Habana Cuba Restaurant

As I have said multiple times, I don't enjoy leaving mediocre reviews for mom and pop places especially those that serve a relatively underrepresented cuisine in the Bay Area but I must be honest when giving out my reviews.This review is quite delayed but I came here last year during San Jose Restaurant Week and this restaurant caught my eye because I haven't really had Cuban food before. This place had a fair amount of media attention based on my quick google search, so I decided to come here.I got the lechon with moros, yucca frita, tostones and the ham croquettas, which was their special for restaurant week. I don't mean to be so harsh but I felt like I was on an episode of Kitchen Nightmares when eating my food. Both the yucca frita and tostones were so dry and tasted as if they had been cooked several days ago. EVERY single item was so incredibly bland and under seasoned and I am very sensitive to salt so that says A LOT. The lechon was tender, I'll give them that much, but again, absolutely tasteless. The croquettas reminded me of those frozen fried breaded items that you get at the grocery store and just pop into the oven before eating.Again, I don't like being harsh with mom and pop shops but this place is definitely not the stop for quality Cuban food here in the Bay Area.

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.

Habana cuba is tucked inside of a small bustling food court. They specialize in cuban sandwiches and other delicious cuban dishes. When we got there we ordered from the kiosk, nobody was there to take our order. I've never had cuban food pior to this experience and honestly I was a little disappointed. The lechon was incredibly salty. Some of the meat was very dry and some were quite fatty. I was unable to finish it despite having the rice to accompany it. The yuca frites were crunchy but very tasteless, I imagine it would taste better if it came with something to dip it in. The sandwich however was quite good, the meat was tender and flavorful and the bread soaked up the juices pretty nicely. If you have a higher salt tolerance than me you would enjoy the food here, but I wouldn't personally come here again.

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!

Ropa vieja was really tough and the sauce it came in felt very sour. The other ropa vieja I've had at other Cuban places weren't this sour? Maybe this is their version. The meat felt hard to chew. I like my meat soften. It was tough and didn't feel enjoyable. Outside of the sour flavor it didn't have much flavor at all. Felt like I was chewing sour rope lol The rice was ok and the beans were just beans. The star of the dish was definitely the fried plantains all the way. They were sweet and just came out of the fryer. I could eat a whole dish of them alone!

I doordashed several items and was just so disappointed. Everything just tasted meh. The biggest turnoff for me were the vegetables; frozen veggie's straight from the bag, just heated up. No flavor, really a turnoff.I did like the rice pudding. Smooth, not overly sweet and perfect amount of cinnamon.

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

Ordered the Pechuga de Pollo and the Fricase de Pollo; the chicken in the Pechuga de Pollo was very well marinated and tender. The Fricase de Pollo was also delicious, and the stew that it came in was fantastic. I also enjoyed the side of white rice, black beans, and plantains; all were good. The service was good; I ordered it from a kiosk. The ambiance was a stand, but it was appropriately decorated.

We ordered a sandwich cubano, agua de guanábana, arroz con Gandules, and frijoles. Rice tasted like it was frozen and then boiled in the bag. Frijoles was good. Drink was good. Sandwich was alright. The bananas were not good, the oiled it was cooked in tasted old.Overall, would pass.