Zafra Cuban Restaurat & Rum Bar in New Haven

Amazing food!! We had a small gathering at Yale University the location is close by, they dropped off and catered for 40 people. The food was fantastic. We would highly recommend if anyone is looking for Cuban food. The empanadas, dumplings, chorizo stuffed potato balls and plantains were a crowd favorite!!

Until trying Zafra, I had no idea how much diversity in flavor rum offered. Beforehand I would have said a sipping rum was an oxymoron. But the real treat was the food, which was amazingly delicious. It seemed I could almost taste Havana.

Food is amazing! Service took some time, but server and owner were amazing.

I am pretty sure this has become my new go-to spot for whenever I want a drink and a snack at the end of a workday. This is definitely a bit of an unexpected development, as Ive never been one for hard liquors. But the on-tap beer selection is well-curated with choice in-state microbrews. And every brew I get is always elevated immensely by whatever item from the happy hour menu that I order alongside it. The food here, simply put, is outstandingly delicious.On top of the great food an drinks menu, this is a one of those rare bars I would call cozy. Its just as easy to relax here by oneself as it is with a partner or a group of friends. The atmosphere is always a warm and inviting one that feels like it welcomes all who want to stop in.Like I said, I think I found a new favorite go-to spot.

Great atmosphere, very friendly staff. This is a really cool place. Food is delicious. Flexible for vegetarians.

Drinks were great, but the service was deplorable. The staff could have been a little more inviting but were all on their cellular devices. Would’ve tried the food if I didn’t feel uncomfortable in this establishment.

Good food, beer selection, excellent mojitos and a fine staff. I have eaten there a number of times and have always left full and happy.

Food is authentic. Drinks will change your life. See Dom, hell direct you on your journey.

The drinks in this place are freaking good. But they need to work in their food. Just stick with the drinks and maybe an empanada and you will be good to go.

Food was ok... beans had no salt or flavor neither the meat. The rice was sticky like the one you find in sushi. The yellow maduros were not soft they were hard. Not impressed because I have tasted other cuban restaurants in other areas and they were full of flavor, but not in this place. The drinks were the only good part of the experience. Overall I will not pay again almost $100 to come here. Service was good, but food wise..meh nope.

Wanted a quick lunch and stopped by this restaurant randomly. The first thing I noticed is that it was EMPTY in the midst of lunch rush. Usually never a good sign.Im so glad that did not turn out to be true because the food was great!!! The food was flavorful and service friendly. The chicken abode and tilapia were spot on and juicy. The rice was a little on the mushy side and I wasnt a big fan of the yucca fries (tasted too dense and oily). Other than that, it was a great experience.

What a great place to eat lunch at. The food tasted well and the service great.Highly recommended. Will come back again.

Always Excellent food and attentive service.Great Celiac (gluten freerestaurant. Just ask and make sure theyre notified.

We recently stopped in here for lunch on a recommendation and couldn’t have been happier! We had the empanadas for an appetizer (Beef), One of the days lunch specials (grilled plantains shrimp and pork), the Cuban sandwich & mojito‘s. Everything was delicious, cooked perfectly, friendly, attentive wait staff and fresh ingredients. Would definitely recommend!

Happy hour is exactly what youre looking for. $6 mojitos and apps. Food tastes fresh and the mojitos are unreal.

Great place. Very friendly owner behind the bar. Good food and a Huge selection of exotic rums. Definitely worth taking the time to give them a visit.

Great service , great drinks, and the owner went above and beyond to make sure we were happy .

This is a great place to eat some Cuban food! I ordered the creole camarones which comes with rice and beans. It was very good!

one of my favorite places in new haven. the food is always exceptional and the owner dom is more than happy to help you select a rum that you would truly enjoy. cozy and intimate. you will want to become a regular.

After reading the excellent reviews of Zafra, I was really excited to finally try it out! The restaurant was clean and nicely decorated, service was satisfactory, but the food was extremely disappointing. The rice and black beans did not appear to have any seasoning and the plantains were burnt. I had the Churrasco steak and the meat was simply average. Will not be returning here, but if anyone is looking for an amazing Cuban meal, I recommend Soul de Cuba!

Came back After 3yrs in florida!! Just for the RUM&FOOD!! GREAAT MEALS,Staff is Awesome! Atmosphere is Amazing!!! BEST RUM BAR IN CT!!!!

Awesome, venue!!! Great location the food is always fresh. The service was over all was wonderfully inviting. Would definitely recommend. Great happy hour accommodations...

In from Chicago and looking for a place with friends to get a drink to chat over. Great out of the way bar and restaurant with VERY friend staff and locals. Great selection of rum drinks.

Such an amazing culinary experience. The restaurant is small and gives off a very warm and intimate atmosphere and the food was out of this world. Every bite was well seasoned and made you want more. And the wait staff took the time out to explain each dish and was very attentive to our needs.

Real authentic Cuban food that is amazing. I dont drink but the rum bar look pretty awesome to somebody who drinks alcohol . The food is amazing and make sure that you gentlemen give Dominic a handshake and ladies give Dominic a hug.

Great food I would suggest the Cuban sandwich. Staff was nice, good beer selection.

I loved the food the atmosphere it’s a very cozy place the food is great and the drinks. I didn’t really like the female who was waitressing. When we went in there a nice guy sat us down took our order he seemed to be working at the bar. Throughout our meal no one asked us if we needed anything and eventually the girl waitress who never stated her name or anything just handed us the bill never asked if we wanted anything else. Eventually we did end up getting more drinks but just one round BEFOREEEEE she h fed us our bill for the second time. I personally thought that was poor service, but the food was good except for the poor service would I go back again ? To be honest I’m not quiet sure.

Atmosphere is great for family or date night. Food options were well put together with good choice as well as great. Drinks were pretty good to.

Tasty traditional Cuban food with large portions. Great selection of wine, beer, cocktails, & especially rum. Nice ambience and decor, well maintained, & several tables for seating large groups. Great service. Food & drinks were a bit pricey though.

Top notch spot for Cuban food. Owner Dominick is the man and very gracious. I would recommend this place to everyone! And not to mention the mojitos are amazing.

Nice cozy Cuban restaurant with a good selection of dishes and quite an impressive list of rums for tasting. The service was good and the food presentation was on point. I enjoyed the decor with pics of Cuban locals as well as rum ads all over. Will be back for happy hour.

The waiter is a perv. Made "Boom!" "Pow!" Sound effects, as he sat us down. I had on a sun dress.Only one person servicing the establishment on a Friday night. The "perv" was the bartender and the waiter. Smh. Most of the food was delicious, however, some of the traditional Cuban appetizers were mediocre at best. Like the empanadas.

Service was excellent warm and welcoming. I ordered the guava glazed salmon, yellow rice, black beans and sweet plantain... Very tasty! You definitely need to have dessert.. Warm Sponge rum cake absolutely delicious. I definitely recommend this place for meetings, a romantic night out, happy hour after work... etc youll definitely enjoy the experience.

The food was amazing. We got a smattering of apps and loved them all, especially the ceviche and the calamari. The drinks were light and not too sweet and the owner was there to say hello and offer suggestions. Great food and atmosphere. Ill be back!

This restaurant will do whatever you need regardless of wait staff turnover. Feels like really solid ownership over the last ten years or so.

Favorite Cuban spot in New Haven. Great service. The food is always good. The owner remembers your drink choices, which is a great touch.

I absolutely love this place! The medium nachos are delicious... even better if you get pork or chicken on them. The bartender is so friendly and very attentive, will definitely be coming back.

Had Platano Relleno, honestly- I remember Cuban food to be a burst of flavor. The food is too bland. It costed around 19$ for the entree, even for a gourmet the quantity is too low. I ordered a Platano Relleno WITH shrimp in it and ended up having just two shrimps in the whole entree. Save your money and go eat on a cart instead!

The chicken nachos are out of this world!!! The drinks are the amazing I recommend the Captain Jack Sparrow or the Mango Mojito. Will definitely be back!

This restaurant was kind of disappointing. The yuca fries, rice and beans were all bland. Also the portion sizes are way to small for the prices. To be honest, you could get much better latin american food elsewhere for much cheaper. I dont know much about their drinks which is why I gave two stars instead of one.

I have been to the finest and the lowest of restaurants and as good to the eye. Bad food. Ratings are a joke for the 2012 ct magazine review and the ratings on here dont waste you time with food. The zafra steak was poorly over cooked even after said was cooked to much they never said nothing than Im sorry also the cut of ribeye steak was a bad cut. Do your self a favor go to your local market and cook you own steak save your money and much better taste

Amazing food, the staff is great. Cozy and great service. Fantastic drinks and food. Love going to this restuarant.

I enjoyed everything that I had here. Calamari was excellent and the Pina colada martini was as well. Staff was very friendly. Ill definitely come back.

We absolutely loved Zafra. This was our 3rd visit and it gets better each time! Katherine was our waitress and she helped us have our best meal yet! We highly recommend Zafra!!!!

Very well laid out restaurant for a small space. Lots of choices on drinks and good happy hour specials during the week. Recently had the cuban sandwich and it was delicious! Definitely recommend Zafra Cuban Restaurant.

Food is good but they need to give a little bit more for your money. I have the carne picada with three small maduros and a little bit rice and beans. Im taking my money somewhere else.

We had a very positive experience at Zafra this week. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive and the food was fantastic.I had the Platano Relleno my wife had the Camarones Enchilados my oldest son had the Churrasco Steak and our youngest son had the Zafra Nachos.For dessert we orderedTres Leches Cake Lemon Sorbet and Classic Flan.My wife and I each had a Hurricane drink. The drinks were excellent. We will be returning and recommending Zafra to our friends and family.

Not going to lie, Only went here because of the reviews on Google. I have never been so disappointed when I went out to eat before. Not only were we pretty much ignored by the wait staff, the food here is just wrong. The rice tastes like minute rice, while the beans had absolutely no flavor to them what so ever. The drinks were amazing, that much I will say. As for the atmosphere...it was more American than Cuban. But hey...thats just my opinion....

Went with my wife for a date night on a Friday. It had everything we wanted. Great atmosphere, service and food. Natalie was our server and made the night fun. I definitely recommend trying it!

Went on a lazy Sunday with a couple friends and had a great time. I found the bartender was full of information, and was able to effectively help the beginners and the experts in our group with their rum choices. Empanadas were great, but things are on the pricey side in general. Totally worth it though.