Sounds a stupid question to be asking you folks but you
might just be able to help me to convince my partner that
Cuba would be a good place to head for next.
What's the food situation like. Do they have lots of
restaurants. Is it a reasonably cosmopolitan place to eat
out or is it as Communist as he is making it out to be?
Also, because this is a rest break, where are the best
beaches?
[There are 22 posts - the latest was added on Fri 23 April, 23:23]
Use the form at the end of this page to add your own post.
Topics
| Thorn Tree
| Home
terrible, terrible, terrible
but who cares? Go anyway.. Havana is perhaps the most
fascinating place on earth
Don't listen to (.).
Cuba is a beautiful country. There is so much history and
so much to see. The people are amazing. Varadero
definitely has the nicest beach, in fact, I've heard it's
the nicest in the world. I don't know where you're from,
but the price is definitely right!
While there may not be many restaurants in Cuba, the few
that I went to (that unfortunately catered primarily to
tourists) were good and not expensive. I dined most
frequently at Bodegita del Media, La Floridita and
Zarragoza (or something like that, its next to Floridita),
all admittedly tourist haunts, but the food was good
(actually I only had drinks at Floridita, I think it is
much more expensive than the other two). Anyway, there are
plently of places to eat and food issues should not prevent
your traveling to Cuba.
I was curious to see what other people would write. I think
I agree, partly, with everyone. The food tends to be
horrible! However, it's not for a lack of trying, but
rather a lack of resources. Most people just don't access
to tons of spices and they are not extremely well-versed on
running service-oriented businesses. However, Cuba is an
extremely interesting place to go - although maybe when you
are prepared for more of an adventure. The places that
Michael mentioned are very good. Bear in mind, however,
that 99% of the good places cater exclusively to tourists.
If you venture outside of those places, don't expect
anything close to what we view as "western standards." But
Kia is also right - Varadero is quite beautiful. It's an
all-inclusive environment, where they take pretty good care
of you. Great beach!
-
So to answer your questions:
1) The food situation is probably one of the worst in the
western hemisphere;
2) No, there aren't "lots" of restaurants - but you won't
die of starvation - although you might want to be prepared
for a brief bout with diarrhea; and
3) No, it's not cosmopolitan at all. In fact, it's like
going 30 years back in time.
-
If food is a concern, I hear both Italy and France are
wonderful!
Beaches:
Varadero beaches are truely beautiful. I have friends
who've been to Belize, St Lucia, Barbados & Mauritius and
all say that the beach at Varadero is better all round.
It's clean, safe & you can actually swim in the sea rather
than just wade through the rocky bits.
Food:
If you're planning to stay in a hotel then you will be able
to expect International cuisine of a reasonable standard.
If you're going to stay somewhere like Superclubs - Club
Varadero then the food will be exceptional!
(I've eaten both inside & outside the hotels and have never
had any stomach problems)
paladars,paladars,paladars...i found the food in the
private places so much superior to the restaurants and at a
fraction of the cost..was there in december,so things could
have changed by now..also,in chinatown,havana vieja,if you
tire of the beans and rice cuisine...ciao,e
Have been to Varadero and Guardalavaca. The beach at
Varadero is much longer but depending on where in Varadero
you stay you could be exposed to the smell from the oil
refinery. Playa Esmeralda is a much shorter beach, 700m vs
20kms, but I preferred it to Varadero. I also much
preferred the rural setting of Guardalavaca to the hotel
strip setting of Varadero, vaguely reminiscent of a Miami
Beach type tourist resort area.
Since I had no interest in wasting money at the tourist
places or paying tribute to the government-
sponsored "apartheid" that seems to exist between nationals
and foreigners, I was pretty much sol as far as finding
good, nourishing food went. But there sure were a lot of
dinky looking "pizzas", hot dogs, and little icecream cones
available on the streets. At the Cuban restaurants I found
some old rice and beans and an occasional insipid soup and
stale bread. At the Chinese restaurants I got stir-fried
veggies that tasted mostly like salt with a little old
grease thrown in for good measure. My food budget went
mostly to bottled H2O, and the huevos rancheros served on
the airplane back to Mexico was a real treat after all that.
Cuban food was much better and more abundant before the
glorious revolution.
Amen to EVERYTHING Mary said about the food! (smile)
Incidentally, if you venture outside of the tourist area and
feel a little constipated, have a Cuban pizza - you'll be
good as new! I'm sorry, but as I read Mary's post I could
remember the taste of the salt (with a little bit of rice
and grease) they served at this one Chinese restaurant. If
you want good Cuban cuisine, get it in the airport in Miami
before leaving! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Mary;
I was never in Cuba before the revolution.
Please tell us about the food in Cuba before the revolution.
I am especially interested in the places you visited before
the revolution and the different cuisines offered from the
different regions.
Stuball
I have no idea what you usually eat, Mary & Diago, but I
found the food just fine in Cuba. We often ate breakfast
and dinner in whatever casa we were staying in, and only
once had a bad meal, but when we went to restaurants or
paladars it was fine as well, sometimes really excellent,
especially the lobster, fish & chicken dishes. The street
pizzas are actually superb, hot and tasty, not greasy,
wonderful for lunch. Coffee is about the best in the world
and extremely cheap. I went to lots of beaches, not
Varadero or any other really touristy places, and found
them marvellous, especially around Baracoa where many
beaches also have a river mouth, with lovely fresh cool
still water.
Here's an old post found in DejaNews that may help:
Paladares are restaurants in private Cuban homes. In terms
of quality, price and service, they offer a much better
alternative to the state run restaurants. There are
recommendations in the guidebooks, and the touts on the
streets will gladly lead you to them. The following is a
review of several Havana paladares sampled in June, '98.
Price in US$ includes entree, rice and bean, and side dish.
Drinks extra.
Paladar Marpoly, Calle K #154, Vedado, Tel. 322471
[recommended by Lonely Planet]
The whole house is filled with exquisite antiques, including
the dining table where you are seated. The extensive menu
includes meat, poultry and seafood, prepared with a variety
of recipes. Very fresh seafood, and large portions. This one
has the best combination of food and ambience. $10 - $15.
Paladar La Fuente, Calle 10 #303, Vedado, Tel. 292836
[recommended by Lonely Planet]
The dining room is downright elegant, with its tasteful
decoration and soft lighting. It would not be out of place
in, say, San Francisco. There is no menu, and the three or
four entrees are prepared with an "international" touch,
such as chicken cordon bleu. The servings are nicely
presented, and the portions are adequate. Shellfish was
unavailable in two visits. At the end of a meal, each female
guest is presented with a fresh cut, long stemmed flower.
$10 - $15. [The only downer was the Michael Bolton
background music.]
El Balcon Del Eden, Calle K #361, e/ 19 y 21, Vedado, Tel.
329113 [recommended by Lonely Planet]
You walk through the rather busy living quarters to reach
the dining room on the second story. It is an open balcony
surrounded by bamboo shades. Not much ambience to speak of.
There is no menu, and usually a couple of seafood entrees
are available. The fresh seafood comes in a spicy sauce, and
large portions. The friendly waiter Alex speaks good
English. $10 - $15. [Please mention this Internet referral.]
Paladar La Palma, 27 de Noviembre #303, e/ M y N, Vedado.
Tel. 783488
The dining room is in a small open courtyard. Nothing fancy.
A full menu of meat, poultry and seafood is available. Basic
local cooking, very large portions. $5 - $10.
Dona Eutemia, in an alley next to the El Patio Restaurant in
Habana Veija [recommended by Fodors and Footprint]
Hard to find, but the touts will lead you to it. You are
squeezed into a tiny, dimly lit, and windowless dining room.
A couple of fans keep you from passing out from the heat.
There is no menu. The cerdo asado is tough, dry and bland.
To add insult to injury, you are charged an extra $3 for the
rice and bean side dish. $15 -$17.
Another nameless paladar in the same neighborhood fares no
better. It may be wise to avoid the paladares near the
tourist attractions.
Bon apetit!
Not worst nor better than many other countries.
Hotels,since 1994 are trying to update their standards to
International Cuisine.
Legal paladeres can be very good and at a price around
$8.US.More than that is a steal...
Main dishes is rice,bean,pork or chicken.
Lack of spices,Cubans do not spice their food very much and
definitively not hot spices.
Getting sick? Never happened to me in 6 trips.The last
2,renting a legal private appartment.
Fresh fruits......what about mangos fallen out their trees
in June.
Vegetables and meat.Agromercados in Habana will sell you
everything in pesos.
Spices,try the small Chinatown in Habana,they have it all +
the cheapest and delicious meals for less than $4.00 US
Tired of it all and looking for a good steak North American
style?
El Toro Restaurant on sight of the Panamerican Stadium,for
$10.95 US will serve you a good 10 ounces rib steak and
there is more.Meat is flown 3 times a week from Canada...
Anny, I honestly am beginning to wonder what Cuba you
went to. Perhaps it's just that you have a greater
tolerance for bad food! And if you were going to
Paladars that served lobster, you were clearly not going
to restaurants that regular Cubans could afford to eat
in. Additionally, if you are paying someone $20+/night,
the food is going to be a little better - they can afford
to feed you. As for the street food (i.e., pizzas), it
was pretty gross. I have no idea how anyone could say
they were actually "good." There was only one paladar in
Vedado, called Farallon, that served what they called
"Italian Food," although they used NO italian seasonings.
Let's be honest, unless you are eating exclusively in
high-priced tourist places or you are accustomed to
eating in small African villages, the food in Cuba,
categorically speaking, is no where near being "good."
Clearly, you paid in good ol' USD$$$$. Try using pesos
next time and see how "great" the food is.
The person who started this post did not seem to me to be
asking where he could get horrible food in peso
restaurants. He asked was the food horrible, and to me it
wasn't. I am a tourist and I expect to spend dollars. I
don;t expect to get food, accommodation and travel for
prices Cubans would pay, because I'm not a Cuban. Their
economy is terrible and they need the tourist dollars.
What's wrong with that? Why do some people think they
can't have a meaningful travel experience unless they are
living like pigs or beating down the locals to rock bottom
prices? I didn't have a big budget in Cuba, but I ate well
(lobster once in 3 weeks is all, Diago). I don't eat huge
meals so I can go for better quality. The pizza was superb
- maybe you were just unlucky.
In fact the one time we went to a paladar to eat lobster it
was because we took our casa host to dinner. He was dying
to eat lobster. I don;t even like it that much. He ate
all his lobster and then finished off mine and my friend's,
he cleaned the plates. He was very very hungry. And
that's another reason why you travellers should be GENEROUS
in Cuba and not stingy like Diago and his type of mean-
spirited traveller. The Cubans are poor, hungry and
oppressed. You have more than they do - you can afford to
spend it.
But back to the original thing. I stick with what I said.
The food is perfectly ok, unless you WANT to eat refried
cockroach for 2 pesos. It's not as interesting as Asian
food of course, but that's true of everywhere in Latin
countries because they have such a huge focus on meat and
so little focus on vegetables.
And as for the pizza, well I don;t know if Diago every
ventured outside Vedado, but in Camaguey, Baracoa and
Trinidad we ate pizza every day for lunch from street
stalls and it was brilliant - hot, fresh, tasty,
filling...marvellous. Try it!
OK, let's look at the original questions: "What's the food
situation like." While you seemed to find some good food,
I think that most would agree that food in Cuba is scarce
and not particularly good. In fact, there are probably a
handfull of "good" restaurants in Cuba. "Do they have lots
of restaurants." This question was answered above - NO. "Is
it a reasonably cosmopolitan place to eat out....." Hell
NO!
-
Furthermore, I resent your insinuation that I'm
mean-spirited or stingy. I have been going to Cuba for
years, while you took one fucking trip and want to act like
an authority. I have been in Cuba as a tourist and I have
lived the same as they do. I have given when I felt it
appropriate. But mostly, my decision to give or not to give
has been based on my respect for the Cuban people. Yes, I
have things - because I have worked hard as hell for them!
And I'm sorry if I don't find anything redeeming in given
handouts to people just because they are lacking in material
wealth. The greatest gift I have to share with anyone is
myself. If that's being stingy and mean-spirited, then so
be it. But I refuse to go to another country with some
missionary inclinations - acting as if I have some moral
obligation to give to these "poor" people because they don't
have certain things. As the Bible says, "Give a man a fish,
he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he eats for a
lifetime." Anny, get off your high horse and stop acting
like you've made some great sacrifice by paying artificially
inflated prices or taking some native out to dinner one
night. I'm not impressed! Give "welfare," old socks, dinky
bars of soap, toothpaste, a pen, or little pieces of candy
to the poor natives if you want, I give them respect.
Jesus Diago. How many Cubans have you taught to fish? Get
a grip. You are not God. You are just another self-
appointed expert who's had some experiences in Cuba which
meant something to you. Other people have different
experiences, just as "real". There isn't just one way.
The number of times you've been somewhere has nothing to do
with anything. It's not a scoreboard. I certainly don;t
think of myself as an authority. But really, "The greatest
gift I have to share with anyone is myself. " How self-
serving is that? and how arrogant?
....anyone has to give is themself. It's too bad you didn't
learn that in Cuba. One of the greatest lessons one can
learn through being in a country like Cuba is that money is
NOT everything. Perhaps if you spent more time around the
people, and less time in the tourist restaurants and
treating Cubans like poor animals in a zoo, you would
have realized that.
-
Whenever I ask people what they want me to bring to Cuba,
they say, "you."
-
And thank you for belaboring the obvious - I am not God,
atlhough each of us are reflections of God. And my comments
were based on my sense of humility, not arrogance. It's my
humility that allows me to appreciate life in Cuba - the
good and the bad. And it's that same humility and respect
which allows me to recognize that the Cuban people are not
helpless people that need handouts. They need respect.
-
I have also never touted myself as an authority on Cuba.
Nor have I ever criticized someone as being mean-spirited or
stingy because they don't like being exploited by
opportunists in Cuba. If you think giving of yourself is
"self-serving," perhaps it is you who should get a grip. Or
perhaps that says something about your sense of self-worth.
Don't share yourself - give someone $1 - right!?!?!
Look Diago... don't keep imagining things about me that
have no basis. I don;t treat Cubans or anyone else like
animals in a zoo. I certainly spend time with people
wherever I go, sharing what there is to share. In Cuba
this is particularly important because people are starved
of information as well as money, food, clothing and
medication. I just don;t think that tourists shouldn;t pay
tourist prices and I don;t think that everyone who charges
more than a peso is a greedy exploiter or opportunist. You
have your experience and I'll have mine - okay? That's it
for me.. you can crap on about your halo as long as you
like, I'm through.
1-It all started by Cuban food and why not remain there.
2-There are many good restaurants all over Cuba where you
can pay in US $ at a very reasonnable price.
3-Paladares are never the same and some are good and others
terrible.
4-Restaurants where you can pay in pesos,well some are good
and others not to our liking.
5-Cuban cuisine is extremely different than ours.Rice is the
staple food as well as beans,black or red.Heritance from
Spain and Africa.
6-Pork and chicken,when available is their meat.
7-Seasonning is mostly with garlic and onions.
8-Cubans do not eat fish and lobster.
9-They also do not die of hunger although some are hungry.
10-Vegetable are often scarce and the crop of potatoes in
June is eaten very fast.
11-Cubans lack imagination in preparing food and especialy
the generation after 1959.
12-Have you ever eaten a meal prepared by a women of 75 year
old.I did.
13-Believe me,it is a feast.
14-Have you ever spent $75 US to purchase a pig wich will be
roasted in the afternoon and partly eaten by the
neighborhood for supper.It is an experience of sharing
and also a very good meal,always of course with rice and
beans...Cannot stand the latest no more...
15-Try it next time,it is one of the best experience you can
have in Cuba.You will be interelating with people and
everyone will have fun.Of course at the end of the
evening,everyone will leave with a piece of your pork(or
pig)wrapped in the local Newspaper Grandma...and Good Bye
$75 US but who cares.This is vacation in Cuba.
To enjoy and share but the latest with subtilities.Cubans
are not beggars.
People will remember you,not for for the pig but for
sharing,and for your sense of humor.Cubans enjoys having
fun and you have there provided a feast.
Afterwards you will go back home with many photos and
receiving letters from your friends,wanting copies.
You will have then created sincere friendship in this
country.
My conclusion is only this:I still hate the rice and
beans...but I made many sincere friends.
Nice story! (I actually had a similar experience once.)