Habana Vieja

The vaca frita was great, but the scene is the most compelling part of the restaurant. Outside you’ll find men smoking cigars and playing cards, and, once inside, you’ll feel transported to Cuba.

Rice and beans are considered separate orders. Charge you for refills. Salty picadillo, bistec empanizado looks huge but it’s all breading. Why do you do this to me?

Great Cuban food with exceptional service! No matter what time of day or night you will be satisfied with the meal. «Bueno bonito & barato»

I don’t know why this place has such bad reviews. This is definitely one of the best Cuban places I’ve ever been to.
I mostly stick with Vaca Frita when I go here though I’ve tried the masas de puerco and chicken as well. The Vaca Frita is consistently good. The maduros are amazing. I think of all the Cuban places where you can get the same grub, they serve the best maduros.
If you get a side order of tostones, you’re basically being served 7 plantains. The tostones are huge and they give you at least 6 of them. They’re also served with that delicious garlic sauce to dip them in. The whole thing is to die for.
The portions are huge and though they have a share charge, it’s totally worth it. No normal human being can eat a regular plate and two sides there. The lunch specials are also great if you work nearby.
The service is usually pretty good. But parking can be terrible. Go during not super busy hours to get in and out comfortably.

This review is a MUST because the restaurant was HANDS DOWN TERRIBLE. Some of the previous reviewers say that you should ignore the bad comments about this restaurant, as if they have no credance; we ignored them and found that the negative reviews were indeed very accurate. From our perspective, this is absolutely one of the WORST cuban restaurants we’ve been to … and we’ve been to many … after all, this is Miami, how can you make cuban food SO friggin wrong!!!
We had the Ajiaco soup that was room temperature and thick like mash potatoes … so much for calling it a «sopa», instead they should have called it «compota» because it seemed more like baby food mash than what it was supposed to be — proof that it had been sitting for hours cooking down like day’s old leftovers. Next came the entrees: arroz con pollo and ropa vieja. So let’s start with the arroz con pollo: it seemed like it was recooked leftover white rice from the day before. It was mushy, soupy and lacked any solvent texture. My first question was, «Is the arroz con pollo? Or Vomit on a plate?» … Visually unappealing. If you ran out of glue for your dentures then this is the plate for you. The ropa vieja «atomatada» is exactly that: ropa vieja steeped in a can of uncooked tomato paste and disallowed of the opportunity to comingle with the rest of the ingredients — much like an uninvited mother-​in-​law at a fraternity party.
I read the other reviews about how «good» and «plentiful» the food was, and we were terribly disappointed. Our suggestion is that if you’re not a «bottom feeder» who thinks that lots of food equals «good» or «delicious» then spend your money somewhere else.

Good Cuban food. Certainly genuine. You can certainly get better food in a better ambiance, but the service is reliable and the eats are dependable. If you go early, take advantage of the specials where you get everything from a glass of sangria to soup, a main and dessert. Stay with the main Cuban specialties, like vaca frita. The better sides include the black beans, huge tostones, and amarillos. I haven’t tried all the desserts, but was not impressed with the arroz con leche. Oh, do make sure you ask for the Cuban bread, sometimes they serve plain sandwich bread instead. Prices are certainly a good value for what you get.

New location still a classic place! Please ignore the negative reviews about this wonderful restaurant. The attention as always was amazing this last time I went and the food was superb!

Good Cuban food, huge portions, and very reasonable prices. Delicious vaca frita, Ropa Vieja, broiled grouper, sopa de pollo, picadillo. Come early (between 5pm and 7pm) for the dinner specials, which include soup, entrée, dessert, and a glass of wine for under $ 10. Yes, there is better Cuban food in Miami, and yes, it’s noisy here. But for a solidly good meal at great prices, you cannot beat Habana Vieja.

Beautiful restaurant, great location, phenomenal staff, HORRIBLE food, the only thing that was good was the croquetta. C’mon guys, this is Miami, you can’t do Cuban food right?

The placed was mobbed at 1pm on a weekday. Imagine cars double parked, a valet guy sorting through his wad of cash out front, and very tight parking spots. This is their new and improved location, supposedly.
Service was efficient although mediocre. Tip: don’t plan to chat with folks at your table unless you’re prepared to shout. The acoustics suck, and all +50 people were speaking loudly and/​or gabbing on cell phones. The guy at the next table was conducting some sort of loud! business meeting and then proceeded to take a call on his cell phone. Apparently, patrons of this restaurant do as they please.
All of this would have been tolerable were the food have been worth it. Not the case.
Even the moros are un-​veggie friendly, as confirmed by our server. So I went with maduros, and a side of white rice and black beans. Since a la carte, this set me back $ 12.
Next time I will just cook up some (healthier) brown rice at home, add a can of black beans, and call it good.
The black beans were 200% sodium and the maduros were not drained, very greasy. They were also not made to order, instead they had been «warmed.» Gross.
If this were the Boonies I could see myself MAYBE giving them another chance. In Miami, tho? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Great local spot. The portions are enough to take home. We always leave with leftovers. The café con leche Is the best in town and that is saying a lot considering la carreta and Versailles around the corner. Highly recommend.

This place is delicious! They have the best Cuban food! You must try las mariquitas. The food is super fresh! The café con leche is so tasty. I highly recommend this restaurant for any occasion!