Havana Central

The new Havana Central in Roosevelt Field is a beautiful space. Our party of 9 arrived for our reservation at 10:30 am. We were the first customers there and our table was not ready. After one server change, we ordered off of the brunch menu. We waited for 45 minutes for our food to come out. When it did, the skirt steak, arepas, and chorizo links were delicious. However the french toast was cold, the poached eggs were overdone, all the coffees were tepid, and there was no ice in the ice coffee. On a minor note, we had to ask for two steak knives for the steak and eggs and a spoon for the hot tea.  My wife had the disappointing french toast and called over our server to tell her it was cold. The server had an attitude and was annoyed She offered another order, but  my wife did not want it. Because of the server's attitude, I decided to tell the manager about the whole meal. She apologized and did take the price off of one order of french toast.  However, I was annoyed that the tip was still included in the bill. The poor service did not warrant the tip given and I would have certainly left a lower amount. Management needs to learn that good service is as important as good food. Their kitchen needs to get better coordinated. This was a simple brunch in an empty restaurant and they could not provide us 9 consistent plates. I won't be going back.

Got here around 9pm for a 9pm reservation. Still asked to wait 15 minutes or so.  Ordered strawberry lemonade, home made. Really good, unfortunately $5 a glass with no refills.  Ordered the traditional ropa vieja. Really tasty and decent portion.  I didn't have any appetizers although they had interesting appetizers on the menu.  Good atmosphere, decent food, attentive wait staff.  I'd go back probably on a night that has the live band. Not à great location as the mall parking can be horrible.

I've been to the Roosevelt field mall one 3 times. Twice on a Thursday and once on a Saturday. All times I enjoyed it except Saturday when I tried the chicken and shrimp meal which was kinda bland. The other times I've had the vaca Frita and the braised pork shank which I absolutely adored. Drinks were good but pricy. Desserts are mediocre and only have 3 options. It would be better to grab ice cream or Cinnabon from the mall. The overall ambiance and decor was pretty. Service was attentive and helpful the 2 thursday nights, but a little slow on Saturday night. I would come here again for special occasions and definitely during a weekday rather than weekend