Café Habana

The Verdict

Café Habana is one of SoHo's most consistently rewarding casual stops, and Friday and Saturday nights — when it stays open until midnight — make it a genuinely useful late-night option in a neighbourhood that mostly goes quiet after 10 PM. With a 4.6 rating across more than 4,000 Google reviews and a 2025 Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats ranking of #151 in North America, this is not a secret, but it holds its position for good reason. Book it for a relaxed late dinner when you want Cuban food done well without the ceremony or the $300 price tag.

What to Expect

Café Habana sits at 17 Prince Street in SoHo, a corner address that has drawn a steady crowd for long enough to become a neighbourhood fixture. The format is casual Cuban: the kind of place where the room is lively, the menu is approachable, and the bill stays manageable. For food-focused visitors exploring New York City's restaurant scene, this is the Cuban benchmark in lower Manhattan , the spot you measure others against before deciding to go further afield to something like Havana Central.

The OAD Cheap Eats list is a useful compass here. Moving from Recommended (2023) to #447 (2024) to #151 (2025) is a meaningful upward trajectory , the kind of sustained improvement that tends to reflect consistent kitchen execution rather than a one-year surge of attention. Chef Luke Thomas runs the kitchen, and the upward ranking movement suggests the food is landing better than it was two years ago.

On the practical side: the restaurant runs Monday through Thursday and Sunday from 11 AM to 11 PM, with Friday and Saturday hours stretching to midnight. That extra hour on weekends is worth noting if you're planning a late finish , it gives Café Habana a clear advantage over most of its SoHo neighbours, which stop seating by 10 PM. The kitchen turning out Cuban food at 11:30 PM on a Friday in this part of Manhattan is not something you take for granted.

The aroma profile of a well-run Cuban kitchen , garlic, citrus, roasted pork, slow-cooked beans , tends to be one of the more immediately welcoming signals you get walking into a room, and Café Habana has been putting that smell into Prince Street for long enough that it's become part of the block's identity. For the food-focused traveller who treats a restaurant as a destination in itself, the context matters: this is a place that has earned its position through repetition and consistency, not through hype cycles or a chef-as-celebrity narrative.

No price range is listed in our data, but the OAD Cheap Eats ranking is a reliable indicator that you're in casual, accessible territory , not a $$$$ tasting menu situation. For reference, the venues at the leading of that same list typically run well under $50 per head. If you're planning a broader day in the area, New York City's bar scene and experiences guide are worth checking alongside this.

Booking and Timing

Walk-ins are realistic here , this is not an allocation-style booking situation like Atomix or Masa, where you're competing for seats weeks out. The booking difficulty rating is Easy. That said, SoHo on a Friday or Saturday night is busy across the board, so arriving early in the evening gives you the smoothest experience. If you're specifically planning a late-night visit , say, arriving after 10 PM , the crowd typically thins and the room becomes easier to work with. For solo diners or pairs, a late Friday visit is probably the lowest-friction way to eat here.

Groups of four or more should consider calling ahead or arriving before 7 PM, when seating pressure is lower. No phone number is listed in our current data, so check the venue directly for group booking options.

How It Compares

FAQs

• What should a first-timer know about Café Habana? It's a casual Cuban spot in SoHo with a strong track record , ranked #151 on OAD Cheap Eats in North America in 2025, with 4.6 stars from over 4,000 reviews. Expect approachable food, a lively room, and a bill that won't require pre-planning. Walk-ins are generally fine outside of peak Friday and Saturday evenings. If you're new to Cuban food in New York, this is a reasonable starting point before exploring the broader NYC dining scene.
• Is lunch or dinner better at Café Habana? Dinner, and specifically late dinner on a Friday or Saturday. The kitchen runs until midnight on weekends, which makes it one of the few viable late-night Cuban options in SoHo. Lunch works if you're already in the neighbourhood, but the room has more energy in the evening and the late-night window is genuinely useful. For a purely casual midday meal, the experience is solid but less distinct.
• How far ahead should I book? For pairs or small groups on a weekday, walk-ins are realistic. On Friday and Saturday evenings, arrive early or aim for after 10 PM when the crowd eases. There's no indication that advance reservations are required, and the booking difficulty is rated Easy , unlike the weeks-out planning needed for places like Le Bernardin or Eleven Madison Park.
• What should I order at Café Habana? No specific dish data is available in our current record, but the OAD Cheap Eats recognition points toward the core Cuban staples being the reason people keep coming back. Grilled corn is widely cited in public reviews as a standout. For Cuban food comparisons further afield, see Enriqueta's Sandwich Shop in Miami and Otto's High Dive in Orlando.
• Can I eat at the bar at Café Habana? Bar seating is common at venues of this format in New York, but we don't have confirmed seating configuration data for Café Habana. Solo diners and pairs typically find counter or bar options available at casual Cuban spots; it's worth asking when you arrive rather than assuming a table wait.
• Can Café Habana accommodate groups? Groups of four to six should be manageable, particularly if you arrive before 7 PM or plan for a late-night visit on weekends. Larger groups should call ahead , no phone number is available in our current data, so check the venue's own channels directly. This is not a private-dining-room situation; it's a casual room where group logistics depend on timing more than advance arrangement.
• Does Café Habana handle dietary restrictions? No specific dietary policy data is available. Cuban cuisine typically involves meat, beans, and rice as core elements, with some vegetable sides. If you have specific restrictions, contact the venue directly before visiting , we don't have menu or allergy policy details on file.
• Is Café Habana good for solo dining? Yes. A casual Cuban spot with walk-in availability and a lively room is well-suited to solo visits. The late-night weekend hours make it a practical choice if you're ending an evening alone in SoHo and want a proper meal rather than bar snacks. Pair it with a look at NYC's bar guide if you're planning the full evening.