Havana Vancouver

Havana Vancouver Inspired by the colours, tastes, and culture of Old Havana, Cuba

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Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/16/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Jefte Sistoza.

Jefte’s Havana story started in 2018 as a dishwasher, despite being very clear that he did not want to work in the kitchen. In fact, he swore he never would.

Fast forward through years of working just about every position imaginable, both day and night, and Jefte became Havana’s Head Chef in April 2025.

He was also part of the team that helped bring Havana back after COVID, helping rebuild the restaurant and bring it back to its heyday. His first dish on the menu was the beloved enchiladas, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Jefte loves creating flavours in ways people may never have tried before, and outside the kitchen, he loves to travel by bike, car or plane. But what he loves most is the simple happiness of feeding the people he cares about, whether that’s family, friends or the guests at Havana.

From dishwasher to Head Chef, Jefte is a pretty great example of how the people who work at Havana become part of its story.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/15/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Evan Fong.

Evan found his way to Havana after getting his start in hospitality at Nuba, where he began as a host before making the move behind the bar. When he joined us, he started as a bartender and, over the years, worked his way up to become our current Bar Manager.

Along the way, he’s built a deep, hands-on understanding of what goes into running a great bar, from creating a welcoming experience for guests to all the behind-the-scenes details that keep things moving.

And after all those years behind the bar, he still knows how to get out from behind it.

When he’s off the clock, Evan trades cocktails for mountains, snowboarding through the winter and mountain biking through the rest of the year.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/14/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Andrei Petchenov.

Andrei started at Havana in January 2013 as a dishwasher and, over the years, worked his way through the different stations in the kitchen.

One of his favourite parts of the job was creating new desserts, but the best part by far was the people. Working alongside so many great people over the years became one of the most memorable parts of his time at Havana.

After leaving in 2019, Andrei worked briefly as a freelance cook before taking a completely different path and moving to Toronto to pursue a career as a programmer.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/13/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Amy Peterson.

Amy started working with the VanUrban group at their sister restaurant Belgard Kitchen in 2015 before joining the Havana team in 2019.

Her official title might say “prep cook,” but Amy would describe herself a little differently: back of house fairy godmother.

And honestly, it fits.

She’s the person behind the scenes making sure things happen, jumping in wherever she’s needed and keeping the kitchen moving with a little bit of magic along the way.

After more than a decade with the group, Amy has become one of those people who is woven into the fabric of Havana. She may not always be the face you see first, but she’s one of the people who helps make everything happen.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/12/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Tyler Dick.

Tyler joined the Havana team in 2013, starting as a dishwasher and working his way through the kitchen to become a line cook and eventually, Sous Chef.

Over five years, Havana became an important part of Tyler’s journey in the kitchen, giving him the experience and confidence to keep growing in his career.

Today, he’s bringing that experience into the classroom as a Teaching Chef at Frank Hurt Secondary School, helping young people discover the same love of food and cooking that first took shape for him in the kitchen.

From washing dishes to leading a kitchen, and now teaching the next generation, Tyler’s story is a pretty great reminder that you never quite know where a first step can lead.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/11/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Alistair Cook.

For more than two decades, Alistair was part of the story unfolding in Havana’s theatre, working as an independent theatre producer from 1996 to 2020 and as Theatre Manager from 2018 to 2020.

Over the years, he helped make Havana Theatre one of Commercial Drive’s go-to destinations for comedy, bringing improv, sketch, stand-up and cabaret to the room and, just as importantly, helping new producers and performers find their footing.

There were a lot of legendary shows along the way, but some of Alistair’s favourite Havana memories seem to have happened between them.

These days, six years after leaving, he still misses a Cubano at the bar for a working lunch, chatting with the incredible staff who made Havana feel like home.

The shows may have changed, the years may have passed, but some Havana memories stick around.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/10/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Lucky Ryder.

Lucky joined Havana in 2012, working in the kitchen as a line cook and spending six years as part of the team before moving on in 2018.

But his Havana story didn’t end when he left the kitchen.

It was during his time at Havana that Lucky met his fiancée, making the years he spent here part of a much more personal story.

Today, Lucky lives in Sechelt with his fiancée, where he works with the shíshálh Nation’s Department of Social Development, running a food program that supports the community.

From cooking on the Havana line to bringing people together through food in a whole new way, it seems that part of his story has stayed the same.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/09/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Gina Ness.

A Vancouver native, Gina spent 13 years at Havana, from 2005 to 2018, eventually becoming our General Manager.

Over those years, she saw Havana change and grow through so many different chapters. New faces behind the bar, familiar faces coming through the door, staff who became friends and guests who became regulars.

For Gina, it was the people who made the place so special.

She remembers her time at Havana with a lot of love, and after 13 years, there were certainly plenty of memories to take with her.

Today, Gina lives on Vancouver Island, but her years at Havana remain an important part of the restaurant’s story.

Thirteen years, countless faces and a whole lot of memories. We’re so happy Gina is one of the people who helped make Havana what it is.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/08/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Chris Wadham.

Chris Wadham spent his life in the restaurant business, after graduating from Guelph’s School of Hotel and Food Administration. Over the years, he managed and owned restaurants at every level of the industry, with a particular talent for the things that keep a restaurant running well: inventory, cost control and growing the business.

When Chris came to Havana, he helped turn a young restaurant into a profitable one, bringing the experience and steady hand that the business needed in those early years.

But his role at Havana became about much more than numbers.

Chris stayed with us for 17 years, becoming a friend to the ownership, management and staff along the way. He was part of the day-to-day work, the challenges, the wins and the many people who helped Havana find its footing and grow.

His impact was felt not only in the success of the restaurant, but in the relationships he built along the way.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape ou...
09/07/2026

Every Havana story has a person behind it. Today, we’re introducing you to another one of the faces that helped shape our story.

Meet Patrick Doherty.

When Havana first opened, the room wasn’t just a place to eat and drink. It was also a theatre, showing classic films on a 16mm projector and hosting live performances. The space even opened alongside the 1996 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

Patrick walked through the doors that November to work in a theatre he had never seen, for people he had never met.

He was supposed to be there for one night.

He stayed for 21 years.

As Vancouver’s need for affordable live performance spaces grew, so did the life of that little room at Havana. It became a full-time performance venue, with a flexible design that allowed artists to rethink the space and bring bigger ideas to life.

Over the years, Havana became one of the city’s favourite stages. Full productions, Sunday afternoon concerts, late-night improv and festivals filled the calendar, bringing established artists and emerging performers through the doors.

By 2017 alone, more than 500 performances took place in the room.

Patrick was there for so much of it.

And while the room may no longer be a dedicated performance space, music, theatre and live performance are still part of Havana’s DNA.

A one-night job turned into 21 years, and Patrick Doherty became part of a chapter that helped make Havana so much more than a restaurant.

https://www.havanavancouver.com/havana-30

Address

1212 Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
V5L3X4

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 11pm
Tuesday 11am - 11pm
Wednesday 11am - 11pm
Thursday 11am - 11pm
Friday 11am - 11pm
Saturday 10am - 11pm
Sunday 10am - 11pm

Telephone

+16042539119

Website

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