Havana (restaurant)
| Havana | |
|---|---|
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Interactive map of Havana | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1997 |
| Owners | Michael Boland Deirdre Swords |
| Head chef | Cassady Pappas |
| Food type | Cuban-influenced |
| Location | 318 Main Street, Bar Harbor, Hancock County, Maine, 04609, United States |
| Coordinates | 44°23′03″N 68°12′11″W / 44.3841287°N 68.203186°W |
| Website | www |
Havana is a restaurant in downtown Bar Harbor, Maine, United States.[1][2] Established in 1997 by Michael Boland[3] and his wife Deirdre Swords,[4] the restaurant has received several awards, most notably for its wine list, which has achieved Wine Spectator's Award for Excellence[4] every year since 2004.[5][6] A Cubano-influenced restaurant,[7] it has an attached outdoor bar, the Havana Parrilla Tapas Bar and Grill,[8] converted from a garage in 2003.[4]
Sitting United States president Barack Obama dined at the restaurant on July 17, 2010,[3] during his family's vacation on Mount Desert Island.[9] The president had paella and the first lady, Michelle Obama, had lobster thermidor.[3][10] It was the first presidential visit to the island since that of Howard Taft exactly a century earlier.[11]
Head bartender Mark "Duffy" Dyer worked at the restaurant between 1997 and 2023.[4][12][13]
Boland and Swords opened a sister restaurant, named Havana South, in Portland, Maine, in 2010, but it closed shortly thereafter.[14]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Esquire included Havana in its list of "100 restaurants America can't afford to lose".[15]
References
- ↑ Havana – Fodor's
- ↑ "It’s Not Easy Being an Optimist in Maine" – New York Times, October 14, 2020
- 1 2 3 "Bar Harbor restaurateur finds Obamas 'genuine'" – Bangor Daily News, July 18, 2010
- 1 2 3 4 Viva Havana – The Maine Mag, October 2008
- ↑ Havana is American fine dining – Havana's official website
- ↑ Havana Restaurant – Wine Spectator
- ↑ "WHAT'S DOING IN; Mount Desert Island" – New York Times, August 5, 2001
- ↑ Havana: Parrilla – Havana's official website
- ↑ Havana – Facebook, 19 July 2010
- ↑ "36 Hours in Bar Harbor, Me." – New York Times, July 14, 2011
- ↑ "Obama family spends active day on MDI' – Bangor Daily News, July 16, 2010
- ↑ "Mount Desert Island" – The Maine Mag, July 2021
- ↑ carriejonesbooks (January 22, 2025). "James Beard's Outstanding Restaurant Award Names Havana as a Semi-Finalist". Bar Harbor Story. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
- ↑ "Havana South closes its doors" – Portland Press Herald, January 7, 2012
- ↑ "100 Restaurants America Can't Afford to Lose" – Esquire December 29, 2020