Places to eat in Havana

I had a very basic pasta and tomato sauce from the cafe upstairs just for a quick fill. It was fairly bland but very inexpensive given the location, 1 cuc.

On the way out I bought some bread from the balery downstair. The guy tried to short change me.

well its not a family tradition of 50 yrs in the restaurant, they are a lot older, but ,it is 50 years that my family goes there!!! wanted to share with the world the traditional Cuban places not tourists. We need them but for real Cuban food, come here on your way by LInea just a sandwich, light meals place, good coffee, nice cold beer,a nd nice views of the world going by.

Favorite Dish: coffee, sweets, sandwiches, hot chocolate, the juices, the ice cream, and the views on Linea street
lovely and nostalgic, you too will be back

Great ambiane with terrace on an old plaza,, plaza vieja. great views of restores beautiful buildings
live Cuban music ,lively ,good;enjoy it

Favorite Dish: skewed grill combination of shrimps,lobster,pork,and chicken. beer dark or oscura great!

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First up, Cuban food isnt that great in restaurants generally , mainly in state owned restaurants but if you go to a paladar , a private owned place, food can be great.
we ate in these:

-El Santo Angel - on Plaza Vieja - the service ist great, the food isnt well presented but actually tasted very good. its a good location right on the square. a meal for 2 was 28 cuc (£18) incl 4 cocktails.

-Cafe Fiat on Malecon - poor food, salad was awful. 4.30 CUC for 2 salads and 2 beers (£3)

-Dominica, italian resturant - we went for lunch and it was so huge, it filled us up and didnt need to eat at night!! we had a mixed platter to start to share, a pizza and pasta each and 2 cuba libres and a beer and a coffee, all for 34 CUC (£23).

-Los Nardos - wow! read about the huge portions in the guide book and it was more than true. its opposite the capitilio and gets busy at weekends. just be very careful, theres another restaurant up the stairs above it and the guys at the door in the street work for this restaurant and will tell you to go up the stairs to their restaurant. At Los NArdos, it has a great ambience, dark with candles. The food is sublime but the portions huge. They will put any leftovers in a box so you can take home (which we did and make up some bread sandwiches the next day). If anything its all abit extravegent as no one would be able to finish the portions and given people there struggle to survive, i felt a littl guilty. We had a huge platter to start, and pork and chicken each, plus a bottle of white wine. the total was 36 CUC which is £25 which is incredible value. Highly recommended.

I have come to appreciate that wherever there are lots of tourists, there are lousy restaurants like Santo Angel. Santo Angel uses its very appealing location in Plaza Vieja and great patio spreading out into the plaza to attract you to eat there. The outdoor layout really is nice, especially when it gets dark and the candles are lit, but that's where the good things about this restaurant stop. The service was very slow, food expensive, and we were charged an extra 3.00 CUC for asking a guy who was dressed like a waiter where the entrance was.

They know that as a "tourist restaurant" they don't need to work as hard to earn a return visit. I think biggest the problem with the food was that the menu is too ambitious. Many of the entrees are French-style, with fancy sauces and pastes on grilled meats. I had fish in green sauce, which turned out to be a chalky and weak mint sauce on a small chunk of overcooked fish. My partner's pork roast and orange sauce was also overcooked. Portions are small.

Overall Santo Angel was one of the priciest restaurants we visited, but was the least delicious. Best to keep walking and pick another patio place in Plaza Vieja.

With a handful of outdoor tables right on the Plaza Vieja, as well as others on the broad covered veranda facing the plaza, this is arguably one of the most atmospheric restaurants in Old Havana. You'll definitely want to choose one of the aforementioned tables over those in the indoor dining rooms.

The restaurant offers the best dishes of Cuban and international cuisine. In its spacious terrace or in its beautiful inner patio, you will be able to enjoy classic cocktails, wines and bar snacks

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The restaurant El Patio is located in Cathedral Square. It is situated in a beautiful old mansion, and also has an outdoor patio, in the square. This is a top-notch restaurant, the food is excellent as is the service. I selected "seafood" as a theme for this restaurant, because they serve some really wonderful seafood dishes. But they also serve some great Cuban food as well. For great seafood try their house specialty, the Cathedral Mixed Grill.

Favorite Dish: The Cathedral Mixed Grill, it's wonderful!

Situated near the Plaza de Armas with an attractive open courtyard this restaurants serves middle eastern dishes in a rather tranquil setting. Try this if you are bored of the usual Cuban food. This is my favourite restaurant in Old Havana.

Favorite Dish: Vegetarian meze plate with hummus, falafel and salad.