Review Havana Grill - Durban

Great customer service! Lovely food, what an awesome celebration it was!! Thank you, management, for your speedy resolution and awesome service.

I took my company staff on 08 December 2023 to Havana for our year end function, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. The service we received was excellent and the two waiters that served us was friendly and very accommodating. We have our set menus beforehand with timing. On the say meals where served on time and everyone received their meals still hot and prepared according to requirements - excellent I highly recommend them should you want to enjoy a great lunch experience.

Clean, Friendly staff members and peaceful when we went. A good place to come and have a peaceful time and a good meal. My only critique was the drink, could have tasted better and could have had a better straw, mine gave in 2 minutes into drinking the cocktail. The food was delicious and filling and made it out quickly. would definetly go again and recommend!

Have to say this restaurant is classy. Food is excellent. Ordered deconstructed prawns samosa as starters. It was excellent. Tasty Chutney and filled with prawns and layers of 3 pastries. I had filled on the bone with mash and spinach. Reason for giving 4/5 is I Ordered medium/rare steak but was just too rare. However taste was still good. Also enjoyed the awesome live music instrumentals played by the band.

The food was great and service was excellent. It is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for. We all enjoyed the food and the experience of dining at Havana.

Excellent ambience and service. Had the chicken liver starter, delicious. Ordered a sirloin for the main, was a bit overdone. The steak was very plain. Cheese sauce was okay. Overall, not bad but I’ve had better at other grills in Durban.

Food is not only tasteful but well presented, staff is articulated and dinning is a breeze, I would like to see more smiles though ...1st experience The food is amazing, seated overlooking the sea, what an amazing view. The table next to me was so loud , I guess each to their own, staff well presented and welcoming...

Simply amazing! Superb service from Angie, who always ensured we are good and everything is going OK. Food arrived quick and portions were a good size. The view of the ocean is a nice touch as well :)

Visited the Havana Grill at Suncoast after some time. Their meals were absolutely divine and the service was 1st class. Mbali served us like royalty. The experience was amazing. Highly recommended spending a special occasion with the team at Havana grill.

Had a great experience once again. Welcomed at the door showed to our table. Drinks order did not even take 5min and it was on the table. Ordered jalapeno poppers for starter to die for that is how good it is. Had prawn and chicken curry was simply amazing. Service and atmosphere lovely and fine dining to its best

First time at the Havana Grill and we were not disappointed! Booking via WhatsApp is definitely a much easier method. Staff were incredible. Steaks were cooked to perfection. The live music is super entertaining. Will be back for sure!

We booked a private room for a small function, the room was stunning and the Manager Jason went beyond to accommodate us regarding the chairs for this room. The service was excellent, and the food was amazing, which attributed to a successful evening. Would definitely recommend them for any private functions.

The menu is diverse and the waiters very well informed and polite. Ambience is excellent. There is a parking flat rate of R10 regardless of how long you stay which is very good. You can also book it for a private function like a birthday or office year end party.

Thanks Havana Grill for a pleasant evening in honour of my mother’s birthday!<br/><br/>Food & Drinks: The salmon with the dill sauce was a hit for me, especially with that bomb mash😋! Also had a little bit of my brother’s gnocchi, which was delish! The Mojito & Mango Martini were really good!<br/>Desert: The crème brûlée was a bit of a miss but the brownie with ice cream was amazing!<br/>Ambience: Love the setup - looks inviting. Lovely easy going music; very clean space (and bathroom).<br/>Service: A special thanks to our songbird waitress, Londiwe, for her patience and joyful serving. You made the evening extra special!

Staff are friendly and helpful.<br/>Cappuccino was well made!<br/>Food is delicious. Had the ostrich meal and my boyfriend had the steak.. steak was tender and well prepared. The pepper sauce was mouth watering.<br/>The ostrich was tender and cooked to perfection but the sauce stole the show.<br/><br/>On another occasion I had the king prawns: slightly dry but a good peri peri sauce should go great with it.

It was my first ever experience at the Havana grill @ Suncoast ... I ordered the Cuban livers for starters I expected something spicy.. But felt it was just to creamy for my liking an to mild. For mains I had the baby Portuguese chicken with shoe string fries 🍟. I ordered seasonal veg as an extra.. Which consisted of steamed broccoli,baby beetroots an Butternut puree, it was tasty an totally filling. But I felt my chicken was slightly under. Overall a pleasant experience.

Food was great all round with decent menu selection and pricing<br/>Service was very poor - slow, inattentive staff. Ordered a coffee which never arrived! Restaurant was about 40% full so no excuse for shoddy service <br/>

I enjoyed the service and the food. The service not so quick but this was easy overlooked when the food arrived. The place is clean the staff friendly . Dee Miss-Understood Thusi

Excellent quality everytime, always our go to place when we can't think of anywhere new.<br/><br/>Favourites are the peri peri calamari, the seafood platter, the ostrich and lamb shank and chops.<br/><br/>They also do great private functions with reasonable set menus.

Extremely chilled and elegant, the staff is extremely pleasant and friendly. The food was pretty average especially considering that Havana isnt the cheapest on the block.

Love this place! My favourite gnocchi in Durban. Absolutely delicious. Desserts are good as well. Great variety and quality of starter meals. Worth it!

What a great find! Staff were all great but thank you Stephen for looking after us! Great steaks all round too! Was a lovely experience all round!

FUN WE HAD ... THE FOOD WE HAD...<br/><br/>Hey FOODIES...<br/><br/>Loved this place.. Ambience was so lively...Decor too was good...Good selection of food and wine<br/>..<br/><br/>Vegetarians like me too had lot many options to choose from...<br/><br/>Really fab and fun on holidays..

One of the better restaurants to visit when in Suncoast. The food is always good and we never seem to have any problems. I always get the chicken and prawn curry which is well presented and served with poppadoms and sambals. The staff are very friendly and always checking in.

Having previously gone for dinner at Havana I tried out there lunch time special three course meal. Every course was really well prepared and the ingredients combinations worked well especially the starters we had.Our mains of steak was delicious and well prepared. Lunch special is value for money and would recommend ☺

Spent Valentine's day here, the staff are very friendly and attentive. The chef is constantly walking around to ensure all is well. It was a set menu but was Devine. It was a great evening starters mains and dessert was superb!

Beautifully decorated restaurant in suncoast casino. Very comfortable and cosy. The food was good but nothing spectacular. Portions are fair. I had the pork belly was just okay. My mum had the chicken che guevara which was delicious. Very pricey as well. Service was really good.

Once again we were a table of 10. It was after the Ironman so everyone was hungry and hoe delicious was the Havana Grill. Really great service and what an experience it was to have a choice between grass fed and grain beef. A must visit!

Fine dining set but stilled chilled enough for a girly dinner. Service was great. I had the pork belly - which was average, lacked that zesty bite to offset the mash. However both my friends loved their meals - fillet on the bone and tbone with mozambique style prawns. Which there was more dessert options - but i must admit their brownies were devine. A must try!

What an awesome experience. Havanna Grill is a snazzy restaurant tucked in sun coast casino, overlooking suncoast beach. What a great place to go to for good luxury dining. The service is impeccable, the setting is romantic, and most importantly, the menu and food is so dam good! I had a great time!

Recently visited Havana Grill for a birthday celebration and was fairly disappointed with the quality of service that was expected from the restaurant. Upon arrival, we was not even acknowledged by the employees and walked in casually waiting to be greeted and seated despite making a reservation. Employee walks pass and says "seating for two.. follow the waiter" while hastily walks away, not stopping for a second to give us the attention we deserve. Not the service we expect for a well known restaurant. The food was also disappointing, ordered the lamb chops and asked for a barbeque sauce sadly, this consisted of tomato sauce and spices. Really need to improve! Mushroom sauce was also very lumpy. However, the sea view is a great location to dine.

The service is excellent,so is the location.The meat was well prepared and the water hole had a seoerate section so as to chill before you get settled for supper.I think its time for a renovation.

Great views but food and service disappoint. Nothing very impressive. In comparison to their other branch, Little Havana; the quality is quite dim.

Havana Grill has a perfect setting with the view of the beach. The dining experience was a bit strange. Fillet steak made medium to perfection with lovely mash.<br/>However the blue cheese sauce came 10 minutes after the steak...when I questioned the waiter, I was told that the sauce was upstairs in the fridge and needed to be warmed...here I thought it was made fresh ;-) <br/>My mum's prawn & chicken curry was ok...spices were a bit raw to the taste. <br/>Will go back for the steak and hope I get better service when it comes to the accompaniments:-) <br/>

Yet ANOTHER fabulous evening at Havana Grill! We always know we can rely on you - makes entertaining so easy. We were a large party, with visiting foreigners, and the setting overlooking the ocean, the cocktails, the steaks done to perfection, and the melt-away Norwegian salmon all combined to make it a winner of an evening. The service too was tops! We'll definitely be back soon for more. A huge thank you to the Havana team.

Service is fair and restaurant looks good but dont be fooled by that, the food is not up to standard, after having a meal there I got sick with food poisoning and had to go to the doctor, this lasted a full week. It's a clear indication of the amount of bacteria in their food. I would suggest you think twice before going to havana grill suncoast.

The view is good, service was decent however they add way too much salt to everything and sadly both myself and friend contracted food poisoning after having lunch here. Since then, I've spoken to a few people who have told me that the kitchen here is not very clean. STAY VERY FAR AWAY! THIS IS NOT HIGH END DINING. Absolutely disgusting.

Rated for the best steaks in SA, although we only had the fish, was really nice. Felt a bit like a retirement village as most of the patrons were my grandparents age. While the restaurant was completely full upon arrival, by 11pm we were the last table and had to leave when they turned the lights bright. Service was good and staff attentive.

Very dissapointed tonight.<br/><br/>I ordered the rib eye steak in med rare.<br/><br/>Received a medium to well rump steak.<br/><br/>Its like Havana thinks i cant tell the difference.

This was the most confused restaurant I've ever been too.. and was a major disappointment for me. There is not a single item on the menu that a local Cuban would recognise. It is instead, just another bistro.. Serving the same food as the other 3 restaurants near it. The only real attempt to represent the name sake was the cigar humidor with Panama hats beneath it...

Love this place! Been here a few times god decor, nice upmarket restaurant and nice sea views during the day. Try the jalapeño stuffed steak it is really good! Great service, will definitely be back.

Absolutely fantastic <br/>Great service too <br/>The quality of meat , red meat to be specific is of extreme high quality!! You will be seeing me again that goes without say

This was my 2nd visit to Havana Grill after a couple of years. The venue is inside the very popular Suncoast Casino so booking is essential. <br/><br/>We arrived with a group of friends and managed to get a table quite quickly. We were greeted by a friendly hostess and our drinks orders were taken as soon as we sat down. <br/><br/>The decor of the restaurant has been upgraded over the years and has a nice modern feel to it. <br/><br/>The Wife and I ordered a chicken livers to start which were delicious, but with only 2 pieces of toast made it hard to soak up the delicious sauce. <br/><br/>We both opted for a medium rare rump with peppercorn sauce which was amazing. The meat was cooked to perfection and the sauce was out of this world. <br/><br/>We ended the evening with a dom Pedro and chocolate fondant, both which were absolutely delicious. <br/><br/>All in all a good evening out and not too bad on the price considering the drinks and food we opted for. I'll def be back <br/><br/>👍

Really great food. I've always had good meals at Havana Grill and it still beats a lot of places in Durban for a great steak. <br/>Plus the view is lovely.

For once in a very long time.....I enjoyed the food I ordered .....and every bite I savoured. I ordered the fillet with feta and jalapeños. The picture says it all.....

Just joined the family for my brother in law's 70 the birthday, never been to Havana Grill before. We were seated in the private room at the top of the stairs, a bit awkward for some of the older in the party,perhaps better sited on the ground floor and let other diners have the upstairs window view. <br/>The service was spot on. Drink order's taken and served quickly. I ordered a delicious chicken livers hors d'oeuvre, really mmmmmm. Well seasoned and a nice chilli bite, tingley not too hot <br/>My main was beautifully two tender chicken breasts on a bed of tagetelli and crisp green beans with succulent little prawns in a cream sauce and freshly grated parmesan. Little Jenni had fresh Dorado and was perfectly flaky not over done with crispy al dente veggies and very satisfying meal. The steaks that where ordered before them rump or fillet where all done to the family's choice of tendernessand seasoned perfectly , no mistakes and yes we all sample each other's... so plenty of oohs and aahs and I wish I'd gone for that. No space left for dessert oh well a truly magic meal with family. I recommend.

Awesome meal. Every course was fantastic, service was attentive and crisp, worth a visit for the steak alone but I expect nothing on the menu disappoints.

This is a really tough review to write as I don't really know where to start the experience was so awful...<br/><br/>Firstly the venue is ok (perhaps needs a little TLC as it's starting to look and feel dated and jaded).  We were seated fairly quickly and drinks were efficiently dealt with.  Menus arrived fairly quickly and from then on the wheels came off spectacularly...<br/><br/>My sense is that the menu is way too big and tries to cater to everyone's tastes (typically a recipe for mediocre food at best).  In any event the party I was with (four of us) all ordered steaks of various favours and all ordered them to be cooked in a specific manner...  We also ordered fairly specific side-dishes...<br/><br/>The food when it arrived:<br/>- the steaks were all cooked wrong (mine was ordered blue and was med-rare, the medium-rare was supposed to be medium and the other two dishes were completely mixed up in terms of manner of cooking and side dishes included)<br/>- a bowel of fries (not ordered) magically arrived<br/>- the side dishes (spinach for me and seasonal veg for my companions) were nowhere to be found and mysteriously appeared - piping hot - 5 minutes later (I smell a quick microwave job)<br/><br/>So basically the food was a total mess-up.  We decided to just crack on as it was now close to 10pm and we rather peckish! The waiter didn't seem to understand the consternation and made no effort to really sort it out.<br/><br/>The food was, as I suspected it would be, average at best.  There is little more I can tell you about the food as a result.  It wasn't totally offensive, but certainly didn't provide value for money given the average nature (and the lack of getting it right) that was provided.<br/><br/>So, in a nutshell, I am certain there are much better restaurants that will be taking my custom in future as I will never be returning to this mess.

Lost count of the times I've been here. Had the ostrich, mozambique chicken, calamari and the list goes on. Dessert is really good also. Can't really fault Havana on anything. Food is always fresh, quality service, lively atmosphere. Definitely worth every Rand spent and I will continue to dine here. Looking forward to many more lunches and dinners at Havana Grill!

Ever since we tried a Havana Grill taster plate at the first Taste of Durban, we have been dying to try them out. They always presented themselves at The Taste as edgy and original and it was with great anticipation that we put them on our list of reviews this month.<br/><br/>I love Cuban music and with such a colorful history, am interested in the Cuban culture as well. So there I was, all prepped and ready to be educated about Cuban Cuisine. Unfortunately I discovered that Havana Grill doesn’t actually serve authentic Cuban cuisine at all. So all my research into what to expect fell flat when we arrived at the di moda eatery on the upper level of the Suncoast Casino complex in Durban. <br/><br/>Now don’t get me wrong, Havana Grill may not serve authentic Cuban dishes, but let me tell you that their beef really is pretty good. They pride themselves on using only local South African grain fed super beef, aged for a minimum of 21 days so it’s little wonder that our table ordered only various beef main dishes; mine was particularly impressive: 600g sirloin on the bone, topped with deep fried bone marrow (which seems to be a really trendy addition on Durban menus lately by the way), oxtail marmalade and fresh rocket.<br/><br/>Inventive flavors there as well as a variety of textures. The only thing I would have preferred is if more of the sinew was removed, but hey, for a hunk of meat standing about 4cm thick on my plate, I’ll put up with a little sinew and under seasoning, particularly since it was done exactly to my taste: bleu. <br/><br/>The menu can best be described as a modern fusion of South African and international flavors. Prime example would be the specials starter, Gravadlax (traditionally a Scandinavian dish) done the Havana grill way – instead of marinated in Aquavit, it was prepped in beetroot and served with wasabi icecream. How lovely is that? <br/><br/>The décor at Havana Grill matches their attitude. Neat, up market and marchoso. Slightly rustic island feel in the dining room, with the white bleached wood branch wall paneling mixed with crisp white linen and table settings. Social area at the bar, Cuban Cigar humidor and the famous sterile looking meat cupboard with glass panels that allow you to catch a glimpse of their famous aging meat. <br/> <br/>The music selection was appropriate but perhaps a tad on the loud side, but if you’re into the very vibey feel, then the volume would suite you perfectly. <br/><br/>The menu, although famous for their beef, also include seafood, poultry, pork, lamb and venison. Prices range from R46 - R701. A word of advice though: come hungry.<br/><br/>The grill also boasts an extensive Wine List made up of a really nice selection of South African wines. The beverages list includes not only the fully licensed section but soft drinks for those who do not imbibe.<br/><br/>Service at Havana grill was professional and attentive from our first telephone booking to our request to take a glass of wine onto the balcony outside after our meal. Our server made an effort to make us feel welcome and heard. The team of servers, hosts and managers all pitched in to assist each other which was really such a cool thing to see. Knowledge of the dishes and some preparation information was a little lacking but honestly the fact that everyone at Havana Grill went out of their way to make our evening an enjoyable one more than made up for that.<br/><br/>So here we go on to our meal journey:<br/> <br/>Fish cakes with a dipping sauce. Filling, tasty and beautifully presented.<br/> <br/>Smoked Salmon with avocado guacamole and salsa from the specials menu. Incredibly tasty, with good highlights thanks to the salsa. <br/> <br/>Gravid lax done with beetroot and served with wasabi ice-cream, fresh rocket and toasted melba style toast. The Salmon had very delicate flavors and when paired with the cheeky wasabi ice-cream, made mad passionate flavour causing the taste buds to go wild. <br/> <br/>Also from their very creative and mouthwatering specials menu: Sirloin on the bone 600g with oxtail marmalade, deep fried marrow and fresh rocket. I loved the presentation. The deep fried marrow was lovely and the oxtail marmalade complimented the steak perfectly. Found the steak itself to be under seasoned all the other steaks at the table were seasoned well.<br/> <br/>Rump with extra mushroom sauce on the side. The quality of the steak is undisputed. Beautiful ingredients and perfectly prepared. The sauce also complimented well.<br/> <br/>The Fillet stuffed with feta and jalapeño may have lost some of it’s “pretty” on the way from the kitchen to our table, but as far as delicious factor goes, all I heard from that side of the table were grunts of delight. <br/><br/>Risotto rump went down a treat. My guest informs me that his KPI for a good restaurant is their ability to produce good risotto. The thumbs went up on this one. As though there would be doubt!<br/> <br/>Pecan nut bread and butter pudding butterscotch vanilla Ice cream. The desserts were all a tad on the boring side. The bread and butter pudding came across more like a pecan nut muffin, which as a muffin is lovely, but unimpressive as a bread and butter dessert. The presentation was also a tad on the uninspired side. Artists day off perhaps?<br/> <br/>The Espresso mousse was the only dessert that came close to being interesting, but lost that early on too.<br/> <br/>Creme brûlée was crème brûlée, what can I say. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing fabulous about it, nothing to “write home about”. Presentation was nonexistent and I felt a bit like the kitchen had lost interest by the time the desserts were up.<br/><br/>So what’s the verdict then? <br/><br/>Havana Grill aims to be all about “Food, Wine, Cigars and Vibe”. I have to hand it to them, they succeed on those points. <br/><br/>The food is generally good, but there are places where a little more care can be taken in presentation in particular. I’d recommend Havana Grill for the fly, young, hip business types. Probably not the place I’d take my dad unless they had an onsite first aider with a current CPR certificate as the prices are a bit “up there”.

I love this restaurant but on a recent visit here we experienced the worst service in Durban. Our waiteress appeared to have forgotten about us more than once. It took 15 minutes to receive the bill and another 20 minutes to get our change. Furthermore my girlfriend was forced to move over in a passage way to let a waiter pass. Where are the manners that are expected from service in such a high end restaurant?<br/>I ordered the grain vs grass steak which was delicious, however it was definitely not the 400g it was suppose to be and was quite small. <br/>The line fish here is really good. If you can, ask the waitor to inquire if the chef will prepare it in a moroccan style (used to be on the menu), as this is delicious!<br/>Great setting too if your lucky enough to get a table by the window which looks onto the suncoast promenade.

This restaurant is usually very busy so if you are planning on going on the weekend then you must book!<br/><br/>The seafood is very good and fresh, fresh, fresh!! We went here for a birthday function. There were about 7 of us. The ambience is good. The service isn't so great. The night we went it was a bit slow. <br/><br/>I had the calamari and the mussels. They were very tasty! I recommend!<br/><br/>The location of this place is so divine!