Dining In Havana
Getting a good meal in Cuba is more complicated than dining out in the typical tourist city. It’s a constantly changing scene, one that often defies logic and one that simply doesn’t follow the rules. Dining in a country where the supply chain is eminently unreliable means you need to be flexible and able to roll with the changes. If you expect New York choices and service you will simply become frustrated. But if you embrace the process and marvel at the ingenuity of the restaurant owners who provide wonderful meals under the most troubling conditions, you will be amazed. Having expert advice is absolutely essential.
The Havana dining scene has fluctuated wildly over the past few decades. There was a time not too long ago when every restaurant in the city was owned by the state and a dinner out typically meant an entrée of grilled chicken, lobster or shrimp. The paladar system of private restaurants that emerged in the 1990s led to a new age of exciting dining that peaked in the 2010s. During the heady, free-spirited days of the Obama istration, Americans poured into the island and restaurants were ready to serve them. Tightened U.S.-Cuba relations under President Trump and President Biden, and the crushing effects of the pandemic, have changed Cuba’s restaurant scene once again.
Cigar Aficionado’s editorial team spent a week in Cuba this winter, checking out new restaurants and finding several that truly impressed. We also looked in upon some old favorites and discovered that some are just no longer there. The following spots showcase some of the finer restaurants in Havana today, indicative of the new dining scene in Cuba’s capital city.
New Finds
Casa Italia
Calle 6 Esq. 5ta Avenida, Miramar
Along Havana’s famed Fifth Avenue on a leafy stretch called Miramar, you’ll find a mansion row of sorts. These were the homes of Cuba’s pre-Castro wealthy class. Many of them have been converted to embassies. Some are abandoned and crumbling. But one has been beautifully restored to its former glory, and now, it’s one of Havana’s few boutique hotels, as well as a restaurant.
Thanks to a $2.5 million investment from E.C.V. Caribe S.A., Casa Italia (formerly Hotel Villa Eulalia) brings the beauty of a bygone era back to Havana. As the name suggests, the restaurant skews Italian. From the polished terrazzo floors and mosaic inlays of the front entrance to the marbled halls and ornate ceilings, all the architectural flourishes are original, but most of the dining happens outside on the cigar-friendly patio, an expansive space of flowers and greenery with ample seating.
Casa Italia does an outstanding job of making sure the food stands up to the ambience. Pasta dishes such as bucatini all’amatriciana, tagliatelle Bolognese and cappellacci with pears in a pecorino cream sauce are prepared by a chef from Italy who not only shows complete understanding of Italian standards, but knows how to replicate them more than 5,000 miles away from their home country.
There’s a wood-burning brick oven from Naples if you prefer a quick pizza and a smoke, and the wine list is growing. It was small when we visited, but has since expanded to include Italian trophies like Solaia, Sassicaia and Tignanello. A full selection of grilled meats is available, but we suggest sticking to the Italian mainstays, even if some of them have a bit of a Cuban accent. It’s what Casa Italia does best. —GM
Costa Vino
Calzada No. 1209 e/ 18 y 20, Vedado
It’s easy to ignore the smallish restaurant just off the Malecón, about a mile west of the Meliá Cohiba hotel. You should not. Costa Vino, which opened in 2019, is worth the wait for a table.
First, make a reservation, and ask to be seated on one of the terrace tables. It’s not so much for the view, but for your cigar. If you sit outside (the space is covered) you will be all set for that most memorable of Cuban dining experiences, in which you puff, eat and repeat. If you need to wait for a table, wait at the small but well-appointed bar. There you can smoke (yes, your cigar smoke is going into the glasses suspended from above, but nobody seems to care) while sipping a Cuban rum or perhaps some Scotch or a proper cocktail.
When you’re seated, prepare to dine well. The menu here is eclectic, with interesting items that you just won’t find elsewhere. Baby eels in garlic and olive oil were artfully prepared, black bean hummus was tasty and pork osso buco (really pork shanks, but who’s complaining?) was tremendous, rich and just the right complement to a fine Dalmau Rioja that jumped out on the Spanish-heavy wine list.
If you must, you can eat inside—the space is small, but cozy—but we prefer the outside. A long evening, rich food, a fine cigar, a gentle breeze and all is right with the world. —DS
Sensacioones!
Calle 70 #902 e/9na y 11, Playa
Neon signs on restaurants in the United States seldom indicate a place for fine dining, but here in Havana the neon sign that shouts Sensacioones! points out a spot you don’t want to miss.
The food here is excellent, despite a menu with more than 50 items—almost as many as a Greek diner. The owner has serious steaks on the menu (something that’s fairly rare in this country), including a massive tomahawk and a sumptuous ribeye. Prices vary widely on the entrées, from 2,900 CUP (about $12) for a grilled chicken to 20,000 CUP ($80) for that rib steak.
We were particularly impressed with an inventive take on nigiri-style sushi—a roll made of croquettes, the “fish” being a perfectly, delicately fried egg, resulting in a succulent bite with a rich yolk. Don’t skip that dish. The jamon Iberico is also hard to ignore, sliced tableside (perhaps a bit on the thick side, but that’s a quibble). Several other dishes are prepared tableside, including some pastas. A carbonara that some critics would scoff at for being nontraditional was tremendously rich, with one bite making you want yet another.
You can dine inside, but we recommend one of the outdoor, cigar-friendly areas, such as the small one in front, or much better, the larger upstairs area. —DS
Antojos
Callejón Espada e/Cuarteles y Chacon
If you find yourself strolling Old Havana with a sudden craving for Cuban food, make your way to a cobblestone side street called Callejón Epsada, or “sword alley,” and keep walking until you see the sign for Antojos. Opened in 2019, it’s a casual restaurant that lets you smoke either outside under the umbrellas or upstairs in its open-air loft. Here, mounds of shredded pork are served on small disks of fried plantain (tostones campesinos), and the croquettes—either chicken or fish—are some of the creamiest you’re likely to come across in Havana, Old or otherwise. And while ropa vieja tends to get all the attention, Cuba can crank out some pretty mean ribs as well. Now that Doctor Café, known for its racks of pork ribs, has closed, consider ordering your costillas de cerdo barbacoa here instead. —GM
ChaChaChá
Monserrate No. 159 Tejadillo y Chacon
This colorful, exciting and energetic restaurant is in the heart of Havana, only a six-minute walk from the new Partagás cigar shop and El Floridita, the famed bar that served icy Daiquiris to Ernest Hemingway. At ChaChaChá, bright murals decorate the walls and vinyl records serve as placemats. It’s not large, but the footprint seems bigger due to the mezzanine, the bottom of which is used to artfully store bottles of wine. It opened in 2016, but closed for a time during the pandemic. Now, it’s back and busy.
The food here is memorable. Carpaccio of beef is flavorful, fresh and expertly prepared; roast pork is simple and filling; shrimps are grilled just so, not overdone, not underdone, with a simple, balanced sauce. Croquettes (or croquetas) are a ubiquitous Cuban dish, as common as the fried calamari you would find in just about any Italian restaurant. There are all manner of croquetas in Cuba, from the heavy and forgettable to the light, airy and delightful. Classify these as the latter—delicious and addictive. The sides are copious and well done.
ChaChaChá is billed as both bar and restaurant, but is more a place to sit and eat than to stand and drink. The bar is filled with an international selection of spirits, something that’s becoming increasingly prevalent in Cuba, and service is friendly and speedy, among the better we’ve encountered in this country. It’s also open late. The one knock? There is no place to smoke. —DS
Tablazo
Calle 1ra No. 111 between C and D, Vedado
Located on the very edge of Havana in the Vedado section, which translates to “forbidden,” Tablazo is anything but. Service is friendly, if a bit slow, but the food is inexpensive and quite tasty. Plus, cigars are welcome under their outdoor shaded patio. There’s a something-for-everybody element to the menu that includes everything from pizzas and pastas to sandwiches and French fries, but we suggest sticking to the Cuban classics. If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, try the lamb ropa vieja, an unexpectedly delicious twist on a familiar dish. —GM
Old Favorites
Vistamar
Avenida 1era No. 2206, Entre 22 y 24
Vistamar opened 28 years ago and it continues to delight, proving you don’t need to chase something new to get a great meal. It fulfils the promise of its name (Spanish for “sea view”). Over the years, we have occasionally dined at the inside tables, but the go-to spot is the fairly spacious outdoor area, with tables facing the water, each with an umbrella to provide shade from the sun. One can just sit and enjoy the unbroken blue of the Atlantic, but beware straying too close to the water’s edge. Occasionally a wave will make a dramatic crash, spraying diners.
You could order meat here, but we really don’t see why you would. This is a place to dine on seafood. Red snapper is grilled perfectly, seafood soup is a delight. The menu also includes lobster and octopus. The cocktails are well made here and the desserts large enough to encourage sharing. Fire up a cigar at one of the outside tables and you will be welcomed with a large ashtray. A fine place to while away several hours if you wish. —DS
La Guarida
418 Concordia
La Guarida opened in 1996 and remains a must-stop for those seeking fine dining in Havana. It’s a somewhat magical place, and the experience begins with your entrance, pulling up to the nondescript entrance in a narrow alley on the outskirts of Old Havana. You walk into the ruins of an old mansion, one that was desecrated in the takeover by Castro’s forces. A message of revolution is carved on the marble walls that you walk by on the way up the staircase. One landing after another and you see nothing but empty spaces. It’s not until you get to the top that you reach the light, and are welcomed to Cuba’s finest restaurant.
La Guarida is just special, and things are taken to a different level here. Even the restroom (with a communal wash area for men and women alike) seems more evocative of something you would find in Miami than in Cuba.
The inside dining rooms (there are several) are eclectic and intriguing, but our preferred place to eat is on the spacious outside terrace, high above the city. Sit down and ask for an ashtray (un cenicero) and you will likely be brought a large, metal contraption that, like so many other things here, has artistic style. Try the ropa vieja, or go a bit off tradition and try an Indian curry. Sadly, shortages are a thing here in Cuba, so on one recent evening the signature dish of papaya de lasagna was not available, but we still had an amazing meal of grilled fish, stewed beef and other delights. The wine list is among the better ones in the city. Smoking your cigar, looking at the moon and sipping your post-dinner Habana Club 7 Years, you will feel like the king of the world, wondering why anyone would dine anywhere else. —DS
Closed
Some Cigar Aficionado favorites are no longer operational. Among them are Doctor Café, La Moraleja and Bella Ciao.
