Cuban restaurants in Caribbean Islands
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A
Los Nardos
Directly opposite the Capitolio but easy to miss, Los Nardos is one of a handful of semi-private Havana restaurants operated by the Spanish Asturianas society. Touted in some quarters as one of the best eateries in the city, this unprepossessing place is decked out in mahogany and leather and serves up such astoundingly delicious dishes as lobster in a Catalan sauce, garlic prawns with sautéed vegetables and an authentic Spanish paella. Portions are huge and the prices, which start at around CUC$4 for chicken and pork dishes, are unbelievably cheap.
reviewed
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B
Rancho Coquito
At last, a decent restaurant on the Malecón. Run by the local Spanish Asturianas society, this is an inconspicuous food joint with a balcony that overlooks Havana’s dreamy 8km sea drive (look for the waiter posted outside) and is frequented mainly by Cubans. Upstairs, the food is tasty and unbelievably cheap. Paella goes for CUC$7, garbanzos fritos (fried chickpeas) CUC$5, tortilla CUC$3 and a decent portion of lobster pan-fried in butter for a giveaway CUC$8.
reviewed
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C
El Aljibe
On paper a humble Palmares restaurant, but in reality a rip-roaring culinary extravaganza, El Aljibe has been delighting both Cuban and foreign diplomatic taste buds for years. The furor surrounds the gastronomic mysteries of just one dish, the obligatory pollo asado (roast pork), which is served up with as-much-as-you-can-eat helpings of white rice, black beans, fried plantain, French fries and salad. The accompanying bitter orange sauce is said to be a state secret.
reviewed
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D
La Julia
It’s been around long enough to be called an institution and outlasted almost all the opposition – except, perhaps, Fidel. La Julia is an unfussy family-run paladar in Calle O’Reilly that serves Cuban comfort food – comida criolla – with patience and panache.
reviewed
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E
Paladar Calle 10
Paladar Calle 10 is situated in – ur – Calle 10 in the ‘posh’ Miramar neighborhood and, while the name might be a little unimaginative, the food certainly isn’t. Set up barbecue-style in the owner’s back garden, the alfresco seating is arranged under an attractive thatched canopy and the printed menu is both varied and adventurous. Delicious main dishes include octopus (CUC$5), ropa vieja (CUC$7) and a tempting chicken in balsamic vinegar (CUC$8). Portions are huge and arrive with assorted roasted vegetables and a memorable pureed potato. There are even profiteroles for dessert.
reviewed
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Asociación Canaria de Cuba
One of a number of Spanish social clubs that serve food, the Asociación Canaria de Cuba, behind the Hotel Plaza, is housed in a venerable red-bricked building with a rather fancy lobby. By contrast the restaurant upstairs is a far more basic affair with strip lighting, plastic flowers and crummy tablecloths. But for regulars, the ambience is only secondary – the main reason to come here is for the food. The grilled lobster for CUC$6.50 is one of the city’s biggest bargains; add in shrimp enchiladas for CUC$5, and beef stew or pork steak for CUC$2, and you’re laughing all the way to the change booth.
reviewed
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G
Restaurante Oasis
The Oasis is housed in the Centro Cultural de Arabe, but don’t be fooled by the Middle Eastern myth. The food here is bog-standard Cuban, and not particularly good at that – unless you have a penchant for dodgy hot dogs or soggy sandwiches – but it’s the kind of place where’s you’ll see Cubans eating, and it makes no provision for ‘Western’ palates. The shop downstairs is handy for late-night groceries, but the weekend disco is a filled with jineteras (women who attach themselves to male foreigners for monetary or material gain).
reviewed
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H
La Esperanza
Few would disagree that the food, ambience and gastronomic creativity showcased at this unassuming Miramar paladar puts it among Havana’s (and undoubtedly Cuba’s) best eating establishments. While unspectacular from the street, the interior of this house is a riot of quirky antiques, old portraits and refined 1940s furnishings. The food, which is produced in a standard-sized family kitchen, includes such exquisite dishes as pollo luna de miel (chicken flambéed in rum), fish marinated in white wine, lemon and garlic, and a lamb brochette.
reviewed
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I
Paladar EI Hurón Azul
This place is often touted as one of Havana’s best private restaurants and, although the food might be tasty, the windowless interior combined with the preponderance of after-dinner smokers can leave your meal tasting more like nicotine than comida criolla. Nonetheless, the Hurón Azul (Blue Ferret) boasts plenty of original food and is locally famous for its adventurous smoked pork served with a pineapple salsa. That said, it’s not cheap, averaging CUC$15 a pop plus a 10% service charge added to every bill. Reserve ahead.
reviewed
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La Barrita
If you’re keen to stick your nose inside one of Latin America’s finest art deco buildings, consider having a snack in this comfortable bar-restaurant on a mezzanine floor just inside the lobby of the illustrious Edificio Bacardí. The simple menu churns out standard Cuban staples such as bocadito de queso (cheese sandwich) but, with its leather chairs, friendly waiters and polished mahogany bar, there’s oodles of old-world ambience to be had here. Sample one of the bar’s many rum cocktails.
reviewed
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La Ferminia
Havana gets swanky at this memorable restaurant set in an elegant converted colonial mansion in the leafy neighborhood of Flores. Dine inside, in one of a handful of beautifully furnished rooms, or outside on a glorious garden patio – it doesn’t matter. The point is the food. Try the mixed grill, pulled straight from the fire, or lobster tails pan-fried in breadcrumbs. There’s a strict dress code here: no shorts or sleeveless T-shirts (guys). It’s one of the few places where Fidel Castro has dined in public.
reviewed
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L
Hanoi
The name might suggest solidarity with ‘communist’ Vietnam, but don’t get too excited – you won’t find any Saigon-flavored spring rolls here. Instead, what you get is straight-up Creole cuisine, with a couple of fried-rice dishes thrown in to justify the (rather misleading) name. One of the only fully restored buildings in untouristy Plaza del Cristo, the Hanoi is a backpacker favorite where the foreign clientele usually has its communal nose in a copy of Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.
reviewed
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La Mina
A mediocre menu but a top-class location, La Mina graces a scenic corner of Plaza de Armas, meaning every tourist in Havana walks past it at some point. The food options – displayed on a stand in the street outside and backed up by an army of verbose waiters – include chicken, pork and prawns cooked in a variety of different ways but lacking in culinary panache. There’s a tempting Heladería (ice-cream parlor) around the corner in Calle Oficios.
reviewed
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El Rancho Palco
Situated in a forest near the Palacio de las Convenciones, El Rancho Palco has one of the finest thatched roofs you’ll likely ever see. This place has terrific ambience all the time, but it’s particularly good at night, when live salsa music fills the air. Ceiling fans help keep the atmosphere cool. Beef is the specialty here, with fillets ranging in price from CUC$15 to CUC$35. Fish dishes, chicken and shrimp are also good.
reviewed
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El Santo Angel
Often overlooked by restaurant-seeking travelers, El Santo Angel – which is situated in a gorgeous colonial house on Plaza Vieja’s northwest corner – specializes in seafood, offering such dishes as langosta mariposa (butterflied lobster; CUC$27), as well as fish in green sauce, and fish with roasted almonds, prawns and vinaigrette (both CUC$10). It’s a lovely spot to watch the goings-on in the square.
reviewed
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P
Restaurante 1830
One of Habana’s most elegant restaurants is this glittering old stalwart. Chandeliers, antique furniture and palacelike table settings are two a penny here, and the food includes duck, pork and chicken in lemon-and-honey sauce (which is rapidly becoming Cuba’s gourmet specialty). After the kitchen closes at 10pm, there’s live music and salsa dancing in the garden behind the restaurant (don’t come on a windy night).
reviewed
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Bar-Restaurante Cabaña
A longtime favorite with Habana bus drivers on the run to and from Varadero, the Cabaña is an unfussy Habaguanex place with alfresco seating and pleasant views across the harbor to the eastern forts. Main dishes highlight beef and come in fairly modest portions; they include filet de res (beef fillet; CUC$5.50) and filet mignon (CUC$8.50). There’s a bar with a karaoke machine upstairs.
reviewed
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Q
Palmares Centro
The Palmares group has many incarnations in Cuba – from the internationally lauded El Aljibe in Miramar to greasy little beach barbecues in Santiago and Baracoa. This café on busy Calle 23 falls into the latter category, and is OK if you’re desperate for a 2am perro caliente (hot dog). Otherwise you’re better off satisfying your hunger pangs elsewhere.
reviewed
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R
La Paila
If this place wasn’t so off the beaten track, it would be in Habana’s top five. With just a few tables ensconced in a garden replete with soft-lit lanterns, this is the most romantic paladar no one knows about. And the food is infallible. It does a great bistec Uruguayo (fried, breaded pork stuffed with ham and cheese), and its pizzas are famous; both dishes are less than CUC$5.
reviewed
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El Palenque
A huge place next to the Pabexpo exhibition center that sprawls beneath a series of open-sided thatched bohíos (traditional Cuban huts), the Palenque offers an extensive menu at prices cheap enough to attract both Cubans and foreigners. The cuisine is Cuban/Italian, with pizzas starting at CUC$3, steak and fries coming in at CUC$9 and lobster mariposa maxing out at CUC$22.
reviewed
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Paladar Nerei
Ah, the Nerei, the only paladar in central Habana where you can get whole roast pig on a spit (or so the owners will tell you). The pluses here are numerous: huge portions (almost too huge), an extensive menu, and a pleasant alfresco seating area arranged around a sleepy veranda that overlooks quiet (ish) Calle 19. The downside is the price piracy; insist on seeing a written menu first.
reviewed
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Cafetería Torre La Vega
This is the flop-down lunchtime place that everyone hits in the middle of a sightseeing tour. It’s perfectly placed in the middle of the Old Town with tables spilling onto the street and into a little park opposite. Diners sit with their noses in guidebooks chomping on ‘spag bol, ’ pizza, chicken and sandwiches, none of it particularly expensive.
reviewed
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Paladar Los Cactus de 33
Reviewed in international lifestyle magazines and used as a setting on Cuban TV, this place has impeccable service, elegant surroundings, well-prepared food and outrageous prices, once you’ve factored in the taxi fare (it’s well out of the way). Bank on a minimum of CUC$20 for the house special, chicken breast with mushrooms, olives and cheese.
reviewed
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Restaurante EI Patio
Possibly one of the most romantic settings on the planet when the hustlers stay away, the mint stalks in your mojito are pressed to perfection and the band breaks spontaneously into your favorite tune. This place – in the Plaza de la Catedral – must be experienced at night alfresco when the atmosphere is almost otherworldly.
reviewed
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El Conejito
A red-bricked Tudor-style mansion with lederhosen-clad waiters that serves rabbit (CUC$8 and up); now that’s classic! If the conejo (rabbit) doesn’t grab you, try the chicken, beef, fish or lobster. The rather surreal ambience is lightened somewhat by a resident pianist serenading romantically in the background.
reviewed
