Cost of Lunch in Havana

[csk47]

We are going on a tour with Havanacar and were just wondering what is the price range in CUC for lunch in Havana.  We just want a sample of authentic cuisine but nothing gourmet and probably no alcoholic beverages.

[mac1_131]

Similar to US pricing. They charge the tousists what they are used to paying.

[EatonDoolittle]

Between 10 and 20 CUC

[princeton123211]

6 hours ago, mac1_131 said:

Similar to US pricing. They charge the tousists what they are used to paying.

Well yes and no-- in touristy restaurants this is true (although it tends to be slightly less than what you would think the same meal would cost in the US). If you head to a Paladar (a self run mom and pop restaurants of which there are tons of) you'll find that the food is priced much lower than you would expect. 

 

But even at La Guarida (a fine dining restaurant that came highly recommended and we enjoyed) I think entrees are only about 20-25 CUC and the side dishes were like 2 CUC. This is one of the most expensive restaurants in Havana and we found it very, very reasonable. We're also from New York originally so we might be a bit jaded as entrees in a fine dining restaurant can easily be $50-60 at dinner there. 

 

Drinks are generally very cheap if you stick to the domestic rum which is quite good-- usually 2-4 CUC for a pour of Havana Club depending on where you are. 

 

 

[Old Timer Cruiser]

For being in a poor country I thought that we were being taken advantage of when it came to going to a restaurant. I wanted to go where Cubans would eat not the tourist place. The tour guides must get a kickback from some of these paladors as a lunch for my wife and me (one red snapper with rice and beans) was $68.00 just soda to drink. I can get this way cheaper in the US. By the time you pay a tip your close to $80 just for lunch. The people are great but watch where you eat.

[princeton123211]

On 4/15/2019 at 12:01 PM, Old Timer Cruiser said:

For being in a poor country I thought that we were being taken advantage of when it came to going to a restaurant. I wanted to go where Cubans would eat not the tourist place.

The street food most Cubans in Havana eat is certainly cheap but it takes a bit to get used to. We primarily saw little pizzas and little hamburger like sandwiches (which we later found out were pork, not beef). We did actually try a pizza-- 1 CUC because they technically don't take CUC (I think it was a regular Cuban peso normally)-- it was...interesting. Even if you take away the pizza moniker and go in with an open mind, it was thin, chalky bread with a super sweet tomato paste on it with, not sure what the cheese was exactly but looked like mozzarella but didn't taste like it. And it had ham, pickles, and pineapple on it. Glad we did it, wouldnt go back. But it was cheap. 

 

Not sure where you went but we did have a few lunches in tourist areas that came in quite a bit less than what you paid. 

[travelingtink]

I paid $14.50 CUC and had lobster and shrimp skewers and a cuban beer. 

I was told by our guide that they do get something for bringing the tours in. Also, anyone that approaches you in the street and tries to guide you to a restaurant also gets compensated for doing so. 

 

I also tried some street food and paid $1 CUC each for corn on the cob (with butter, mayonnaise, salt, avocado sauce and hot sauce), a cheese pizza and a pack of churros topped with chocolate sauce. 

[CarolinaGirl2010]

On 4/15/2019 at 12:01 PM, Old Timer Cruiser said:

For being in a poor country I thought that we were being taken advantage of when it came to going to a restaurant. I wanted to go where Cubans would eat not the tourist place. The tour guides must get a kickback from some of these paladors as a lunch for my wife and me (one red snapper with rice and beans) was $68.00 just soda to drink. I can get this way cheaper in the US. By the time you pay a tip your close to $80 just for lunch. The people are great but watch where you eat.

I agree.  I believe that the guides do get a kickback.  We kept saying we wanted something easy, like a sandwich.  We were ushered by the HavanaCar.net guy to a restaurant where all we could afford was a tuna salad. appetizer.  We had limited CUCs and could not use a credit card. 

[CarolinaGirl2010]

On 4/13/2019 at 9:58 AM, csk47 said:

We are going on a tour with Havanacar and were just wondering what is the price range in CUC for lunch in Havana.  We just want a sample of authentic cuisine but nothing gourmet and probably no alcoholic beverages.

Be careful with the guide at HavanaCar.net.  We kept saying we wanted something easy like a sandwich.  We were ushered into a restaurant with a doorman.  I asked if it were expensive, we only had so many  CUCs to use.  They said no.  We ended up getting only an appetizer for $9 each, he had 4 small pieces of bruschetta and I had a scoop of tuna on lettuce, no dressing.  I didn't even buy water.  I'm pretty sure that they do get kickbacks, and I was not happy.  We had wanted something Cuban.  And to top it off, the walking tour guide that we had started trying to get us interested in investing with some kind of gold bar Cuban company, and kept pushing us to get tickets to some nightclub.  Guess that's how they make a living in Cuba, but it did detract from the experience for us.  The restaurant we went to was MekedE.  Pretty place, but don't go in if you don't want to pay a lot.  If it has a doorman, do better than we did and trust your gut and say no.  There have to be cheaper places to eat with authentic food. 

[csk47]

I sent an email to Stefano, the General Manager of Havanacar, regarding the comments by CarolinaGirl and he told me that when this behavior was reported to the manager in Havanna the employee was fired immediately.  Stefano assured me this type of conduct is not tolerated at Havanacar.  We will see since our tour is less than a week away.  Thanks to CarolinaGirl for telling me so I could look into it.

[2112]

I went to Casa Roma 1860 right off the square at the Cathedral. I had 2 lobster tails with a mojito for $15. My wife and son had beef and pork dishes (both delicious - better than my lobster) for $12 including drink.

[scpirate]

On 4/15/2019 at 12:01 PM, Old Timer Cruiser said:

For being in a poor country I thought that we were being taken advantage of when it came to going to a restaurant. I wanted to go where Cubans would eat not the tourist place. The tour guides must get a kickback from some of these paladors as a lunch for my wife and me (one red snapper with rice and beans) was $68.00 just soda to drink. I can get this way cheaper in the US. By the time you pay a tip your close to $80 just for lunch. The people are great but watch where you eat.

They are like the rest of them they figure they have one time to gouge you.but yes that is a bit much.

[jdemps]

On 4/17/2019 at 11:55 AM, travelingtink said:

I paid $14.50 CUC and had lobster and shrimp skewers and a cuban beer. 

I was told by our guide that they do get something for bringing the tours in. Also, anyone that approaches you in the street and tries to guide you to a restaurant also gets compensated for doing so. 

 

I also tried some street food and paid $1 CUC each for corn on the cob (with butter, mayonnaise, salt, avocado sauce and hot sauce), a cheese pizza and a pack of churros topped with chocolate sauce. 

Which restaurant was this?  I think I would like to let our guide know where we would like to go vs asking them to take us somewhere.  thanks.

[travelingtink]

On 4/25/2019 at 9:49 AM, jdemps said:

Which restaurant was this?  I think I would like to let our guide know where we would like to go vs asking them to take us somewhere.  thanks.

 

Restaurante Sarra Habana, you can find them on facebook, although most of the page is in Spanish