Restaurante Las Orishas

Las Briseras - the secret is revealed..

Food

Service

Atmosphere

‘What did you think of the food? Did you try the cabbage? asks the lady as she sells me a packet of Romeo and Juliet cigars at the airport. Well, as most travelers know, Cuba is a paradox; while overflowing with rich cultural heritage, an amazing climate and an abundance of rum, people do not come to Cuba for the food. 

  When we arrived to the Orishas restaurant with anticipation (the only listed restaurant in the area), we were given the staple answer in Cuba ‘No hay’  (we don’t have any), and the chef was absent that day.  We decided to order some Havana Club and snack on our provision of nuts,  and then the barman says ‘ wait, there is this home (casa particular) that serves food down the street, called Las Briseras.

We walked down the street and asked ‘can you tell me where Las Briseras is?’ A wrinkled adorable man pointed to an unmarked house where we wandered through a little back alley expecting to hear the words ‘no hay’. Instead we found 3 Cuban families, heavily involved in their eating experience. Prepared to eat anything at that point, we ordered the seafood plate of the day. We wondered in fact if they had gone fishing since we waited a while, but we sipped on our Malta soda, enjoyed the patio, fresh breeze and little curly haired kids running around. 

A little while later the owner came out with a massive plate of rice and beans, mountains of shrimp with a red sauce, grilled lobster, and fresh grilled fish.  `Dios mio’, we had died and gone to culinary heaven. For the next hour we lounged around, enjoyed our meal more than any other meal I had enjoyed in years, had a delicious espresso, and then I promised that I would pass on this secret to other Lonely Planet readers.  For only 6 dollars and a short trip from Havana, you must go to Las Briseras. Just ask around town and they will show you the way to this little haven..