Havana
 

Had to express my opinion of the singing waiters/waitresses at Havana. Went there for the first time tonight and they were so talented. I talked to a few and they were attending UCF and had plans for NYC/Broadway. The talent was unbelievable. Now, before you all say anything, the food was so, so but the entertainment made it so worth it. I will be writing to Havana powers that be to give them a few hints with the food as it was kinda pricey and needed a bit of color but I still believe it was worth it for the talent alone. They just need to tweeck a few things, nothing major! Just wanted to let you all know of this posters opinion and tell you that it is worth going to see.

My wife and I have been to Havana 2x and wasn't thrilled with the food either time. The golf course is much better than the food!

We were there a couple of weeks ago with our golfing group and although the singers were absolutely great, the volume was too much. We had to yell across the table to talk to each other. The food for the majority of us was good. I don't know exactly what we had, but I don't remember anyone expressing a major dislike. I do seem to remember that the menu was very limited. Only had a choice of about 7 or 8 entrees.

Not Havana again :cry::cry:

Don't want to beat a dead horse but did want to give a thumbs up to the always beaten down Havana Country Club. Went tonight and the six of us loved the singing, loved the food and loved the service. We had a wonderful experience! Well done, Havana!

OK, I gotta know the name of that diet. You pass on the 120 calorie garlic
potatoes and can eat the 257 calorie cheesecake. Sounds like my kind of diet

Amen. Havana threads will never die.

I 'll go back to a Havana when they get a favorable health department report.

Did Hadley ever go to Havava?

I see your font size is large --- keep up the good work and be proud

I agree...

Went for lunch yesterday after golf (it's on the way home). Service was terrible even though there weren't that many people. Two of us wanted the brat special only to find out at 1 o'clock they had already run out. I had the steak gorgonzola flat bread which was excellent; however, didn't come out until the rest of the table was half way done with their lunch. I just don't understand what the problem is. Had to ask for our beer twice!

Went for lunch today after golf. A friend and I were seated at the bar. I ordered a Ruben with cole slaw. I thought the food could have been served quicker but that seemed to be OK. My friend ordered a chicken sandwich. I ordered the ruben with cole slaw but it came with fries. I talked to the bar tender and she went and brought me some cole slaw. I thought the sandwich was very good as were the fries and cole slaw. My friend liked his chicken sandwich. Just wanted to put in a good word for the Havana restaurant.

John

Went to see the singing servers a couple weeks ago. They are excellent and it was unique. Food was just OK, nothing special. Management, if they have any, screwed up our reservations.

One of our foresome ordered the Rueben also and said it was like eating a hay stack - lots of craut and little corned beef.

Mine had plenty of corned beef. Must have been prepared by different chefs.

John

I had the rueben last week and had loads of corned beef *****

I love the rueben. I've had it a couple of times. Always lots of corned beef !!

It is worth going to Havana for the singing waiters. The food is so-so but, in my opinion, so are many of the meals around here. Go sit at the bar, have a drink and enjoy the talent - they are great.

We used to enjoy Asti's in Greenwich Village anytime we visited NYC and were delighted to see that the musical director there is now Havana's musical director.

It is a great idea. We have missed Asti's ever since it closed so are quite happy to have this kind of restaurant right here in the Villages.

is there a specific time frame when the waiters are singing?

Havana was fabulous in the very beginning when it first opened and just went downhill from there. We are full-timers and stopped going there two years ago. The service was so-so, the entrees were unappealing to look at and tasted just as bad.

It is encouraging to hear that it has improved somewhat, so we may give it one more try.

We celebrated at Havana last Friday with friends from Ohio who just bought in The Villages. The singing waiters are incredibly talented as is Maestro Bill Daugherty at the piano. It was a fabulous evening. They sing for maybe 15 minutes at the top of the hour. The food was OK - there was a more extensive menu selection than I expected. Most priced at $16.99.

We went to a musical. The musical sucked but the food was really good.

I find the comments regarding the Havana Restaurant really amusing " All " of the time.

The complaints about the noise level, poor food, limited menu, why on earth do any of you subject yourselves to this sort of nonsense. The waitstaff bravo,hand clapping, etc, etc good for them..but the noise level come on. Most will not make it to Broadway but hey nothing wrong in a dream and a wish.

But let's get back to reality, going out to dinner is the main purpose of this exercise, and as usual the majority are disappointed.

So my real question is simple why on earth do any of you die hard Havana people keep beating yourselves up..sort of like hitting your thumb with a hammer..and soon after the pain is gone ..Bank ya whack the thumb again. Laural and Hardy would be proud of all of you.

Especially with a limited menu of 6 or 8 entrees, just WHAT is so dang hard about making a decent piece of broiled meat, fish or poultry, or making a tasty sautee to put on top of some boiled pasta????

Most of us can make simple, delicious entrees at home using fresh meat/poultry/fish WE can buy anywhere, so why is the restaurant unable to do what we amateurs do at home with no culinary degrees nor kitchen staff to clean up after us and do food prep?!?!?

I'm going to try Havana again, but I don't see any excuse for having mediocre meals.

Havana Country Club Restuarant
 

Before you voice your opinion about what you hear about Havan C. C. having a bad rap by the Health Dept.
Try and go on this site:
Restaurant Inspections
You can see that Havana C. C. has far less violations of perhaps you FAVORATE RESTUARANT..
See for youeself you might be amazed where you have been eating.
Enjoy your Dining experiance in "The Villages" as we have Certainly Earned it.

:spoken: My Piece !!!!!!!

Please tell me which Restuarant in The Villages cooks perhaps as you do at home?

At least in my home, the boss/manager/CEO/COO is the one doing the food prep, cooking, tasting and serving. That may be a factor. Oh yeah, I forgot, the Chairman of the Board does the dishes.

" WOW " This is really terrific reading the responses this is turning out to be a real Soap Opera. How a restaurant with such a poor reputation can churn out this kind of back and forth " tate a tate " is comical, honestly.

Terrible food, limited menu, annoying loud singing and the noise level to the point where normal conversation is out of the question. It is Astounding why on earth knowing full well what the outcome is going to be, would anyone go to this place and actually end up costing them money. Plus have a giant size headache to boot.

Look I have an idea a " Contest " all of you Havana fans that keep going back and keep complaining about it ( Who Wouldn't )..Here it is:

Which Restaurant is worse contest:

Havana...For all of the above reasons..and more..

BoniFay.... For the terrible food/menu ; accompanied with, Fly's/Gnats..oh while there try the Beef Stroganoff over penne a classic you will never forget. Oh bring a fly swatter

In closing thank all of you once again for the chuckles..A Soap Opera.

My prediction...A Tie

67 Inspection Violations in Four Business Day
 

The inspection reports show only three violations on the LAST inspection of SIX inspections with 67 violations they experienced over FOUR business days in early June. If that is truly better than most of the other places in the villages, then this is a very dangerous area to dine out, which it is not. AS a former food service manager, what concerned me most about the inspections besides the bugs was the discrepancies which were easily and cheaply correctable yet not corrected. That speaks volumes about managements attitude.

we try and try but the food is not good and the outside service is unsatisfactory.
last Friday night, 3 tables of guests outside, we waited for service had to ask for silverware and napkins, the pizza was cold and terrible. reason: a new pizza chef.
the manager would not come to the table to hear what we had to say.
wake up!!! your business is failing.

My family and I went to the Havana Country Club yesterday. What a dump! The service was bad, it was dirty, and the prices for drinks are high. When are they going to wake up. Never again!

Just curious?? Who owns the buildings in the Country Clubs? Does the owner LEASE the building for a period of time and run it like it is his/her business. It makes very little sense to not provide better service/food if you are trying to make a profit. It seems to me this is the problems clubs run into when they sign a lease for a new Manager. Been there ,,done that !!

TV owns the buildings

Lease
 

The Country Club food operation is leased out to someone and not under the operational supervision of TV.

The golf shops are run under a contract with TV as well as golf course grounds maintenance .

I have noticed while living in T , if the food and service is good TV will support the food operation. I am shocked many are not well run and continue to have issues. Although the restaurant business is difficult I think there is money to be had in TV. People are lined up to eat and drink every night even at those that are not up to par.

:agree:

We went to Havana last night with friends. This was our first visit to Havana and we went despite the mediocre reviews. Here are our observations:
1.The phone reservation system is cold and impersonal. The greeting is a robotic voice that tells you to leave a message. The message was returned the next day.
2. The hostess that greets you as you enter is also rather cold and impersonal.
3. The menu does have only a limited number of selections.
4. The mushroom appetizers were excellent.
5. The dinners were excellent and were served warm/hot.
The wait staff is also the singers and they are superb. They were very engaging and had wonderful voices. A special call out to Sheila, our waitress/singer. She had one of the best female voices we have heard. She also plays Belle at Disney and volunteers with Make-A-Wish. Note that you can request a specific waiter(ress) when you make your reservation.
6. The songs range from show tunes to musicals to opera and they will do requests.
7. We arrived at 6:30 and did not leave until 8:00. Some have commented that service is slow- I would describe it as leisurely. Note that your wait staff are also the servers so they are doing double duty. Do not plan to go if you are in a hurry, instead sit back, relax, enjoy the show and have a good time with friends and family.
8. Prices are quite reasonable considering the entertainment and portions are more than sufficient- we have enough for another meal left over.
9. We would certainly go again and would recommend it.
10. To management- work on your reservation system and your front door reception. You need to make your guests feel more welcome. Once seated the wait staff made us feel comfortable and welcome but getting through the reservation system and in the front door was a little cold.

i went there and walked out way tooooo loud...and i am NOT into OPERA...could not even talk at the bar.....the food was okay when i ate there before the music..the place is way tooo dull looking...very dark wood...needs a makeover..very depressing.....opera and i do not mix!!!!!!