State restaurants Havana Travel Guides | Havana | Eating And Drinking | State restaurants Havana

$$$ El Floridita, Obispo esquina Monserrate, next to the Parque Central, T 8631060. 1130-2400. A favourite haunt of Hemingway, the Floridita is a very elegant bar and restaurant reflected in the prices (US$6 for a daiquiri). It's well worth a visit to see the sumptuous decor and 'Bogart atmosphere', but the food is poor and overpriced.

$$$ El Patio, San Ignacio 54 esquina Empedrado, Plaza Catedral, T 8618504. 24 hours. While the location alongside the beautiful cathedral is sublime, the cooking remains firmly in the realm of earthy Cuban comida, including a selection of stodgy national dishes further weighed down by hefty price tags. The service is slapdash, but amiable, but it's not a setting you would want to be torpedoed out from at any rate.

$$$ La Bodeguita del Medio, Empedrado 207 entre Cuba y San Ignacio, near the cathedral, T 8671374 1000-1200. Tourists flock to this, the most famous Hemingway haunt of them all. A ritual shared by visiting celebs major and minor, Naomi Campbell and Matt Dillon have left their designer scrawls on the walls. It should be visited for a mojito at least, but the food is poor – avoid the greasy roast pork speciality left waiting for the next tour group influx, and expensive at US$35-40 for two.

$$ A Prado y Neptuno, address of the same name, opposite Hotel Parque Central. 1200-2300. Very TGI Fridays with video screens, fluorescent lighting, a yankee-themed bar area, and Warholesque artwork with a revolutionary spin. Very popular with nostalgic ex-pats, escorts, locals and tourists. Substantial, reasonably-priced pasta dishes, averaging US$6, include a very tasty seafood spaghetti with lashings of mussels, prawns and squid, a rather gooey four cheese pasta, an interesting take on a mushroom risotto, chicken breast with mushrooms, and red snapper. Flecks of parmesan will cost you US$2. Good people-watching potential with window seating overlooking Parque Central.

$$ Don Giovanni, Tacón entre Empedrado y O'Reilly, T 8671036. 1200-2300. Serene venue, shame about the Italian food. On the plus side this is a lovely, colonial building with ice-blue shutters opening out onto the bay, marble floors, chandeliers, pillars and palms, and a strangely protruding tree. It makes for a nice date setting with tables for two on the balconies, overlooking the fort, and the menu caters well for vegetarians; the D' Giovanni signature tomato and mushroom penne is the best bet. The food is generally disappointing with overpriced bland pasta dishes starting at US$5.50, often served up cold with unsatisfying small portions. Outside, from 2300 every night, except Wednesday, there is live salsa music.

$$ Dominica, O' Reilly esquina Mercaderes, T 8662917. 1200-2400. Stick to pizza and pasta and Dominica is great value for money; wander off into the realms of three-course à la carte and it could soon cost you an arm, a leg and a whole torso. This is definitely the top spot in Havana for authentic, Italian oven-baked pizzas in a smart, minimalist setting, in a prime location. Choose from a range of well-topped pizzas, US$4.50-12, the large ones are big enough for two to share; or well-prepared pasta dishes, from US$6, including a spicy, substantial Arrabiata liberally endowed with anchovies, olives, chillies and fresh parmesan. The pleasant outside seating area with serenading musicians makes for a highly civilized lunch or dinner.

$$ La Mina, Obispo esquina Oficios, Plaza de Armas, T 8620216. 1200-2400. Not surprisingly La Mina is a tourist magnet and a must on every tour group's agenda. The expensive menu is comprised of traditional, hearty Cuban staples, pretty well represented by the laminate menus. With outside seating on Plaza de Armas, and a beautiful, interior courtyard, what you are paying for is the location, people-watching potential, and buoyant atmosphere courtesy of the round-the-clock quartet. La Mina's ice cream parlour around the corner on Calle Oficios is a cooling stop-off point for a US$0.50 cone.

$$ La Paella, Hostal Valencia, Oficios 53, T 8671037. 1200-2300. The much-lauded paella is worthy of its acclaimed status as the best in Havana, but it has to be said the competition is pretty non-existent. The traditional taberna-style design with snug, wooden panelling and tastefully themed Spanish props creates a warm, inviting ambience. The service is charming and conscientious. Unfortunately the paella for two rules out those dining solo.

$$ La Zaragozana, Monserrate entre Obispo y Obrapía, T 8671033. 1200-2400. The oldest restaurant in Havana, La Zaragozana does a great job of pulling off the Spanish theme, with wooden panelling, interior brick bar, and a smattering of Zaragoza football flags and knick-knacks. The atmosphere can be rather chilly when the a/c is pumping and the resident band isn't. The international menu, including enchiladas and garlic prawns, is nothing to write home about, and the potentially tasty house speciality, paella, is blemished by the anaemic-looking carrots and peas, and a lack of Mediterranean touches. Good wine selection and unobtrusive friendly service.

Travel Guides | Havana | Eating And Drinking | State restaurants Havana
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