Pleasant Hill has a new Cuban eatery with the opening of Habana Express late last month.
The casual Cuban restaurant draws inspiration and recipes from family roots in the Cuban city of Holguin, says co-owner Aylin Alvarez Torres, who runs the restaurant with her husband, chef Dayron Huerta Pino, and cousin Jose Rodríguez Bacallao. The family moved to the U.S. in 2019, spending a year in Miami — where Alvarez Torres worked at a Cuban bakery — before relocating to the Bay Area.
The most popular dishes at the restaurant include a Habana bowl ($17.49) with ropa vieja, yellow rice, beans, plantains and salad — the restaurant also offers build-your-own bowls — and the Cubano sandwich ($14), Alvarez Torres says.
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As for Alvarez Torres’ baked goods, there are savory croquettes filled with ham or chicken, mini tarts filled with coconut, guava or cheese, and Cuban pastries filed with guava, cheese, beef or coconut ($3 each).
Details: Opens at 8:30 a.m. daily at 1966 Contra Costa Blvd. in Pleasant Hill; 925-375-1571.
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