THE PLACE Habana restaurant THE JUDGE...

THE PLACE

Habana restaurant

THE JUDGE

Deirdre Newman, Daily Pilot education reporter

THE MEAL

Plantain Chicken Breast sandwich with mango sorbet for dessert.

SPEED

During the peak lunch hour of 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., the food was

delivered in about 15 minutes. The time goes by quickly as you soak

up the rays on the restaurant’s outside patio while Latin music plays

softly in the background.

SERVICE

The service is friendly and professional, with the wait staff

making sure your drinks are always filled and able to explain some of

the menu items like adobo roja.

THE VERDICT

Habana delivers a tasty Cuban/South American culinary experience.

The Plantain sandwich ($6.95) is light, tender and tangy. The

plantains give the sandwich a singular taste -- the banana-like fruit

is diced up and made into chips before being beaten into a batter and

fried to make a thin coating around the chicken. It comes with a

heaping mound of fries and a small portion of coleslaw.

The mango sorbet ($4.95) is artistically presented -- the sorbet

is placed in a half mango surrounded by kiwis with a decorative

pattern of caramel sauce displayed on the plate.

Habana also offers happy hour and dinner, with live entertainment

on Wednesdays and Thursdays.