Habana Outpost

I've only eaten there once. Had a decent salad (the Diablo, I think) and the corn, which rocks. I was a little miffed at how small the cup of $3 ice tea was though. that felt like a total rip-off. great local vibe though. good for the area.

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Great place to hang out. Not so great if you actually want to eat! Long lines and long wait time on sunny days. They even stop taking orders if it's really crowded to give the kitchen (truck outside) time to catch up with the orders.

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Yeah, I hate when places are skimpy on iced tea. Or fill the glass with ice and then charge for a refill. I mean it costs about 2 cents per glass to make!

I love that they have soy hot dogs but I'm not crazy about the frozen drinks. Beer is a good deal at $2.50 though and the place is very fun. I was there on Sunday night for the outdoor movie screening (another plus) and it was packed with good-looking young people.

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The ambience and general vibe of this place is amazing! Highly recommend it as a place to hang out and grab a drink on a summer day. Previous comments about the food are pretty accurate. Not a place that I would go if you are starving hungry. Lines can be a bit long. However, what a lot of people don't realize is that there is a separate beer and corn line. We usually just get corn and drinks and eat somewhere else in the area before or after Habana.

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So glad too see this review! I have been wanting to go forever but didn't really know what was up! Thanks!

I agree with what most of my fellow posters have said above. This is a great spot for drinks and to socialize with friends and your neighbors. Its been a wonderful addition to the 'hood.

buddluv

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This place is cool! Good Cuban Sandwiches!

Great place to sit outside grab a drink and enjoy the summer.

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Has such the right local vibe, and the proof of that is how packed the joint always is, even on Mondays and Tuesdays. Favorite thing is how free and easy Habana always feels, no pressure to do anything but hang. So the only strike against is it's too much of a zoo sometimes! Corn=yum.

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There is no place to hang your handbag in the eco bathroom (which by the way - are there inside bathrooms in case of rain?) I lodged it somewhere in the tiny stall and it fell on the ground (ewwww).

There is no place to hang your handbag in the eco bathroom (which by the way - are there inside bathrooms in case of rain?) I lodged it somewhere in the tiny stall and it fell on the ground (ewwww).

i have only eaten here once (lunch on a georgous, sunny saturday afteronoon) and only had a cubano and a beer but what a relaxing place to hang out!

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Great place, although the last time I was there I think it was hard to tell what annoyed the other patrons more: the screaming toddler I brought, or the off-the-leash pitbull someone else brought. And then things got really exciting when they met and, it turned out that the dog hated kids and my kid loved dogs...

So, um, anyways, the food's fine. It's a great place to hang out. Love the cubans and the corn.

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The frozen drinks are overpriced (3x the price of beer!) but tasty. Some of the food is quite good (corn, cuban sandwich, plantains) but most of the rest is best avoided. Lines are nuts, unless you get lucky -- which is quite possible! I once found it with virtually no line on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Bliss.

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I love everything about this place. Great memories get made here. My one minor complaint is that the corn starch beer cups end up leaking in about 10 minutes, so you need to concentrate on your drinking. Not such a bad thing.

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I like this spot. The Cuban is decent and the corn is delish. I am not a huge fan of their drinks but you can't beat a beer, a cuban sandwich, some corn smothered in cheese and mayo and casual outdoor dining! I appreciate their eco-friendly bathroom too.

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For photos and descriptions, check out:
http://eatbrooklynfood.blogspot.com/2008/08/habana-outpost.html

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Wow! they are still open after all the sanitary violations and being shut down by the city health department. BRAVO! Sean Meenan and Lopeti Etu!

Recently, a friend of mine went there to eat with her friends and within 24 hours she came down with stomach pains. So, I decided to do a little research on the Habana Outpost restaurant to see if there were any others that had similar problems. The first website I checked was the department of HEALTH and MENTAL HYGIENE and after visiting their website boy was I surprised to see how many sanitary violations they received.
In just the last 2 months alone they received 164 sanitary violations! On 4/30/2009 they received 64 violations, 5/19/2009 they received 94 violations and on 5/22/2009 they received 6 violations. Finally, on 5/19, the citations were so serious that they were order to be closed for business!

The violations mostly sanitary concerns are enough to make anyone get a stomach ache. If you happened to stop by that week, they had a "closed for spring cleaning" sign posted. In may? Why the need for spring cleaning when they had been opened for only 2 months and closed since October 2008? Mr. Sean MEENAN and Mr. Lopeti ETU are not being completely honest. I hope for our community well being, they cleaned all the rats out of there.

THIS IS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHS WEBSITE
HABANA OUTPOST
757 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN 11217
718-858-9500
05/19/2009
757 FULTON STREET, BROOKLYN 11217
Inspection Date: 05/19/2009
Violation points: 94
Establishment Closed by DOHMH. Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
Sanitary Violations 1.) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.

Sanitary Violations
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
• Improper personal hygiene practices and poor food-worker health.
• Improper hand washing and bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
• Improper cooking, holding, and re-heating temperatures.
• Cross-contamination of food and food equipment.
• Food from unapproved sources.
Food Service Establishment Inspections:
Bureau of Food Safety and Community Sanitation (BFSCS) Public Health Sanitarians (PHS) conduct unannounced annual inspections of food service establishments (FSEs). During inspections, PHS's evaluate a FSE's conditions and practices and identify risk factors for food-borne illnesses. These risk factors include:
• Improper personal hygiene practices and poor food-worker health.
• Improper hand washing and bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
• Improper cooking, holding, and re-heating temperatures.
• Cross-contamination of food and food equipment.
• Food from unapproved sources.
Sanitary Violations 1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Food contact surface not properly maintained.
3.) No facility available to wash, rinse, and sanitize utensils and/or equipment not provided.

As you can see that these are all serious issues, and should not be taking lightly.

Places like this should not be allowed to remain open nor be accepted by the community, they are a disaster waiting to happen. I guess it is a good thing they have a medical center not far on Dekalb to pump out stomachs.