Restuarants in Havana, Places to eat in Havana, Food in Havana, vegetarian restaurants in Havana, Paladares in Havana

Central Havana
There are a number of surprisingly good places around Central Havana, don't be put of by appearances since some of the best places have very unappealing exteriors (Nardos / La Guarida).
See listings complete CENTRAL HAVANA restaurants

Old Havana
The most ambience but sadly the worst food. While there is no lack of choice of places there is a lack of real variety of dish. The lack of any really good paladars reduces options significantly.
See listings complete OLD HAVANA restaurants.

Vedado
Plenty of excellent options here from the terrace of the Hotel National to some of the very tasty paladars dotted around (Blue Azul / Gringo Vieja).
See listings complete VEDADO restaurants

Food, glorious food. It may pushing a point to say that no-one ever came to Cuba because of the food but the fact remains that a perennial grumble of tourists is the general quality of the food on offer. While it is certainly true that the average quality of food is pretty poor, there are, especially in Havana, enough really great restaurants to ensure that you will eat well there. While you should not simply assume that private restaurants (paladars) are automatically better than state places / hotel restaurants in general it is the

Miramar
Home to the best quality food and most professional and well run restaurants both state (El Aljibe) and paladars. It is a bit of a trek out if you are staying in Old Havana but if you make it to one of the best places (La Esperanza / Cocina de Liliam) you will not regret it.
See listings complete MIRAMAR / PLAYA restaurants

East of Havana to the Beaches
There are not too many places worth mentioning but two in particular stand out: Picalo which serves the best pizza in Cuba and Las Terezas which is something of a shrine to Ernest Hemingway See listings COMPLETE BEACH restaurants

A Dozen places to eat in Havana La Guarida has become a Havana institution especially for people visiting Havana; everyone’s been here from Calvin Klein to the Queen of Spain. The setting is marvellous —one climbs cracked and battered marble stairs past a once-grand ballroom full of drying washing… Read complete article on restaurants in HAVANA

former which people remember as ‘authentic’ experiences. We recommend that you focus on the food and worry about authenticity when you are not so hungry. Most places do one thing well so pick what you want and tailor where you want to eat around that. La Guarida is best for overall ambience, El Patio for daytime people watching, Sierra Maestra for a romantic meal and Los Nardos for a mixed Cuban / foreign crowd. In terms of food you should check out Calle 10 for ribs, El Ajilbe for Creole chicken, rice and beans, Vista del Mar for the octopus and Prado y Neptuno for pizza.