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A traditional pressed Cuban sandwich with a mojito (Photo by Adam DuBrueler)
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Nate Yount, chef of the Havana 59 West End location (Photo by Adam DuBrueler)
Sue and James Lee, owners of longtime Shockoe Bottom fixture Havana ’59, have opened a second location in the West End, which offers two patios and a cigar bar with ample outdoor seating for the warmer months. The original Havana ’59 debuted in 1994, but after severe flood damage during Tropical Storm Gaston in 2004, it was forced to close. When Sue, who owned a small supermarket nearby, came by to check out the damage, she saw a chance to get into the restaurant business. A customer of Havana ’59 who admired the concept, she chatted with owner Michael Ripp (who passed away in 2013), and he agreed to help her purchase it.
Together, she and her husband, James, reopened Havana ’59 in 2006. The decision to open another location in 2017 was made easier since a lot of their clientele was from the West End. “We’ve seen a lot of support from our regulars,” says Event Coordinator Jessica Halasz.
While the dinner menu is the same at both locations, the West End Havana offers a lunch menu featuring a selection of sandwiches, including a traditional pressed Cuban sandwich that’s laden with house-smoked pork and ham (smoked over hickory wood behind the restaurant), Swiss cheese, mustard, and house-made pickles.
The dinner menu offers Cuban classics such as paella, arroz con pollo and ropa vieja. The cocktail list includes a variety of flavored mojitos — the signature Cuban cocktail — including mango-jalapeño, coconut and strawberry-kiwi.
For Havana’s spring/summer menu, Nate Yount, the chef at the West End location, will bring back some dishes from the downtown Havana, such as their seared ahi tuna appetizer, and he plans to showcase seasonal ingredients such as strawberries, asparagus, spring onions and leeks. “I look forward to showcasing my food here,” Yount says.
There will also be new menu items created by Yount and Grayson Cheney, Havana ’59’s downtown chef, including a diver scallop dish made with a peach and lemongrass reduction and a duck breast served with astrawberry-ponzu sauce and kimchi.
As they continue to get situated in the West End, the Lees say that depending on the success of this location, they could expand further still. “We have great food, a great concept and great people,” Sue Lee says.
