Two restaurants opened in downtown Hanover last month. Casa Brava Tapas Bistro, located in the South Street Hotel, serves “international tapas” — a traditionally Spanish small-plate style of cooking — according to owner James Van Kirk. Meanwhile, Little Havana offers authentic Cuban cuisine in a “homey family meal” environment at 15 Lebanon Street, according to co-owner Maylena Chaviano.
Casa Brava Tapas is a collaboration between Van Kirk, who formerly owned the Candela Tapas Lounge in the space that Little Havana now occupies, and chef Martin Murphy, the former owner of Ariana’s Restaurant in Lyme, Van Kirk said. He closed Candela Tapas Lounge in 2022 due to rising rent prices, he said.
However, Van Kirk said he “couldn’t pass up the opportunity” to work with his “good friend” Murphy on a new restaurant. While the two initially searched for locations in Lebanon, the South Street Hotel location ended up being “perfect,” Van Kirk said.
“The hotel is great,” Van Kirk said. “There’s 59 rooms, so there’s always people here.”
Murphy described the new restaurant’s food as “cultural tapas” with Asian, classical French and South American “influences.” The small plates allow customers to come in and “try two or three different things,” he added.
“[The restaurant] just allows me to do food from all over the world, but do it on a smaller plate,” Murphy said.
Restaurant mixologist and manager Austin Junker said Casa Brava Tapas aims “to be more involved with the guests.”
“I make a big point of learning everybody’s name,” Junker said. “So if you come sit down next week, I’ll be like, ‘Hey, ... how are you?’”
Restaurant patron Cliff Darrow said he decided to visit Casa Bravas Tapas after learning about its opening from a friend. Darrow said he would go back because the “food is executed well.”
“I liked the yucca fries the best,” he said. “[Casa Bravas has a] very nice ambiance. The service is good.”
As students return to campus from winter break, Murphy said he hopes to keep the business growing.
“I expect that we’re going to be a little busier, so managing the business and being consistent is the challenge,” Murphy said. “We’re still young. We’re infants. For six weeks in, we have a great reputation, which I’m very thankful for.”
According to Chaviano, Little Havana opened in early December — while Dartmouth students were still on break. Despite the lack of student visitors, the restaurant has been “busy,” she said.
“The neighbors and the locals support us, but I’m excited to meet and have the Dartmouth students come over and try our meals and have [a] nice time here,” Chaviano said.
Chaviano owns the restaurant jointly with her mother Mariela Cubillet, who works in the kitchen as a cook, her brother Ernesto Medina Cubillet and Yuniesky Miyar, a family friend. Originally from Cuba, Chaviano lived in Massachusetts for 10 years before moving to Canada to study at McGill University. After moving back to the United States two years ago, Chaviano decided to start the restaurant with her family.
“[The food is] made with love,” Miyar said. “That is the first ingredient.”
Miyar added that the food is all made from “scratch,” with Mariela Cubillet entering the kitchen at 11 a.m. and leaving at 11 p.m. to prepare the food.
Bus boy and bartender Daniel Golnabi said he ended up working at Little Havana through Ernesto Medina Cubillet, who he previously worked with. Golnabi said the restaurant’s “family style” sets it apart as a “healthy” place to work.
“When I come to work, it’s not like, ‘I need to wake up now,’” he explained. “… It’s more like I’m going to go see my second family — a place where we can have fun. But also we have to do what we have to do, which is work.”
For the Castello family visiting their daughter, a student at Dartmouth, Little Havana represented the opportunity to try some food that “feels like home.”
“We’re from Puerto Rico,” Daniela Castello said. “[Little Havana] is Cuban, but still we’re a pretty close island. We’re from the Caribbean, so it feels welcoming.”
Enrique Castello described the food as “terrific.”
“Everything was perfect,” he said. “I cannot choose [a favorite] because everything is really good, very tasty.”
Chaviano said she hopes the restaurant will be “a good place for the community.”
“We want to have a good, positive place for everyone to … come and try our food and enjoy with us,” Chaviano said.
