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VivaHavana!

Nuevo Latino avorsnd a sophisticated home

in a Bar Harbor hot spot

The unassuming exterior of Havanabelies the excitement and activity that diners discover inside thisinnovative bistro. The small, gray-

shingled building on Main Street in Bar Harbor,located just a few blocks from the village green,

keeps the restaurants secrets tucked safely inside. Only its festive trim, the color of coolguacamole, and the lush ower beds laden with

vibrant orange and yellow blossoms hint at theesta going on inside every evening from May through December.

The word Havana has such romanticconnotations, says owner Michael Boland,explaining how he arrived at the restaurantsname. At rst, we thought we might call itCuzco after a town we visited in Peru, but thatjust didnt have the same appeal. Boland andhis wife Deidre Swords are inveterate travelers

with a particular af nity for Central and South America. They opened Havana ten years ago with the intention of integrating a New Englandsensibility with the best of Latin culture andcuisine. The successful blending of the sights,sounds, and especially avors absorbed duringtheir global travels is what brings diners back toHavana again and again.

Boland and Swords created the look of therestaurant with an eye toward simplicity and

sophistication. Adding richness and warmth,the walls were painted the color of smokedpaprika to contrast with the sea-blue knee wallsdividing the main dining room. The oors are

worn, wide-planked pine, the chairs are rattan,and the sconces and pendant lights with black

metal-grid shades add visual punctuation. Theartwork reinforces the inherent romance of the Cuban-themed room with photographs by Maine artist Tom Judd.

Five years ago, with the demand forreservations regularly exceeding availableseating, Boland and Swords converted anattached garage into a separate dining roomto accommodate more customers. They alsocreated a small space for al fresco dining

with beautiful stonework by mason JenniferMacomber of Bar Harbor.

Over the past decade, the owners havecultivated a staff that operates at an impressivelevel of ef ciency. General manager JenaDwyer makes every patron, even those

without reservations waiting patiently for atable, feel pampered and well attended. Sheglides gracefully from bar to dining room andback, greeting regulars, taking drink orders,and orchestrating the service with a seamlessprecision.

Calm and un appable, Mark Duffy

FEasTby C nd ce K ruPhotogr phy Fr noi G gn

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Festive green trim and colorful summer owers (left) contrast with theweathered shingles of the converted house that is now Havana, a Bar Harborbistro that combines fresh local avors with international in uences.

Between the main dining room and the recently converted garage there is plentyof outdoor dining (above, top). Anchored by a dry-laid eldstone oor andtopped with an awning entwined with sparkling party lights, the patio takes fulladvantage of warm summer nights.

The main dining room (above, bottom) is painted in hues of spicy paprika anddeep cerulean. The space is divided by knee walls, raised platforms, and fabricbanners, all of which lend a sense of intimacy to every table.

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