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.