First-bite review: Cubano sandwiches, mojitos and ‘the perfect Cuban snack’
When new Cuban restaurant Hola Havana quietly opened on a recent Saturday night, owners Elizabeth Martinez and Antonio Palma worried they might have been too quiet about their debut.
Then Sunday came.
“They found us,” Martinez laughed. So many people came in that they ran out of food by 7 p.m., she said.
The restaurant on Locust Hill, in the former Athenian Grill spot, officially opened Nov. 20 and has been serving dinner. Soon they plan to add lunch hours as well, said Martinez, who also is a pediatric and internal medicine resident at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Her family lives in Louisville, where there are several Cuban restaurants, and they decided to open a restaurant in Lexington because they missed the food.
Apparently, Lexington is hungry for Cuban dishes, too. Which Martinez and Palma are eager to serve, along with some authentic Mexican items too.
“The food is the classic dishes of Cuban,” Martinez said. “And because my husband is Mexican we have real tacos on the menu. They’re really good, the asada tacos are really popular and we have the real salsas. When you go to a truck and you buy tacos, it’s like those type of tacos, which is really good.”
Their menu includes staples like the Cubano sandwich, made with roasted pork, smoked ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard on Cuban bread.
But they also offer a Cuban Philly, their take on the Philadelphia cheesesteak, made with vaca frita (which means ‘fried cow,’ in this case shredded and sauteed beef) topped with peppers and smoked Gouda on Cuban bread.
The menu also includes a Mexican of the Cuban sandwich, Torta Cubana, made with hot dogs, which is how they do Cubano sandwiches in Mexico, Palma said.
The main dishes usually come with moros y cristianos rice (traditional black beans and rice cooked together in stock) and fried ripe plantains. Besides Vaca Frita, the main courses include Lechon Asado (Cuban-styled roasted pork marinated in mojo criollo), Beef Ropa Vieja, a traditional Cuban dish of shredded beef cooked in a tomato sauce.
There also are chicken and seafood options, including Karlita’s Ceviche, a Mexican family recipe. And several vegetarian dishes, including a meat-free adaptation of Havana-style picadillo made with green olives and tofu.
Martinez said her sister, who is vegetarian, developed the dishes.
The menu isn’t big but has plenty to offer, including appetizers such as croquetas; fried yucca bites; empanadas stuffed with meat, chicken or vegetables; stuffed tostones (fried green plantains); criollo bean dip made with black beans and mojo dipping sauce with fried plantain chips, called “the perfect Cuban snack.”
The bean dip was delicious and I’m already planning a return trip to try it again.
They also serve salads, with housemade dressings, and black bean soup.
The restaurant is designed to appeal to Cuban ex-pats and newcomers alike. Martinez designed posters for the walls with facts about life in Cuba that may be unfamiliar. Such as that Coca-Cola can’t be officially sold there, so the name there is “TuKola.”
When they open in the afternoon and a lunch menu, it would be the perfect time to try out their Cuban coffee. Martinez said they are looking for a baker who can make pastelitos, the little pastries often served with Cubano coffee in Havana and in Miami.
The restaurant also has a full bar and offers margaritas, daiquiris, housemade sangrias and mojitos. (Martinez recommended the flavored mojito with a dash of guava puree.)
“The sangria is her specialty,” Palma said. “It’s really good.”
Other cocktails include the classic Brazilian rum drink the caipirinha; the Cubanito, a Cuban version of a bloody Mary made with lime; and the Mexican Paloma, made with grapefruit, lime and tequila.
Hola Havana
Where: 115 N. Locust Hill Dr. Suite 109B
Hours: Monday through Saturday 5 to 10 p.m., Sunday 1 to 9 p.m.
Online: Hola-Havana.com
