Every Wednesday evening, Cuban restaurant Habana, found inside The LAB Anti-Mall, will switch the mood with more than 600 flameless candles scattered throughout its dining room and garden patio. Dubbed La Candela, the weekly dinner series begins at around 4 p.m.
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This candlelight dinners arrive as restaurants continue looking for ways to turn an ordinary night out into something different. In this case, there are no projections, viral dishes or dining-room theatrics (au revoir, the Instagram wall?). Merely hundreds of flickering candles casting a warm, moody glow over the nearly 31-year-old restaurant. And for safety reasons, yes, the candles are flameless.
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Habana’s regular menu will be available during La Candela, along with a handful of Wednesday night specials. They include stuffed tostones filled with ropa vieja, roasted pork and shrimp ($18); sea bass a la plancha served with cilantro rice, buttered cauliflower and carrots ($35); and lomo saltado, a stir-fry of beef, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and french fries, served with buttered rice ($35).
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For dessert, Habana will offer a banana fritter for $18.
The restaurant also features tropical-leaning libations, including a piña colada, sangria or the Mojito 1995, named for the year Habana opened.
The Costa Mesa eatery, which evokes 1940s Havana by way of greenery, dark woods and colored interiors, debuted at The Lab in 1995, later expanding with a second location at the Irvine Spectrum Center (which, by the way, serves one of Orange County’s best brunch buffets on Sundays). La Candela, however, is exclusive to the original Costa Mesa outpost.
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Find it: 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, 714-556-0176, restauranthabana.com