Entertainment in Havana
-
A
Taberna de la Muralla
Havana's only microbrewery is situated on a boisterous corner of Plaza Vieja. Set up by an Austrian company in 2004, it sells smooth, cold homemade beer at sturdy wooden benches set up outside on the cobbles or indoors in an atmospheric beer hall. Get a group together and you'll get the amber nectar in a tall plastic tube drawn from a tap at the bottom. There's also an outside grill. Round the corner is the new Factoria, which specializes in non-alcoholic Malta and is popular with Cubans.
reviewed
-
B
La Zorra y EI Cuervo
Havana’s most famous Jazz Club is La Zorra y El Cuervo (the vixen and the crow) on La Rampa, which opens its doors nightly at 10pm to long lines of committed music fiends. Suitably shoehorned into a cramped, smoky basement, the freestyle jazz showcased is second to none and, in the past, the club has hosted such big names as Chucho Valdés and George Benson.
reviewed
-
C
Teatro América
Housed in a classic art deco rascacielo (skyscraper) on Galiano (Av de Italia), the América seems to have changed little since its theatrical heyday in the 1930s and '40s. It plays host to vaudeville variety, comedy, dance, jazz and salsa; shows are normally staged on Saturdays at 8:30pm and Sundays at 5pm. You can also enquire about dance lessons here.
reviewed
-
D
Casa de la Trova
Strangely, Habana’s Casa de la Trova is a bit of a damp squib compared to other famous Casas de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. It’s traditionally a haven for son music of the type popularized by Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club, but the schedule here is sporadic. Check the upcoming program before turning up.
reviewed
-
E
Café Taberna
Founded in 1772 and still glowing after a recent 21st-century makeover, this drinking and eating establishment is a great place to prop up the (impressive) bar and sink a few cocktails before dinner. The music – which gets swinging around 8pm – doffs its cap, more often than not, to one-time resident mambo king Benny Moré. Skip the food.
reviewed
-
F
La Lluvia de Oro
It's on Obispo and there's always live music belting through the doorway – so it's always crowded. But with a higher-than-average jinetero/jinetera to tourist ratio, it might not be your most intimate introduction to Havana. Small snacks are available and the musician's 'hat' comes round every three songs.
reviewed
-
G
Teatro Mella
Occupying the site of the old Rodi Cinema on Línea, the Teatro Mella offers one of Havana's most comprehensive programs, including an international ballet festival, comedy shows, theater, dance and intermittent performances from the famous Conjunto Folklórico Nacional. If you have kids, come to the children's show Sunday at 11am.
reviewed
-
H
Estadio Latinoamericano
From October to April, this 58,000-seat baseball stadium in Cerro is home to Los Industriales and Los Metropolitanos (they alternate home fixtures). Entry is a few pesos (but foreigners are charged CUC$2). Games are 7:30pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 1:30pm Saturday and Sunday. The benches are cement – painful after nine innings.
reviewed
-
I
Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís' glorious church, which dates from 1738, has been reincarnated as a 21st-century museum and concert hall. The old nave hosts choral and chamber music two to three times a week (check the schedule at the door) and the acoustics inside are excellent. It's best to bag your ticket at least a day in advance.
reviewed
-
J
Opus Bar
With individual candlelit tables, overstuffed chairs and Sly and the Family Stone on the airways, this is Habana’s (good) approximation of a lounge. The wall of windows make it a great sunset spot and performances in the Teatro Amadeo Roldán downstairs are broadcast via closed-circuit TV – a good alternative if the show is sold out.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba
Founded in 1962, this high-energy ensemble specializes in Afro-Cuban dancing (all of the drummers are Santería priests). See them perform, and dance along during the regular Sábado de Rumba at El Gran Palenque. This group also performs at Teatro Mella. A major festival called FolkCuba unfolds here biannually during the second half of January.
reviewed
-
L
Bar Dos Hermanos
Despite its erstwhile Hemingway connections, this bar has (so far) managed to remain off the standard Havana tourist itinerary. Out of the way and a little seedy, it was a favorite watering hole of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca during a three-month stopover in 1930. With its long wooden bar and salty seafaring atmosphere, it can't have changed much since.
reviewed
-
M
Sala Teatro el Sótano
If you understand Spanish, it's well worth attending some of the cutting-edge contemporary theater that's a staple of Grupo Teatro Rita Montaner at this venue near the Habana Libre.
reviewed
-
N
Piano Bar Delirio Habanero
This suave lounge upstairs in the Teatro Nacional de Cuba hosts everything from young trovadores to smooth, improvised jazz. The deep red couches abut a wall of glass overlooking the Plaza de la Revolución – it's stunning at night with the Martí Memorial alluringly backlit. Come up for air here when the adjoining Café Cantante nightclub gets too hot.
reviewed
-
O
Pico Blanco
An insanely popular nightclub, the Pico Blanco is on the 14th floor of the Hotel St John's in Vedado and kicks off nightly at 9pm. The program can be hit or miss. Some nights it's karaoke and cheesy boleros; another it's jamming with some rather famous Cuban musicians.
reviewed
-
P
Jazz Café
This upscale joint located improbably in a shopping mall overlooking the Malecón is a kind of jazz supper club, with dinner tables and a decent menu. At night, the club swings into action with live jazz, timba and, occasionally, straight-up salsa. It attracts plenty of big-name acts.
reviewed
-
Q
La Dichosa
It's hard to miss the rowdy La Dichosa on busy Calle Obispo. Small and cramped with at least half the space given over to the resident band, this is a good place to stop for a quick drink.
reviewed
-
R
Sala Teatro Hubert de Blanck
This theater is named for the founder of Havana's first conservatory of music (1885). The Teatro Estudio based here is Cuba's leading theater company. You can usually see plays in Spanish on Saturday at 8:30pm and on Sunday at 7pm. Tickets are sold just prior to the performance.
reviewed
-
Bosque Bologna
A fern-filled terrace that fills the space of a demolished building on Calle Obispo, the Bologna is always busy with drinkers and diners drawn in by a combination of its effervescent music and highly persuasive waiters. It’s a perfect warm-up for an extended Habana Vieja bar crawl.
reviewed
-
La Casa del Escabeche
La Casa del Escabeche is a good early diversion, a tiny bar with an accompanying restaurant that somehow manages to squeeze a guitarist, singer, drummer and double bass into its packed and smoky interior. Enjoy the music from the street outside as it drifts through the wooden grilles.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
S
Cabaret Parisién
One rung down from the Tropicana, in both price and quality, the nightly Cabaret Parisién in the Hotel Nacional is still well worth a look, especially if you're staying in or around Vedado. It's the usual mix of frills, feathers and semi-naked women, but the choreography is first class and the whole spectacle has excellent kitsch value.
reviewed
-
T
Prado & Animas
Another good old-fashioned Prado place with a time-warped '50s feel. The cafe also serves simple food and coffee, but it's best for a beer, sitting at one of the window tables beneath the baseball memorabilia (including a picture of a pelota-playing Fidel).
reviewed
-
U
Prado No 12
A slim flat-iron building on the corner of Prado and San Lázaro that serves drinks and simple snacks, Prado 12 still resembles Havana in a 1950s time-warp. Soak up the atmosphere of this amazing city here after a sunset stroll along the Malecón.
reviewed
-
V
Café París
Things never stand still at this rough-hewn Habana Vieja dive-bar, known for its live music and gregarious tourist-heavy atmosphere. On good nights, the rum flows and spontaneous dancing erupts.
reviewed
-
W
Bar-Club Imágenes
This upscale piano bar attracts something of an older crowd with its regular diet of boleros (ballads) and trova, though there are sometimes comedy shows; check the schedule posted outside. Affordable meals are available (minimum CUC$5).
reviewed