvine. Finally, I decided to take my boyfriend to the Costa Mesa location for dinner tonight! I made reservations a week in advance, which might be smart because the restaurant does get packed!

The restaurant is located in the Lab Anti-Mall with a lot of other stores. There’s a parking lot on both sides of the mall.

We got there exactly at 5:00 PM for our reservation and the hostess sat us down immediately. Be sure to request for a table on the patio because it’s so pretty! The entire restaurant and patio is lit up with candles. To be honest, the ambiance I heard about and saw in photos was the main reason why I wanted to come. They have vegan options here too! Our server came shortly after we were sat. She brought a tasting of a sangria they were serving that night which was good.

My boyfriend ordered a beer and I just had water. Our server took our orders and the starters came out super fast!

For starters we ordered:

Shrimp Ceviche (non-vegan) – Mexican shrimp, sashimi ahi; topped with habanero and yellow tomato salsa; with mariquitas chips

Plantain Crusted Avocado Slices (vegan without sauce) – with smoked chipotle sauce

Shrimp Ceviche

Plantain Crusted Avocado Slices

The Plantain Crusted Avocado Slices were so good!! It was the perfect amount of crispiness and wasn’t overly fried and covered with oil. It also came in the perfect portion and wasn’t heavy at all. We both really enjoyed this starter. Our entrees came out shortly after we finished the starters.

For entrees we ordered:

Citrus Marinated Pork Belly (non-vegan) – Braised pork belly with a Caribbean habanero sauce; with Caribbean fufu, sautéed spinach; garnished with grilled shrimp

Tamale En Cazuela (vegetarian with vegan option) – Sofrito polenta, fire roasted tomato sauce, cheddar cheese; with a green salad, farmers market vegetable ragu

Citrus Marinated Pork Belly

Tamale En Cazuela

My boyfriend had the Citrus Marinated Pork Belly and I had the Tamale En Cazuela. My entree was vegetarian, but I had the option to make it vegan. They used vegan cheese instead of real cheddar cheese. Wow, my dish was amazing! I loved the tamale. It was so flavorful and the portion was huge. It came with 2 pieces and I could only finish one. The market vegetables were made well, but the green salad wasn’t anything special. My boyfriend really enjoyed his pork belly as well. I took my leftover tamale to-go and it was still just as good the next day!

Since it was his birthday, our server brought a complimentary key lime pie dessert with a candle out. We had the choice of flan or key lime pie and we went with key lime pie. My boyfriend was not disappointed!

Overall, Habana exceeded my expectations. Food was great, price wasn’t too bad and the ambiance was perfect. It worked out perfectly since there were a few vegan options on the menu. Come here with your non-vegan friends or come with your vegan friends. Enjoy the ambiance and the cocktails, which I heard were really good. Come for brunch, lunch or dinner, I’m sure they’re all equally amazing.

Costa Mesa, California
Cuban, Latin American, Bars 
Non-vegan restaurant with vegan options
Takes reservations
Private lot
I ordered: Shrimp Ceviche (non-vegan), Plantain Crusted Avocado Slices (vegan), Citrus Marinated Pork Belly (non-vegan), Tamale En Cazuela (vegan)

You can visit their Yelp page here.