We actually never ate our meal. We ordered a ceviche to start (and we are no strangers to this dish) and had to send it back. It was not “cooked”. “Isn’t ceviche raw?”, one might ask. Well it WAS in this case but it is actually not supposed to be. It is meant to be slowly “cooked” by an acid bath of citrus. Any server would be stuck if a customer wanted to complain that their ceviche was “raw”. But it was…the chunks of fish still had that opalescent appearance. Now don’t get me wrong, I love sashimi, but I ordered ceviche. We had a standoff and decided we better not pursue the rest of the meal. We didn’t order and instead proceeded to the basement for some drinks….you may have read above how that went. I left out the fact that the “thin-skinned” (easily offended that is) bartender said we could leave if we didn’t like his Mojito and not to bother ordering another drink. Nuff said.

I actually was looking for reviews for G D when I stumbled on your site. I was gonna take the wife by train to A2 for our anniversary which is something I did back in the Muer era in the early 90s (admittedly before I knew the difference between salt and pepper). I was back there more recently but thought maybe the badness was a fluke. Anyways, not gonna waste my time. Too many Detroit area foodie spots I have not checked out yet.

BTW, I enjoy your critiques. They seem spot on to me. Keep up the good work!

This was one of the best comments I have ever gotten.

-Fat Freddy

I lived in Ann Arbor for years in the 90s and spent a lot of time complaining about the lack of any solid Mexican or Latin joints. I was there when Sabor Latino on Main opened and they used to do a Caribe night (maybe they still do) which was a welcomed evolution…the owner was actually Puertorriqueno I believe so the Arroz, tostones, and Alcapurrias were solid. Plus they let us bring in Coronas from the Heidelberg. Ah the memories. This was in the back of my mind when I entered Cafe Habana on a recent visit. I should have went to Sabor.

Needless to say, when I heard of Cafe Habana I was very eager to try. The food I had was very forgettable, but that is not why I write. It was the Mojito. Oh me, oh my. I am not tough to please… I virtually never send anything back because I don’t like to be rude. I could not finish the mojito. I think they may have tried to add some bitters or something. Look, there are all kinds of recipes out there that attempt to improve on this drink. The way I see it, it is its simplicity that makes it so special. Five ingredients: Rum, sugar, lime, mint, sparkle. That’s it. Sure, upgrade the rum (keep it silver), use cane juice or make a simple syrup, get the best lime and bruised mint in the world, master your muddling technique, go out of your way to get a true Mojito spoon (a flat spoon basically designed to keep the vegetation at the bottom), and garnish like there is no tomorrow; but please, don’t try to improve it, just try to master it. The best mojito I ever had was made on a cart in a plaza in Old Havana by an ancient man who would sooner cut off a finger than experiment with the recipe or serve a bad drink.

I don’t recall the price but let’s say it is fair to state it was not happy hour. Holy smokes, you are invoking the capitol city of Cuba in the name of your restaurant. Can you please make a satisfactory Mojito? It is a relatively simple little highball. This is a pet peeve of mine. If you are a brewery, focus on your beer. If you are a pizzeria, focus on your pizza. If you are Cuban inspired, by all means throw a Floridita (Hemingway special) and a burrito on your menu to appeal to the masses but do polish up your Mojitos or your credibility is shot.