Habana Cuba Restaurant

A must try!! One of the best Cuban foods in San Jose. The ropa vieja is my go to, the meat is so tender and flavorful. This time I got it with the tamale and it was excellent. If you've never had Cuban food don't expect the tamale to be filled, it's just a corn tamale with meat choice on top.

I would do some pretty unspeakable things for a half decent Cubano... This place has FANTASTIC Cubanos... Soooooooooooo... Draw your own conclusions.

I had never tried Cuban food before so I thought it would be fun to try. The service was alright, with a self-order kiosk and a little note mentioning something about the machine charging extra if you use the kiosk instead of ordering in person, which was appreciated (I do not remember if this is the exact wording but it was something along those lines). The ambiance is alright, you can get a bit of the atmosphere of the bar that's close by, or you can sit at one of the benches that's close to the booth. My friend and I got the Pan Con Lechon sandwich to split, alongside some Yuca Frita, fried plantains, and rice pudding. The sandwich was alright, it did a good job keeping me fulfilled and tasted decent, with the fried plantains being an extra bonus (I had never tried friend plantains before so this was a pleasant first experience). The yuca frita was alright, it felt like a shorter and thicker version of the typical potato fries and was fun to dip into the relatively intense ajo. The highlight of our dinner was probably the rice pudding, which had a pleasant texture that felt homely and a delicious cinnamon flavor. Overall it was a nice experience, and I would be willing to try this place again.

This eatery and the entire SoFA Market was quite busy on a Saturday evening. But I was able to grab a quick dinner and enjoy my meal in the outdoor seating area which was less popular with the on and off rain on this day (fyi, the outdoor tables along the windows of the food hall are covered). Ordered from the self-order kiosk, and my food was ready in less than 10 minutes. Service was standard at the pickup counter. Got the papas rellenas (a mix of beef and mashed potatoes), and bocaditos (cubano cut into pieces). The items I ordered were cooked well and made of quality ingredients, however everything was slightly bland. Nothing a little salt and pepper couldn't fix, so not a big deal. They also give 5-6 choices of sauces on the side for each dish, from habanero ranch to sour cream, I suppose that's meant to help add to the flavor.

Reliably reasonable Cuban cuisine located deep inside Sofa Market just down the block and around the corner from the front of the SJ Convention Center. Service is efficient and friendly. Order up on the touchscreen kiosks, find a table nearby and they text you and call your name out on the loudspeakers mere minutes later when your order is ready. Casual slightly fancy food court vibe with all the other restaurants in Sofa Market all around. To establish a good baseline of comparison, we ordered the standard Cubano Sandwich (pulled pork, ham, cheese) that every Cuban place seems to offer. We also ordered the Sandwich de Pollo - which is a chicken breast topped with fried onions. Both sandwiches were pretty good if there was anything that could be improved, I feel the roll could have been a little more toasted and slightly crunchy instead of soft on the inside faces. Garnish your sandwich with salsa of your choice. The fried plantains we ordered for the sides were great. Think of them as fried bananas. Way better than French fries for a side IMHO.. a big jug of iced water is right there at the pickup counter if you don't want to order a fancier beverage or soft drink. Not a bad place for a nice sandwich!