Havana Restaurants
$$$$ (over CUC25)
$$$ (CUC15 to CUC25)
$$ (CUC10 to CUC15)
$ (up to CUC10)
These prices are for a three course meal for one, including tax but not drinks. A service charge of 10% will be added to your bill in most restaurants. Tipping is customary if not.
Havana has two types of restaurants: state-run and privately-owned and operated. While there are some very fine state restaurants and food quality and service have vastly improved in recent years, paladares (private restaurants) generally offer more variety (at a corresponding higher price) and more welcoming ambience. Always check restaurant bills carefully to make sure a random starter or cerveza hasn't migrated onto your bill - a pretty common scam.
Gastronomic
This Cuban restaurant is world famous with reason: the all-you-can-eat prix fixe chicken meal. It comes with all the traditional trimmings, including mouth-watering black bean potaje (Cuba's classic soupy sided dish), and perfectly roasted and seasoned chicken. The secret is in the sauce, based on naranja agria (bitter orange), a staple in all Cuban kitchens. The wine list is one of the city's best. Located in modern Havana, 15 minutes by car from the oldest part of the city, the restaurant has a rustic, tranquil décor though it can get loud with boisterous diners.
Avenida 7ma, between Calle 24 & Calle 26, Miramar
Tel: (7) 204 1583/4.
Price: $$$
One of Havana's top private restaurants bar none, La Fontana's European-style menu is inspired. With charcoal-grilled sausages, cilantro spiked ceviche and Dijon mustard dressed rabbit as highlights, La Fontana specialises in dishes not found elsewhere in Cuba. The people watching is great too, since famous locals frequent this intimate place.
Calle 3ra A 305, corner 46, Miramar
Tel: (7) 202 8337 or 264 7572
Website: www.lafontanahabana.com
Price: $$$-$$$$
This off-the-beaten-track place near the Tropicana nightclub is a rising star on Havana's private restaurant scene. The lush garden setting, combined with gourmet food almost no other Cuban kitchen can match, makes for an unforgettable evening. Save room for dessert.
Calle 88B, corner Calle 51A, Marianao
Tel: (7) 267 0282.
Price: $$$-$$$$
Seek out this small restaurant in the heart of Havana's Chinatown, and taste the house speciality: res al hierro caliente (roast beef on hot iron), or the equally delicious seafood soup. The food is authentic and the portions generous. Open until midnight.
Calle Zanja 1 & San Nicolás, Centro Habana
Tel: (7) 861 5478.
Price: $
Business
Overlooking the 19th-century Square San Francisco de Asís, Café del Oriente is one of the most luxurious restaurants in town, with an intimate environment, a varied international menu and an excellent wine list.
Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 860 6686 or 2917.
Price: $$$$
On the premises of the Havana Yacht Club, this seafront restaurant offers very good international cuisine in a relaxed atmosphere, with a perfect combination of tastes and colours. Good value for money and popular with foreigners and Cubans of a certain status.
5TA Avenida between 188 & 192, Playa
Tel: (7) 204 5700.
Price: $$$$
The quiet, professional dining room here means eating and work can be combined without a problem. The menu is extraordinarily economical, with traditional Cuban dishes like ropa vieja (shredded beef), coming with all the trimmings. Proximity to Parque Almendares offers a bucolic setting for a post-meal stroll.
Calle 49C, corner of Calle 28A, Parque Almendares, Vedado
Tel: (7) 204 5162.
Price: $
Budget
Havana's only microbrewery enjoys a privileged setting on lovely Plaza Vieja, from where you can sip delicious beers from mini-kegs and watch the world go by. Everything coming off the grill here, from bratwurst to shish kebab, make great accompaniment.
San Ignacio 368, Plaza Vieja, Habana Vieja
Tel: (7) 866 4453.
Price: $
Nothing fancy, this private restaurant serves reliable Cuban food in a leafy, often crowded, setting. The lomo ahumado (smoked pork loin) is particularly tasty and their coconut ice cream (served in a coconut shell) and lemonade (made with copious amounts of crushed ice) are the city's best. For a very Cuban experience, they'll roast a pig for six or more people with 24 hours notice.
Calle 190, 1501, between Calles 15 & 17, Playa
Tel: (7) 271 4791.
Price: $-$$
Huge affordable portions of everything from lobster tails to chow Mein has earned this restaurant a spot in Havana's heart (though be prepared to wait for a table). The seafood selections are particularly good and the nice prices mean it's ideal for travellers on a budget.
Calle Salud 13, between Gervasio y Escobar, Centro Habana
Tel: (7) 863 5450.
Price: $
Waiting-staff-in-training cut their teeth at this sprawling restaurant offering traditional Cuban food, so you can be sure of attentive service. Choose between a leafy outdoor setting or head indoors into a converted mansion full of intimate dining rooms. This place is popular with Cuban families out dining and celebrating.
5ta Avenida & Calle 13, Siboney
Tel: (7) 273 9100.
Price: $
Personal Recommendations
This private restaurant boasts a fantastic homey atmosphere, with top-notch food and the service to match. Take one of the back tables (especially spectacular when the retractable roof is open) and enjoy the gurgling waterfall with a savoury garlic-smothered red snapper or perfectly grilled steak.
Calle 30, 865, between Avenida 26 & 41, Nuevo Vedado
Tel: (7) 881 7000.
Price: $$-$$$
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