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Las Vegas and Havana were cut from the same cultural cloth. Both cities experienced a Golden Age of glitz in the 1950s, drawing the likes of Liberace, Nat King Cole and the Rat Pack to their posh nightclubs and luxurious hotels. Havana had the legendary Tropicana cabaret club. Las Vegas had the Copa Room. They both had the mob.
With that bit of history to chew on, it’s no wonder Havana 1957 at the Flamingo feels so distinctly like home. The Cuban eatery, a Vida & Estilo Restaurant Group staple in the Miami area since 2010, opened on the Strip in 2024, joining five other outposts on the East Coast.
Through bright flavors and authentic recipes, Havana 1957 recaptures the essence of Havana in its heyday. All the trappings of a tropical paradise are here: swaths of palm trees painted on the walls, gorgeously framing the space; red accents and checkered flooring distinguishing the stage, where live jazz bands and Latin lounge singers croon us back to the glory days of Cuba. It’s sexy, and so is the food, if you can believe it.
Chef Julio Martinez suggests kicking off dinner with a broad taste of Cuba. The Cuban Combo ($38) samples a bit of everything—deep-fried ham croquettes, truffled yuca fries, savory pork chunks—but the fresh mahi-mahi tropical ceviche ($26) rocked the table.
The crispy ropa vieja empanadas ($18) also shined as finger foods. Martinez says the kitchen slow-cooks flank steak for three to four hours, simmered in a zesty blend of tomato criolla sauce to pack in flavor. Havana 1957 offers a larger entree of that meat as well, paired with white rice and black beans.
“We’re doing the beans from scratch. We don’t buy anything from cans. We have a group of staff that prepares everything twice a day, so everything is made daily at the restaurant,” Martinez says. “What we’re trying to do is guarantee that the guests coming from Vegas to [Miami] or from here to Vegas, they always find the same flavor.”
The menu does a fine job of keeping its Cuban cuisine simple and flavorful. The Pollo Havana 1957 ($38) cribs from a Cuban family recipe with spicy Caribbean notes. Cuban sandwiches ($26) come with a generous mountain of mojo pork. And the seafood truly feels like a catch, especially when ordering Faroese salmon ($38) that’s been drizzled in herb oil, or pineapple-glazed lobster tails ($70).
The restaurant’s cocktail program also sings with sophistication. Several kinds of mojitos—from the Hennessy Blueberry ($22) to the spiced-rum Mojito Royal ($21)—activate vacation mode, while signatures like the Spicy Guava Margarita and Cuban Mule ($21) offer a familiar fix.
When you’re done feasting, pop over to Cortadito Coffee House next door. V&E opened it in conjunction with Havana 1957, and the restaurant’s breakfast options pair nicely with it. The hospitality group also owns Cafe Americano inside Caesars Palace, so the java’s legit.
Havana 1957 tastefully represents its roots, in both flavor and feel. And while the Golden Age is long gone, this restaurant seems focused on forging a new one.
HAVANA 1957 Flamingo, 702-733-3111, havana1957.com. Daily, 8 a.m.-midnight.
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