About

Welcome to Havana ’59!

The string lights, crumbling plaster walls, palm trees, and aroma of cigars take you back in time to enjoy the tantalizing delights of a bygone era in Havana, Cuba.

Havana ’59 has been a staple in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom District since its opening in 1995. We are proud of the community we have served for 22 years and the loyalty and longevity they have provided us, as demonstrated by our 2017 OpenTable Diner’s Choice Award. We invite you to step back in time to the tradition of indulgence in 1950’s Havana, when the island city was known as the “Paris of the Caribbean”.

The combination of tradition and indulgence cultivate a casual yet elegant atmosphere where the string lights, enormous open windows, crumbling plaster walls, palm trees, and aroma of fine cigars envelope you as you relax and enjoy the tantalizing delights of a bygone era. We proudly offer our guests an unforgettable culinary and cocktail experience delivered with exceptional service, from the fresh juices we press in house for our cocktails, to the locally sourced ingredients utilized in our scratch kitchen.

The History of the “Mojito”

The Mojito was born on the Island of Cuba and is one of the nation’s oldest cocktails. The drink has a disputed history. Some say the drink was developed in the 1500’s when the famed Explorer “Sir Francis Drake” landed on the city of Havana. He created an early version of the Mojito called the “El Draque” out of quardiente ( a crude form of Rum) Sugar, Lime and Mint.

The Mojito rose to prominence to the international world when the renowned writer Ernest Hemingway became a fan of the beverage after visiting a local Cuban bar called “A Bodequita de Medio” and also consumed the drink in Key west, Florida.