Where To Eat & Drink In Havana, Cuba

If you are wondering where to eat and drink in Havana this guide is for you. Here you’ll find only restaurants and bars that we have tried in our Cuban experience and we have selected the best ones for you. In fact, we spent three weeks in Havana, which means we had enough time to immerse ourselves in the local cuisine. So let’s start with the list!

Our little ice cream paradise in Havana Vieja! This small ice cream parlor is located in the old part of the city and offers only a few stools to sit inside. It is usually crowded in the afternoon and you have to wait in line for your turn to get in but it’s worth it. We tasted various flavours of ice cream, all homemade with exquisite raw materials. Our favourites are definitely Guaiava and Dulce de Leche. Certainly one of the best ice creams in Havana and Cuba.

One of the most iconic and famous bars in Havana where Ernest Hemingway loved to drink a mojito. Always very crowded with tourists from all over the world, La Bodeguita del Medio is not only a bar that serves thousands of mojitos every day to its customers. It is also a restaurant with Cuban specialities such as boiled rice, black beans, toasted fried plantains and meat. The rooms are full of frames, photos, as well as the walls covered by signatures of famous and unknown customers. Maybe the food isn’t the best in Havana, but we recommend a visit to La Bodeguita at least once for a mojito on your trip to Cuba.

This famous paladar is located on Calle Mercaderes one of the busiest and most interesting streets in old Havana near Plaza Vieja. The entrance and the main hall are really beautiful, full of paintings and photos and there is a balcony overlooking the street. The menu offers traditional Cuban food at reasonable prices and if you are lucky you’ll have a meal with live music.

«My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita» said by Ernest Hemingway who loved this historic fish restaurant and cocktail bar in old Havana, located at the intersection of Calle Obispo and Calle Monserrate, near the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Like the Bodeguita, this historic Cuban restaurant/bar is always crowded with tourists and many times it is possible to listen to live music inside. Take a break in El Floridita and taste its daiquiri, you won’t be disappointed.

Coppelia is an ice cream parlor very famous in Cuba since 1966. The whole structure is huge and there are various rooms where you can eat ice cream both inside and outside. It is possible to pay in CUC for tourists and in CUP for the locals and there are separate lines. Holding a maximum of 1,000 guests, it is located on the part of Calle 23 known as La Rampa and occupies the entire city block between Calles K and L, Calles 23 and 21. If you are in the Vedado district, don’t miss the chance to taste Coppelia’s ice cream!

We know it’s not a long list but we promised you the best of our Havana dining experience and that’s it! Be sure to visit at least some or all of these bars/restaurants in Havana while there.