$$$ La Torre, 17 y M, at the top of Edif Focsa, T 325650. 1200-2400. The apocalyptic state of the 1950s FOCSA building with a less than shipshape elevator – an accident in 2000 killed one person – could deter you from venturing up to La Torre. But steel-coat the nerves and you are in for a treat. This is the best classical French food in Havana, with great views over the city, especially at night. US$40 per person but worth every cent. $$$-$ Casa de la Amistad, Paseo entre 17 y 19, T 8308037. 1100-2300. This welcoming cultural centre with a lush, tiled courtyard is a great place to hang out and wind down for a couple of hours, serenaded by a happy quartet. Reasonably priced bar snacks include fried chicken, sandwiches and pizza. Inside the main building, Restaurant Primavera, open 1200-2400, is an altogether more elegant affair, with fine colonial furniture, antiques, attentive, unobtrusive service – and an elevated price tag to match. In the evening there are regular peñas. $$-$ La Roca, 21 102 esquina M, T 8334501. 1200-2300. A rat-packer retro heaven, this restored 1950s art deco-style building features original stained glass windows dating back to its former days as a guest house. The sleek but stark dining area with high wooden ceilings lacks atmosphere when the punter count is low. There is an international menu for all budgets, including appetisers of chicken fajitas, US$2.95, French onion soup, US$2 and main course offerings to the tune of spaghetti carbonara with shrimps, US$5, shell fish paella, US$15, “English-style roast beef”, sadly minus the Yorkshire pudding, and for dessert, a fairly well-executed rendition of Argentine tres leches. $$ Polinesia, Hotel Habana Libre, L y 23, T 6554011. 1200-2400. With a separate entrance on La Rampa, the smart and moody Polinesia serves up an aspiring mix of Chinese and Indonesian dishes in an atmospheric bamboo-clad setting. Prices are not cheap, main dishes are US$12-20, and resilient Cuban flavours seem to crop up in most dishes. $ Cafetería La Rampa, Hotel Habana Libre, La Rampa. Calle 23. 24hrs. La Rampa is a regular fall back for travellers, Habana Libre guests who got up too late for breakfast and a 24-hour post-party saviour. Far from sublime gastronomy, it is popular for its predictable selection of home-from-home international snacks and mojito-mopping comfort food. Breakfast, sandwiches, pizza, US$3.50 plus toppings US$1-2, and pasta (US$2.20-6), burgers (US$4.50-6.50) and main meals. $ Coppelia, 23 y L, opposite Hotel Habana Libre. In theory, kiosks open 24 hrs, but in reality, Tue-Sun 1100-2230. When it comes to the serious business of ice cream, queuing protocol is strictly adhered to. There are several separate outdoor areas to eat in, each with their own entrance and queue in the surrounding streets. Dedicated attendants control the queues and will direct you into the seating area as tables become free. There are separate areas for pesos and dollars. As a rule, dollar-paying tourists will be directed inside La Torre, which is a rather alien set up with blasting music and less Cuban mingling potential. If you are prepared to queue, which is not unpleasant as the design is integral with the characteristic copey trees; or if you can coincide your visit with a big baseball game, sitting in the communal outdoor peso areas is the far more rewarding Coppelia cultural insight. Bring your own plastic spoons for the tubs as they invariably run out. US$2 for small portion, many different flavours, depending on availability (chocolate is still the top flavour), and styles (all come with a glass of water): ensalada (mixture of flavours), jimaguas (twins) and tres gracias. After devouring your first choice you can stay and order a second portion without queuing. Alternatively, sample the Coppelia ice cream in the tourist hotels and restaurants and some dollar food stores. Bim Bom, 23 y Calzada de Infanta, Vedado, is another ice cream shop, while several street stalls specialize in ice cream (helado), 21 esquina K, near to Coppelia but no queues, 3 pesos per cone. $ La Casona de 17, Calle 17 60 entre M y N, T 334529. 1200-0200. This elegant peach mansion with a colonial terrace, once home to Fidel's grandparents, unfortunately faces out onto the phenomenally ugly 1950s FOCSA building. The substantial house dish is the Paella Casona, at US$7.50, or you can always fall back on a rather greasy half-a-roast chicken served with bacon, rice ‘n beans, chips and salad. The adjoining Argentine parillada serves up mixed grills of all the likely contenders; fish, chicken, pork and prawns. Nice place for a relaxing lunch. $ El Conejito, M esquina 17, T 8324671. 1200-2400. Inexplicably designed like a 17th-century Tudor house, with waitresses looking like they are about to break into a spot of yodelling, El Conejito is quite the culinary conundrum. Rabbit is the speciality – salted, stewed, skewered or sausage-style – smothered in a variety of sauces, served up with fries, and christened with such weird and wacky names as “Rabbit à la female hunter”. At an average US$6 it is good value. For fans of Watership Down, there are pork, chicken and seafood options. There is an adjoining 24-hour bar with karaoke, Thursday-Sunday 2000-0200.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
 |
Havana - £7.99
|
|
||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
||||
|
| ||||
|
||||
 |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||
|
||||||||
