Eat Up Havana: Night Markets Tell the Full Story of Aurora

Over a decade ago, former Westword food editor Mark Antonation began his food-writing career by eating his way up Federal Boulevard. Now, we're turning our attention to another vibrant culinary corridor.

The four-plus-mile stretch of Havana Street between Dartmouth and Sixth Avenue in Aurora is home to the most diverse array of international cuisine available in the metro area. From restaurants and markets to take-and-go shops and stands, food lovers of nearly any ethnicity or interest can find a place that will remind them of home or open new culinary doors. In Eat Up Havana, Antony Bruno will visit them all, one by one, week by week.

Previous stops:

• Old Town Hot Pot

• Leezakaya

• Chutney Indian Cuisine

• El Tequileno

• Milkroll

• Shin Myung Gwan Korean BBQ

• Watan Restaurant & Bakery

• Las Fajitas

• Mr. Tang

• Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings

• Yemen Grill

• Tofu House

• Sushi Katsu

• Coco Loco

• Ali Restaurant & Bakery

• Thank Sool Pocha

• Taqueria Corona

• Hanyang Wang Jokbal
  

• Coffee Story
  

• Tofu Story

Next Up: Havana Street Night Markets

It’s both difficult and unfair to characterize any city based on a single event. That’s particularly true with a city like Aurora.

Colorado's third-largest city is well-known — at least locally — as the most diverse in the state, and among the more diverse places in the country, thanks to a robust immigrant population and the vast scope of international cuisines served in Aurora (which this series was created to explore and celebrate).

So it comes as no surprise that Aurora has become a hotbed of the immigration debate, and not always positively. The video of armed gang members in an Aurora apartment complex that spread across national airwaves painted a very narrow and sensationalistic picture subsequently used to justify President Donald Trump's mass deportation effort dubbed Operation Aurora.

But that’s only one side of the city’s immigration story. The other side of that story is perhaps best showcased on the corner of Havana and Yale, where on the last Saturday of every summer month, the Havana Street Night Market celebrates the food, culture and communities of this city's dynamic population.

The Vibe

As the sun begins its slow descent over the mountains to the West, the parking lot surrounding the Leezakaya restaurant begins to fill up with a beautiful mosaic of faces. Black, White, Hispanic and Asian people both young and old stream into the space to putter amid dozens of stalls offering a broad array of food, clothing, jewelry, art and supplies from across the globe.

The lineup of vendors ensures that each Saturday offers something new and different, and each event has a loose theme bringing it all together. In May it was AANHPI Month, with a traditional Chinese lion dance, Polynesian hula performance and Kpop. In June, the focus was on Pride, complete with an all-Asian drag queen review.

While this night market certainly gets full, it doesn’t feel overly restrictive or claustrophobic the way some can get. Yes, some of the more popular vendors will have a line, but nothing outrageous. Rest assured you’ll leave well satisfied. Which bring us to…

The Food

Night markets originated in Asian countries, where they remain a core element of the food culture to this day. Asian flavors are a hallmark of Aurora's night market, too.

The roster at the last market here included various versions of Korean BBQ, such as live-fire grilled short ribs from Seoul Hospitality Group, as well as more modern takes like the galbi nachos from 3456, and Korean fried chicken on a stick with your choice of soy garlic, sweet pineapple or spicy sauce from KoCoStreet Food.

There were banh mi sandwiches and pho bowls representing Vietnam. For Japanese cuisine, you had your teriyaki bowls and yakisoba noodles from Geisha Japanese Cuisine and matcha tea from Sip Society. Of course, there were dumplings from none other than Nana’s Dim Sum & Dumplings. And what kind of street market would go without a boba vendor?

One of the more interesting booths was a self-serve ramen station, where you picked your packaged ramen by flavor, placed it on an induction burner that dispensed the water, watched it boil until ready, and then added toppings.

Filipino cuisine had a strong showing, too. The Taste of Lumpia food truck boasted the market’s longest line for chicken adobo, pancit noodles, the eggroll-like namesake lumpias, and grilled pork skewers that filled the air with aromas of charred meat. Meanwhile, the Sweet Life Culinary Productions group put out a Filipino fried chicken that almost certainly haunted the dreams of all lucky enough to get some before it ran out.

But this market wasn't exclusively Asian cuisine. There were several other options, such as empanadas and Patacones from Dos Mares, ceviche from Sin Foods, Mexican wedding cookies from Romero, and a taco truck, of course. Dickie’s BBQ had a presence, as did vendors offering Brazilian cuisine, Ethiopian cuisine and sweets galore.

The Havana Street Night Market is now about midway through its second year; it's hosted by the On Havana Street division of Aurora’s Havana Business Improvement District and put on by Bonfire Events (which also produces the Civic Center Night Market, Colorado Dragon Boat Festival Marketplace and the People’s Market, among other events).

It’s good for kids. Good for adults. Good for foodies. Good for anyone interested in doing something fun, different and authentic. Some will find familiar memories of home, wherever that may be. Others may discover flavors and sights to experience for the first time.

But most importantly, all will get a more complete picture of the Aurora population and that of the overall immigrant experience that defines the true fabric of this community.

The Havana Street Night Market is located in the Leezakaya parking lot at 2710 South Havana Street. Upcoming events will take place from 6 - 10 on July 26, August 30, and September 27. For more information, visit www.onhavanastreet.com/events/2025-havana-street-night-markets/.