Havana Grill & Wine Bar - Durban

I'm one of those people who are very skeptical when trying out a new restaurant, especially when I need to take a client out to dinner. This is exactly what happened during my visit to Indaba in Durban on 15 May. Apart from www.stay-a-nite.com we also own www.travelcrossings.co.za and specialize in Zanzibar ( www.visitzanzibar.co.za ) We do 80% of our bookings in Zanzibar via Mr. Chasama the owner of a Tour Operator in Stone Town, Zanzibar.

Mr. Casama also attended the Indaba and we offered to take him to dinner that evening and after some asking around and seeing that we were walking distance from the Suncoast Casino we opted to try the Havana Grill & Wine Bar. We've been to the Casino before but always had a bite at John Dori's.

The casino complex was not that busy and the restaurants had many open tables, not the case at the Havana Grill & Wine Bar. They were quite busy but we managed to secure a table. What a surprise! I found the restaurants interior very cozy and comfortable. I just hate those menus with all the old boring starters like snails, garlic bread and chicken liver but luckily this menu had several alternative options such as grilled oysters, snails with champagne, ravioli and several other choices.

Unfortunately I had to skip the starters as our guest did not like to eat starters and just to be polite we also skipped the starter menu. Mr. Casama had a Mozambique baby chicken with fries and Hanria had the Chicken Che Guevara, chicken breasts sautéed in butter with shrimps, Dijon mustard & cream, served with grilled vegetables & buttered fettuccini, I opted for Ostrich Crusted with Herbs & pepper on butter & creamed mash potatoes, port & red wine reduction.

What a FEAST. The food was tasty, unique and well presented and the best of all it did not cost us an arm and a leg. The average came to +/- R160 per person and that included a bottle of wine some beers and other drinks

Will I stay dine here again - Yes, Yes, Yes

Will I recommend the Restaurant - Yes

On the Negative Side - The service was a bit on the slow side

On the Positive Side - Great restaurant, excellent food, reasonably priced

See their location on My Map

Visit their website a www.havanagrill.co.za