Mint Garden and Avocado Cocktails at Cafe Habana Malibu, Food Truck In the Works!

Construction seems like it's taking forever, but the west coast's first outpost of the NY staple Cafe Habana will open early May to massive fanfare. The photos above depict the space, which is clearly still in plywood mode, but progress has been made. Owner Sean Meenan recently took Eater on a tour through the super eco-friendly space located in the Malibu Lumber Yard -- once open Cafe Habana will be Malibu's first solar powered restaurant. Where to begin? So, the main entrance to Cafe Habana is through the Lumber Yard with a second smaller entrance along the PCH. By the smaller entrance will also be a to-go window for anybody that wants to grab a quick bite without actually sitting down.

Take a look at the photos above that show the open roof, this area will be reserved for outdoor dining with a large communal table and repurposed wood benches from New York City’s Coney Island boardwalk. For real. Not only that, but Sean sourced the actual antique bar inside the restaurant (unfortunately it's not in the above photos) from Deadwood, SD (drove it all the way to LA himself) and it's riddled with bullet holes, which tells you the kind of place in which it once lived. Cafe Habana simply screams cool. Staff will be outfitted in eco-friendly uniforms created by local designers using recycled denim and cotton (i.e. Rogue Territory Denim on La Brea), and rock out in Converse and Gourmet sneakers.
Not a surprise to hear that local artist Shepard Fairey will have several works on display here, in addition to other nearby artists.

Staying with the whole green theme, Cafe Habana's roof will boast a mint garden (mint to start but more herbs down the road) which will supple the restaurant's mojitos. So, yes, full liquor license, get excited about avocado cocktails too!

Let's talk about food for a second. Sean describes the menu as a "pan-Latin bistro," saying the food, presentation, ingredients will all be "up a notch" from the eateries in NY. He wants to utilize as many local ingredients as possible while staying true to the Cafe Habana vibe.

And yes, there's a Cafe Habana food truck in the works for both NYC and LA! That's still down the road, as is the Venice outpost, right now Sean is working on opening up Malibu before he can set his sights on the next slew of projects.
·All Cafe Habana Coverage [~ELA~]

Cafe Habana

23641 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu, Ca