Havana Restaurants

Shortages of raw materials and a bureaucratized approach to food preparation in state-owned restaurants have produced many a mediocre meal, but with the privateer restaurants leading the way, Cuban cuisine is coming back. For the best cooking in Havana, seek out the paladares (privately owned establishments; the name, which literally means "palates," was cribbed from a popular Brazilian soap opera in which the heroine makes her fortune with a roadside restaurant named "El Paladar de Raquel"). Call ahead to reserve a table if you go to a paladar, and never believe a taxi driver who swears to you that the place is closed; he gets a commission for taking you to the place he is flacking for.

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  • 1. Decamerón

    $$ | Vedado

    Ring the bell of this cozy paladar to be let into a series of intimate rooms packed with an eclectic array of antique clocks, vintage musical instruments, paintings, lamps, and vases. For something typically Cuban with a gourmet twist, go for the ropa vieja (shredded beef in Creole sauce) with crunchy sweet potatoes. If you're looking for something a little more international, try the sirloin steak with blue cheese sauce or one of the excellent pasta dishes. Of the house specialties, the flaky tuna and vegetable tartlet starter or the lemon pie for dessert are particularly good.

    Linea 753, e/ Paseo y Calle 2, Havana, La Habana, 10400, Cuba
    7832--2444

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential
  • 2. El Cocinero

    $$ | Vedado

    Housed in an old renovated oil mill, this place is easy to find, with its name branded in giant letters across the towering brick chimney. Located at the edge of Vedado, it might be a bit of a trek to get here, but it's definitely worth it for one of Havana's trendiest eateries. Step inside to the clanging of an old ship's bell (indicating a new customer has arrived) and climb the winding staircase into the mill itself. Stop on middle level for the industrial-chic restaurant, where tasty Cuban and international favorites are served, or head on up to the atmospheric terrace to enjoy gourmet snacks and cocktails. There's everything here, from lobster tail, fish croquettes, and octopus cooked in garlic to ribs, lamb curry, and goat-cheese club sandwich.

    Calle 26, e/Calles 11 y 13, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
    7832–2355

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential, Closed Sun.
  • 3. La Guarida

    $$$$ | Centro Habana

    Still Havana's most famous paladar, La Guardia has reached almost legendary status. Enrique Nuñez and his wife, Odeysis, have transformed their early 20th-century town house into a fine paladar. It's so photogenic that scenes in Fresa y Chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) were filmed here. The three-floor climb up the squalid but picturesque stairway generates an appetite-enhancing adrenaline. The daily special is never what Enrique and Odeysis need to get rid of but rather what they hope will make you happiest. Look for cherna compuesta a lo caimanero (with coconut and spices) or conejoal aceite de oliva con caponata (cooked in olive oil with a sauce of eggplant, peppers, and onion). On Sunday the restaurant is open only for brunch from noon to 4.

    Calle Concordia 418, Havana, La Habana, 10200, Cuba
    7886–9047

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential, No credit cards
  • 4. Paladar Maeda

    $ | Habana del Este

    In a small residential area on top of a hill in Guanabo, this charming paladar is the best in town. What's more is that it actually does feel like you're dining in someone's home, unlike some of Havana's more modern paladares. Here you'll dine on modern Cuban classics and an excellent array of fresh seafood dishes, in a pretty garden, filled with flowers, grape vines, and trickling fountains. Try the grilled fish with salsa verde. There are no vegetarian choices on the menu, but if you ask, they'll make you up a giant parilla de verduras (grilled platter of mixed vegetables), straight from the barbecue. If you like it, you can even opt to stay here, as they also have a couple of rooms for rent upstairs.

    Calle Quebec 115, e/Calles 476 y 478, Havana, La Habana, 10900, Cuba
    7796–2615
  • 5. Aguiar

    $$$$ | Vedado | European

    For decades, the elegant dining room in the Hotel Nacional has been one of the city's premier establishments. Despite the table-side shrimp-and-rum flambé performances, which are always entertaining, the atmosphere is generally subdued—even when the place is full. The wine list is excellent, though pricey.

    Hotel Nacional, Calle O y Calle 21, Havana, 10400, Cuba
    -7836–3564

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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  • 6. Bodegón Onda

    $$ | La Habana Vieja

    In a quiet corner next to the Hotel El Comendador, this restaurant offers an array of tapas, which includes various seafood offerings. On top of that, it also offers grilled fare such as vegetables, chicken, pork, and fish. Tapas servings vary from CUC$1 to CUC$3, a great deal in any destination. Seafood tapas menus can be had for CUC$12 for two persons. Service is rather slow, but friendly.

    Calle Obrapía 55, Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7864–6021

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 7. Cafe de los Artistas

    $ | La Habana Vieja

    Located down the trendy Callejón de Peluquerros, lined with new paladares, bars, and art galleries, this eatery offers some of the tastiest and most innovative cuisine in Havana Vieja. Think Cuban-style fajitas or wild rice with peanuts and curry. Vegetarians will be delighted with the choices, which include a savory eggplant cake, topped with a tomato salsa and melted cheese. The decor here matches the excellent food, with bare brick walls, original tiles, stained glass windows, and old black-and-white photos lining the walls.

    Calle Aguiar 22 e/Ave. de las Misiones y Pena Pobre, Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7866--2418
  • 8. Café del Oriente

    $$ | La Habana Vieja

    One of the most sophisticated-looking eateries in Havana Vieja, this upscale restaurant sits on the atmospheric Plaza de San Francisco. Try for the upstairs corner table, which overlooks the plaza and has a view of the Sierra Maestra boat terminal, the Iglesia y Convento Menor de San Francisco de Asís, and the Lonja del Comercio (Commerce Exchange) across the way. The food is overpriced and only fair, but the suave decor does offer a nice ambience. Tempting dishes here, prepared by head chef Ernesto Rosario, include seafood à la crème or prawns sautéed with rosemary.

    Calle de los Oficios 112, Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7860–6686

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 9. Café Laurent

    $$ | Vedado

    This chic paladar, situated in the penthouse of a Vedado apartment block, could very well be located in Paris or Barcelona with its funky decor and gourmet cuisine. Choose to dine inside the bright dining room, plastered in newsprint, or outside on the breezy terrace, which offers dreamy views of Havana. With a heavy emphasis on seafood with a Creole twist, the menu also offers meat and vegetarian options, all beautifully presented—think red snapper with clams, lobster and shrimp brochettes, tuna carpaccio, or slow-roasted lamb.

    Calle M 257, e/19 y 20, Havana, La Habana, 10400, Cuba
    7831–2090

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential
  • 10. Don Cangrejo

    $$ | Miramar

    Located near the seafront in the open air, this is one of Havana's best seafood restaurants. Shrimp, crab, lobster, grouper, snapper: every type of seafood available in the Antilles seems to find its way through this bustling kitchen. At night, the restaurant turns into one of Miramar's most popular nightclubs, with a host of live bands and DJs.

    Av. 1, e/Calle 16 y Calle 18, Havana, La Habana, 11500, Cuba
    7204–3837

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 11. El Aljibe

    $$ | Miramar

    One of the better state-owned restaurants, El Aljibe offers a pretty open-air setting and live music while you dine. The criollo fare here is reasonably priced and served gracefully, and the place is always filled to the brim with clued-in diners (including such celebrities as Omar Linares, Cuba's finest former baseball player), as well as bus loads of tourists. The roast chicken in bitter-orange sauce, served with black beans and rice is famous, and it's worth coming here just to try it.

    Av. 7, e/Calle 24 y Calle 26, Havana, La Habana, 11500, Cuba
    7204–1584

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 12. El Figaro

    $$ | La Habana Vieja

    Another popular addition to Callejón de Peluquerros (Barbers' Alley), El Figaro's tagline is comida sin pelos (food without hairs). The menu, which was set up by the grandson of Cuba's celebrity chef Gilberto Smith Duquesne, is full of gourmet, stylized Cuban dishes, as well as international favorites such as ceviche or gazpacho. Try the signature dish of lobster cooked in coffee, cream, white wine, and cognac. Come later in the evening to watch old movies projected onto the outside wall (like a drive-in movie theater), while sampling one of their 15 varieties of mojitos.

    Calle Aguiar 18 e/ Av. de las Misiones, Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7861--0544
  • 13. El Mesón de la Flota

    $$ | La Habana Vieja

    Opened on the site of a warehouse that was frequented by Spanish sailors in colonial times, this little hideaway serves such creditable Spanish specialties as tortilla de patata (potato omelet) and gambas al ajillo (shrimp sautéed with garlic). The flamenco performances (nightly at 9) provide a bracing shot of atmosphere, although the Café Taberna just a couple hundred meters on tends to attract the crowds these days.

    Calle Mercaderes 257, e/Calle Amargura y Calle Brasil (Teniente Rey), Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7863–3838

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No credit cards
  • 14. Hanoi

    $ | Centro Habana

    Also known as Casa de la Parra (House of the Grape Arbor), this simple, yet elegant restaurant only specializes in typical criollo and Cuban food, despite the name. Sit inside under old wooden beams or outside on the patio under shady grape vines while dining on the classic menu that includes such dishes as morros y cristianos (rice and beans), boniato cocido (boiled yam), various grilled meats, and fish and vegetable fried rice. Although the price is right, make sure to check your bill before paying as sometimes they overcharge.

    Calle Brasil (Teniente Rey) y Calle Bernaza, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
    7867–1029

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 15. Jardín del Oriente

    $ | La Habana Vieja

    Those on a budget should try this lovely little place located in the gardens of Café del Oriente, which is just around the corner. A favorite with locals on their lunch break, tables are set among the tropical plants and trickling fountains, and it's always packed. Typical Cuban fare is served, as well as an array of filled baguettes. Portions are big and you won't pay more than CUC$5 for any of the main meals.

    Calle Amargura 12, e/Oficios y Mercaderes, Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7860--6686
  • 16. La Divina Pastora

    $$ | Habana del Este

    Although prices are on the high side, the romantic location makes them worth it. Standing at the foot of El Morro, this restaurant offers splendid views over Havana and is a good spot for dinner after the cañonazo at La Cabaña. Your best bet is lobster; kept alive in an on-site tank, it's guaranteed to be fresh.

    Havana, La Habana, Cuba
    7937–807

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 17. La Flor de Loto

    $ | Centro Habana

    While both its decor, neighborhood, and context may be Chinese, this restaurant has very little to do with the Orient. (Frankly, rare is the Asiatic face at any Havana Chinese eatery.) Very popular with locals, there's always a queue halfway out the door. The restaurant's menu includes a wide variety of food that is popular with Cubans. The grilled chicken criollo-style is grand and not dry at all, while the shrimp in a cream sauce is delicious. Prepare yourself for king-size portions. Daily offerings and the chef's selections are stapled to the menu daily.

    Havana, La Habana, 10200, Cuba
    7860--8501

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 18. La Fontana

    $$ | Miramar

    Set in a scenic garden, around small ponds and fountains, this is one of Miramar's best paladares, which also functions as a bar and lounge with good cocktails and some great live bands. Specializing in a variety of grilled meats, which are cooked on an outdoor charcoal grill, this place will definitely satisfy the carnivores among you. Other excellent dishes include shrimp teriyaki and fish fillet with clams in a green herb sauce. Vegetarians meanwhile will be happy with the starters of eggplant or fried chickpeas and mains of grilled vegetable platters, risottos, and pastas. Sometimes there is an extra cover charge for the music.

    Av. 3, No. 305, esq. de Calle 46, Havana, La Habana, 11500, Cuba
    7202–8337

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No credit cards
  • 19. La Paella

    $$ | La Habana Vieja

    In the Hostal Valencia, this restaurant specializes in paella, just as its name suggests, and has won high praise for its Valencian dishes. House suggestions include grilled Caribbean seafood, Yoruba lobster with béchamel sauce, and buttered shrimp. In keeping with the cuisine, the large, airy dining room has a terra-cotta floor, a rustic feel, and is dressed in traditional Spanish furnishings. A signed image of a notable bullfighter, another of the running of the bulls, and even a memento to former president Fidel Castro Ruz dating from 1989 adorn the walls here.

    Calle de los Oficios 53, esq. de Calle Obrapía, Havana, La Habana, 10100, Cuba
    7867–1037

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
  • 20. Le Chansonnier

    $$ | Vedado

    Once a private French restaurant, Le Chansonnier has now emerged into one of Havana's hottest paladares under the direction of Hector Higueras. In its modern chic interior, dine on fusion specialities such as seafood gazpacho, aubergine au gratin, roast chicken with mushroom cream, and their signature duck terrine. Make a visit the bathrooms to see the amazing artwork created by Damián Alquiles.

    Calle J, No. 257, e/Calles 15 y Línea, Havana, La Habana, 10400, Cuba
    7832--1576

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Reservations essential

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