Where We Ate: Havana and Viñales

We ate wonderfully in Cuba! Some of our meals were included with the trip, so I am not always able to give an idea of prices. That said, everything we did pay for was very affordable by US standards.

===Old Havana===

Café Bohemia
We had lunch here twice during our trip. Both times, lunch for two came to about $25 including tip.

Cafe Bohemia's delicious and unique lemonade with honey, mint, and ginger is what inspired our return visit.

We shared a pizza both times we visited. The first time, we had the Sugar Baron, which has bacon and caramelized onions.

On our second visit, we had the Quattro Formaggi, which was strictly cheese and no tomato sauce.

Both pizzas were good, but we personally preferred the Sugar Baron.

We ate at Cafe Bohemia’s tables on the sidewalk facing Plaza Vieja,

but the inside of the building has a pretty courtyard.

Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cafebohemiahavana/

Museo del Chocolate

People in our group discovered this place on our first Old Havana lunch break, so we wanted to check it out. There are two entrances. One takes you to a room with a counter to buy pieces of chocolate. There is no seating. The second entrance takes you to a room with tables and waitstaff. It was really hot that day, so we chose the place with seating, thinking we could order the same chocolates from the counter. Not so! Instead they had a menu of chocolate drinks and desserts. We decided to stay there and order the cold chocolate. It was like a chocolate milk made with fancy chocolate. It ended up being a great choice for that hot day!

(E)star café(e)
This place is a couple of blocks away from the Malecon and the Museo de la Revolución. It was probably my favorite logo of the entire trip!

While they are channeling Starbucks, they do a lot more than their US counterparts. They serve alcohol and have a much more extensive menu of food with items like pizzas and pastas. We were on a short break between activities, so we only had time for drinks to go, but everyone in their group enjoyed their orders. I had a frozen lemonade and DD1 had a strawberry Frappuccino.

You can follow them on Facebook under "Star Café - Habana Cuba"!

===Vedado ===

El Jardín
This paladar (privately owned restaurant) hosted us for a spectacular welcome dinner. We started off with a tropical fruit mocktail.

I had croquetas (ham croquettes) for my appetizer.

On this meal and throughout the the trip, DD1 and I used the strategy of ordering different things so we could try a larger variety of dishes. My entree was langosta à la criolla (creole lobster).

DD1 had ropa vieja (shredded beef).

There were sides of rice and black beans served family-style as well.

For dessert, DD1 had a vegan chocolate brownie. It was very sweet and a bit less fudgy in texture than a lot of the brownies in the US, great for anyone with a sweet tooth.

I had dulce de coco rallado. This dessert has shredded coconut in a sweet sauce with a mild white cheese on the side. I’m finicky about coconut, but this was really good. The coconut wasn’t dry or overly sweet.

The atmosphere was very pretty here as well.

You can follow El Jardín on Facebook. They have a photo of our whole group there!

Restaurante Sofía

Several of us from the group visited this place. DD1 and I took the opportunity to eat Cuban sandwiches in Cuba!

I also noticed the name of the lemon-lime soda was the same as what it was when my mom lived here.

Follow them on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/sofia_bar_restaurant

El Idilio

This was where we had our cooking lesson. In addition to our mock tails and appetizers,

we were served hearty portions of a main course (I chose ropa vieja), rice and beans, and veggies.

Dessert was chocolate cake with ice cream.

During our time there, they were playing Beny Moré’s greatest hits, which added a fun retro vibe to the restaurant. They're also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/el_idilio_restaurante/

La Barraca
This is a restaurant inside the Hotel Nacional that hosted our farewell dinner.

Appetizers included stuffed tostones and croquetas.

My main was ropa vieja, rice and beans, and squash. Yes, I was taking pretty much every opportunity to eat ropa vieja while I was there!

Dessert was arroz con lèche.

In all, the food was good, but we had eaten just as well or better in other places. What you are really getting here is the atmosphere, which is worthwhile in and of itself.

Complejo Zapata y 12
We stopped here for some AC and hydration when we visited Colón cemetery, as it is just across the street from the main entrance. I believe it was a government establishment, as it seemed to be associated with a bakery around the corner, and there was no sign about their dollar exchange rate. (I looked online and learned that it is actually a public-private partnership.)

The menu included hamburgers, chocolates (bombones), and ice cream.

We ordered cold bottled juices. DD1 and I had tamarind, and our friend from the group tried a mixed-fruit flavor. Everyone enjoyed them, and they cooled us down at a great value (120 pesos each, approximately 60 cents US).

We also saw the ice cream. DD1 and I had recently learned that a 5-scoop sundae is called “una ensalada de helado” in Cuba, and we thought it was hilarious yet fitting: ice cream salad! We were all set to order one with 5 tropical fruit flavors that are hard to get at home when the waiter informed us that all they had that day was mango: another sign it’s a government-affiliated shop. Our all-mango ensalada came with a strawberry sauce and was still great on a hot day.

DelaCrem
This gelatería became an unofficial hangout for many in the group: it’s across the street from Complejo 12 y Zapata and a few doors farther down (away from the cemetery gates). This place is privately owned, as it had posted an exchange rate for dollars. They had better quality and much more than one flavor here, too! Their prices are more expensive than the complejo, but still great by US standards. If you’re looking for stronger AC and ridiculously good value, go to the complejo, otherwise head to DelaCrem.

Follow them on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/delacrem_habana/?hl=en

===Viñales ===

Our dinner in Viñales was at the home of one of the host families. I haven’t found any information online about whether she operates as a full-fledged paladar. However, the reviews of her casa suggest that you can purchase dinner service. If you’re at Casa Marisol, I recommend her dinners!

Unfortunately, I did not get the name of the place where we had our second lunch in Viñales. If I ever get it, I will add it here.

That leaves just one place:

Finca Paraíso

In the US, “farm-to-table” has become such a buzzword that we don’t always know what people mean when they say it. Well, Finca Paraíso is one place that can legitimately claim “farm-to table”: you see the gardens all around the restaurant.

Like the place whose name I didn’t get and the dinner at Casa Marisol, lunch here was served family-style. They served us soup, a variety of proteins (ropa vieja, pork, chicken), vegetables, and ice cream for dessert. I didn’t remember to get pictures of food, in part because I was getting pictures of the scenery with the mogotes.

I definitely recommend it!

Follow them on Facebook or Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fincaecologica.elparaiso?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0qbquBDovu7w5XN8DQpgfqzOta_aQ12j-4tvlt2HPcf7AU12iVJZysH9c_aem__OfjKiNHhNSIx_5JadiBBA.