15 Best Restaurants in Central Cuba, Cuba

Elegance abounds on the ground floor of Cienfuegos's most gracious mansion, with its ornate arches, marble columns, and crystal chandeliers. And there's usually someone playing the restaurant's grand piano. The food may play second fiddle to ambience, but it's still some of the best in town. The specialty is langosta (lobster), which is prepared five different ways; other choices include sopa de mariscos (seafood soup), camarones al pincho (shrimp shish kebab), and even filet mignon.

Try to arrive early enough to enjoy a sunset cocktail on the roof deck.

This small café with a hardwood bar, brass lamps, and wooden ceiling has been in business since 1866. The view, overlooking Plaza Martí, probably isn't much different than when it opened, and it still serves ponche de la parroquia, a rum-and-milk cocktail that wily young men once gave to chaperones. (Once drunk, the chaperones would be less likely to interfere should the young men try to steal kisses from their girlfriends.) Though the menu has a wide array of beverages, dishes are limited to sandwiches, pollo frito (fried chicken) and bistéc de puerco (grilled pork).

The low building with the fat pillars south of Parque Martí's bandstand, dates from the 1840s and evokes Cienfuegos's French heyday. Today it's a popular tavern, the perfect place for a quick Cuban coffee, a mojito, or light lunch.

They make a great selection of cheese sandwiches.

You'll occasionally hear live music in the late afternoon and early evening.

In a restored 18th-century house overlooking the timeless Plaza de San Juan de Dios, this restaurant was named for the campana (bell) that hangs in its courtyard, which was brought to Camagüey from Toledo, Spain, by a merchant who lived here. Seating is either in the courtyard, which is shaded by trees and decorated with the tinajones symbolic of Camagüey, or in the front of the house, with a view of the plaza. The Cuban dishes include boliche mechado (roast tenderloin stuffed with bacon and served in a light sauce), a specialty here; all come with arroz congrí (rice and black beans).

Its only decoration may be a pastoral mural covering one wall, but locals are drawn to this popular restaurant on the western edge of town by the food, the prices, and (we suspect) the air-conditioning—rather than the decor. The menu is a mix of Cuban and international dishes, with such local standards as escalope de puerco (breaded pork) as well as a selection of pastas and pizzas.

One of the smaller mansions in Punta Gorda houses this pleasant seafood restaurant. Its bright interior—full of shiny marble, colorful tiles, and carved hardwoods—makes it an elegant place to dine, and the waterfront terrace in back is a great spot for lunch. The menu is strong on seafood, with dishes ranging from pescado al camarón (fish fillets in a white shrimp sauce) to a grillada mixta (mixed grill) that contains lobster, fish, and prawns.

A few steps from the Iglesia de la Soledad, this open-air restaurant has several tables overlooking a courtyard and a dozen more in back, surrounded by potted plants and colored glass. The menu is Cuban, but includes variations on common themes. Try the bistec mayoral (steak in a wine sauce on toast) and pollo grillé al huerto (half a grilled chicken with vegetables).

Set in the Plazuela de Jigüe, a tiny plaza shaded by one tree, this colorful and historic restaurant (dating from 1720) seems to say "come on in." Its bright interior has high ceilings, chandeliers, and landscapes hung on white walls. The menu ranges from bistec de cerdo grillé to enchilado delangosta (in a red sauce). The specialty, pollo al jigüe, is a Cuban version of chicken cacciatore.

Down the hill from the Plaza Mayor, across from the Museo Histórico, this building is as historic as any in Trinidad: wooden ceilings, brass lamps, terra-cotta floors. The menu is traditional to match the address—bistec de cerdo grillé (grilled pork steak), bistec de res en cazuela (stewed beef), filet de pescado grille (sauteed fish fillet). Sometimes there's live music at lunchtime.

At the end of a long dock, this simple restaurant under a thatched roof has the best views in town, not to mention the best ventilation. Though it belongs to the Club Santa Lucía hotel, it's open to guests from other hotels, and it is one of the few places in Cuba that has live lobster. The menu includes an array of seafood dishes, but the langosta, which is prepared a number of ways, is your best bet.

The Manaca Iznaga family's former manor house is now occupied by a restaurant. The building's ochre walls, square columns, wood-beam ceiling, and terra-cotta floors lend considerable colonial ambience. There's an old sugar mill out back, and scattered on the lawn in front are the cauldrons used to boil down molasses. Lunches are usually accompanied by the music of an excellent little band. The specialty is puntas de cerdo a la Iznaga (strips of pork loin in a tomato-vegetable sauce), but the menu includes everything from fresh seafood to grilled chicken.

This refurbished 19th-century building overlooks Plaza Serafín Sánchez and the porticos of the colonial buildings that surround it. It's an impressive edifice, with large, arched doorways. Seating is at sturdy wooden tables, a couple of which have views of the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor. The menu is traditional Cuban with a few twists, such as garbanzo mesonero (garbanzo and pork soup) and ternero a la villa (veal stewed in a clay pot).

Between the muddy Río Yayabo and the Calle el Llano, this ancient yellow manor house with a large, tree-shaded terrace is an appealing spot. Seating is available on the terrace, which has a river view, or inside, where the terra-cotta floors, thick columns, and wide arches attest to the building's lifespan of almost three centuries. Specialties are pollo a la quinta (chicken in a vegetable tomato sauce) and vaca frita (strips of beef sautéed with onions), and an array of criolla dishes.

Trinidad's best paladar is a few blocks south of the Plaza Mayor in an elegant 19th-century home. Upon entering, you may feel as if you've stepped into an antiques shop, but at the back is a garden courtyard complete with candlelight and taped music. The menu is surprisingly varied, with several vegetarian dishes and such rare ingredients as olives. The service and ambience are first rate, but it's the food that keeps this tiny restaurant packed.