Surprisingly for an island so rich in marine life, fish and seafood rarely top the menu - most seafood is exported. Cuisine is a mix of Spanish and Afro-Caribbean, heavily reliant on rice, beans, chicken and pork. Fresh vegetables are hard to come by, and flavors are limited by the lack of available herbs and spices. Some of the best cooking, and often an illegal lobster or two, is found in
paladares (small, private restaurants). In state-run establishments, service can be painfully slow and sometimes even surly.
National specialties:
• Soup made of chicken or black
beans.
• Black beans & rice (known locally as Moors and Christians).
• Chicken or pork with rice, or occasionally french fries.
• Plantains, baked or fried.
• Omelettes, often stuffed with meat and/or cheese.
National drinks:• Cuban coffee (very strong).
• Cuban beer (tasty, yet weak).
• Rum cocktails (especially the
daiquiri,
mojito and
cuba libre).
Legal drinking age: There is no minimum drinking age, but buyers must be at least 16 years old to purchase alcohol.
Tipping: A 10% gratuity is appreciated.
NightlifeHavana is renowned for its after-dark
entertainment scene, and only the tip of the iceberg is visible to tourists on a short stay. Even medium-sized
bars usually have a house band playing Cuban classics. The
Casa de la Musica in Havana attracts tourists and locals alike, the latter distinguished by their accomplished
salsa dance moves and ability to consume whole bottles of Varadero rum. The famous
Tropicana nightclub stages nightly
open-air cabarets that are a throwback to the decadent days before the Revolution. The
Cabaret Parisien at the
Hotel Nacional is similar, and both attract tour groups on ‘day and night’ packages from the coastal beach resorts.
Theater,
opera and
ballet are staged all year round in Havana and seats are very cheap.
Cinemas show films in Spanish, but some have subtitles. Santiago de Cuba is the spiritual home of
Son - the music that gave birth to salsa, and regular live sessions are on offer at the
Casa de la Trova. In beach resorts, nightlife tends to mimic what is on offer in Havana, with varying degrees of success. Varadero has a thriving scene, but in the smaller resorts (many of which are all-inclusive) most entertainment is planned and formulaic.
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