The restaurants below have been classed into four different pricing categories:
$$$$ (over CUC25)
$$$ (CUC 15 to CUC25)
$$ (CUC10 to CUC15)
$ (up to CUC10)
These prices are for a three course meal for one, including tax but not drinks. A service charge of 10% will be added to your bill in most restaurants.
Gourmet El Aljibe This Cuban restaurant offers the best black beans soup in the country. It is made the way locals cook it in their houses, and so is the chicken
El Aljibe, prepared with a secret sauce. Located in modern Havana,
15 minutes by car from the oldest part of the city, the restaurant has a great decor and is surrounded by houses with beautiful gardens.
Avenida 7ma y Calle 26, Miramar
Tel: (7) 204 1583.
Price: $$$
El Tocororo Named after the national bird, this popular restaurant, located in modern Havana, offers international, Creole and Japanese cuisines in cosy surroundings. Open until midnight.
Calle 18 y 3ra, Miramar
Tel: (7) 204 2998.
Price: $$$$
Tien Tan Seek out this small restaurant in the heart of Havana China Town, and taste the specialty of the house:
res al hierro caliente (roast beef on hot iron), which is delicious. The food is authentic and the portions generous. Open until midnight.
Calle Zanja y San Nicolás, Centro Habana
Tel: (7) 861 5478.
Price: $
Business Café del Oriente Just in front of the 19th-century Square San Francisco de Asís,
Café del Oriente is one of the most luxurious restaurants in town, with an intimate environment, a delicious international menu and an excellent wine list.
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 860 6686.
Price: $$$$
Cuatro Estaciones Club Habana On the premises of the
Havana Yacht Club, this restaurant on the seafront offers very good international cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere, with a perfect combination of tastes and colors. Good value for money, and popular with expats.
Avenida 5ta entre 188 y 192, Playa
Tel: (7) 204 5700.
Website:
www.clubhabana.com Price: $$$$
El Pedregal Stone, wood and water... The terraces here are ideal for those wanting to eat
al fresco and make the most of the tropical nights.
El Pedregal serves refined Cuban and international food away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. Excellent sweets and desserts prepared on the premises. Art gallery, cafeteria, piano bar, cellar.
Avenida 25 y Calle 198, La Lisa
Tel: (7) 337 830/2.
Price: $
Budget Bodegón Criollo Located inside the walls of the largest fortress in the entire American Continent, this restaurant dishes up very tasty Cuban food.
San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress
Tel: (7) 862 0617.
Price: $
Café Taberna Benny Moré Named after one of the greatest Cuban musicians of all times, and located in front of Plaza Vieja, this was the first coffee-shop founded by a Spaniard back in 1772. Today you can listen to Cuban music of the 1940s while enjoying your meal.
Calle Mercaderes y Teniente Rey, La Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 861 1636.
Price: $
La Flor de Loto This restaurant offers a very varied menu, featuring anything from lobster to pork dishes. The portions are generous and come at very good prices. Ideal for travelers on a budget.
Calle Salud 13, entre Gervasio y Escobar, Centro Habana
Tel: (7) 863 5450.
Price: $
Personal Recommendations El Patio Located just in front of Cathedral Square, in a 18th-century building that used to be the home of a Spaniard marquis, this very beautiful restaurant offers exquisite international cuisine.
Plaza de la Catedral
Tel: (7) 867 1034.
Price: $$$
La Terraza de Cojímar This small restaurant by the sea specializes in seafood. This is where, back in the 1940s, writer Ernest Hemingway used to go for lunch. You can pick your own lobster and taste one of the best paellas in Havana.
Carretera Real y Candelaria, Cojímar, Habana del Este
Tel: (7) 939 232.
Price: $$-$$$
Restaurante Panorámico With a beautiful view of the city, this restaurant on the 25th floor of
Hotel Habana Libre serves very good quality international and Cuban cuisine.
Hotel Habana Libre, Calle L esquina 23, Vedado
Tel: (7) 554 011 ext 237.
Price: $$$
Nightlife:Havana nightlife is thriving and the choice of venues is endless. Although some bars are open only to locals, you do not need to be indoors to sample great live music. Cubans know how to party and every street can turn into a live concert. The social scene starts to liven up about 2200 and, as there are no official licensing hours, clubs and bars tend to close when the last customer leaves, normally between 0200 and 0300. Generally, Cubans expect to dress up when going out and most clubs have a rule of no shorts, T-shirts or jeans. Many clubs charge an entrance fee and this can be anything from CUC1 to CUC10 and more.
Bars: Two of Havana’s bars are a must on any visit to the city.
La Bodeguita del Medio, Calle Empedrado 207, in Old Havana, was popular with many famous personalities in the 1950s, such as Ernest Hemingway and Errol Flynn. The walls are covered with their autographs. Nobody should visit this bar without trying its legendary
mojito (rum and mint cocktail). Then, wander up the street to
La Floridita, Calle Obispo 557, another one of Hemingway’s favorite bars, for a
daiquiri. If you want a cheaper (but just as authentic) version the same cocktail, try the
Bar Montserrate, between Avenida de Belgica and Calle Obrapia. Cubans trios and groups often play here. Last, but not least,
Gato Tuerto, Calle O entre 17 y 19, Vedado, is the new ’in’ place of the Havana bohemia (although the admission charge is not exactly bohemian). Expect ’feeling-music’, a bar, a coffee concert and a restaurant.
Casinos: These are illegal in Cuba.
Clubs: Young Cubans, in spite of the blockade, are well up on the latest trends in the music scene.
Piano Bar Maragato, in the Hotel Florida, Calle Obispo y Cuba, Habana Vieja was named after a former bartender back in 1885. It offers good music and tasty cocktails in a colonial house dating back to the 19th century. Below the Teatro Nacional, Calle Paseo and Calle 39, is
Café Cantante Mi Habana, a disco popular with the young trendies of Havana as well as a salsa club.
Habana Cafe in the Hotel Melia Cohiba, Paseo, between Calles 1 and 3, has now established itself as the place to be seen in town.
Live Music: For real 1950s retro style, a visit to the world-famous open-air
Tropicana, 4504 Calle 72, in Marianao, will not disappoint. This nightly extravaganza features scantily dressed dancers in sequins and feathers with outrageous head-dresses. Tickets do not come cheap, on average about CUC75, depending on the location of your seat. They are best booked through a hotel tourist desk, which ensures transport from and to your hotel.
Cabaret Parisien, Hotel Nacional, Calle O y 21, in Vedado, is another throwback to the days of the mob but (the show being less expensive than the
Tropicana), you are more likely to mix with the locals. Let your hair down and join them on the stage-cum-dance floor until the early hours. Cuba’s best salsa bands regularly perform at
Casa de la Música de Centro Habana, Calle Galiano entre Calle Neptuno y Concordia and
Casa de la Música de Playa, Calle 20 esquina 15 Miramar.
Jazz Club La Zorra y el Cuervo, Calle 23, between Calle N and Calle O, in Vedado, and
Jazz Caffé, on 1ra y Malecón, are other good venues to hear nightly jamming sessions by well-known jazz musicians.
Bar Monserrate, Calle Monserrate y Obrapía, Habana Vieja, is a good place to take a break if you are exploring the streets of Old Havana. Good drinks and cocktails are available here and excellent groups play live music throughout the day and until closing time (at around midnight).
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The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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