Havana Restaurants

Paladar Gringo Viejo

#283 of 413 things to do in Havana

#615 of 1169 things to do in Cuba

2 reviews | Write a review

Good for: food, Romance, atmosphere, service, Budget Travellers

Not good for: atmosphere, service

  • Address
    • Calle 21 No 454 btwn Calles E & F
  • Phone
    • 07 831 1946
  • Hours
    • noon-11pm

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Lonely Planet review for Paladar Gringo Viejo

Paladar Gringo Viejo offers a good atmosphere and large portions of invariably brilliant food. It has recently reopened after a lengthy refurbishment and appears to have lost none of its culinary creativity.

 

Traveller reviews for Paladar Gringo Viejo (2)

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    A Great Experience!!!

    alfredoqba recommends this,

    It reminded me of those lovely Havana Paladares, “El Huron Azul” and “La Guarida”, both of them unfortunately gone in the same order.
    A very cozy room nicely decorated according to the theme and a warm welcoming were the first impressions. The service is unpretentious; Keep in mind that this is a family run business and rather than the “academic well trained five start hotels servants” you’ll find friendly people hosting you for lunch/dinner at their home.
    The food portions are generous and well seasoned.
    We couldn’t try the entire Menu and perhaps there will be other interesting delicacies.
    “Gringo Viejo” is however “the” place to enjoy a succulent Braised Pork Knuckle. A homey and more Creole interpretation of the classic “Lacon con Papas”; the best attempt to recover the magnificence of our traditional Cuban Cuisine I have had in a long while.
    We had the opportunity to meet Omar (the owner), a very passionate restaurateur and a great host.
    We will certainly come back.

    Good for: Romance, atmosphere, food, service

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    Treated me like a real gringo!

    suvariboy does not recommend this,

    We went to Gringo Viejo after reading rave reviews. The neighbourhood is lovely but the updated decor looked a little...dated. Read that it is a romantic little place but there were televisions playing Top 40 hits from the '70s and the lights were on full blast. No matter, I remember those songs well, haven't heard them in years and was out for a good time. And I have relatives who haven't heard of dimmers either, so it's nothing I haven't encountered before.

    I won't draw this out - the food was quite good but the server, who I assume was the owner, made us feel less than welcome. We each ordered a beer to drink and mains, but the woman serving us seemed quite perplexed and asked: "No primero?" (For non-Spanish speakers: no starter?) We said:
    "No, gracias." She looked upset and proceeded to have a meeting with the other server, directly behind our table, and I heard a lot of "No primero?" being tossed back and forth. The food arrived - very large portions by the way - and we attempted to order another cerveza weren't given the chance. We had to flag our server down (it's a small room), which was not easy, to order another drink. They arrived and landed on the table, but it was obvious that she was not amused. The meals were very good - my man had fish and I had pork pieces in creole sauce - but, as I mentioned, they were quite substantial. You can imagine the reception we received when we declined dessert service. I'll conclude this with the caveat that we have both worked in the service industry for (so as not to date ourselves) a very long time.
    Different country, different attitudes and service styles aside, we were not treated well. In spite of the very good food we will not go back. Havana's a big city and there are far better dining options.

    Good for: food, Budget Travellers

    Not good for: atmosphere, service

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