To profess vegetarianism in a typical restaurant in Havana is to be met in most instances with ‘omelet?’ and what you will get is the same as everyone else but with an omelet instead of the meat, so typically this would be a small thin well cooked omelet accompanied by rice and beans. After a while I began to crave broccoli.
In Vedado, the vegetarian stalwart of pizza is delicious in the cafe style formica tabled Trattoria Maraka’s on Calle 0 between Calles 23 i es 25, literally around the block from the Habana Libre Hotel and its also delicious a taxi ride away in the old town, served on the elegant piazza in Restaurante La Dominica. I read Graham Greene’s hilarious ‘Our Man in Havana’ while I was there and delighted in visiting the streets of the old town that he mentioned so often.
But dinner is by no means the only fun to be had at night. By day Havana is noisy and hot and polluted but the wall around the pool at the Habana Libre, formerly the Havana Hilton before the revolution is an adequate barricade against the noise of the old cars. One can lie under a canopy drinking pina colladas or too sweet mojitos and look up at the rooms occupied by Fidel, Che et al circa 1959. The rooms there are large and comfortable and modern, afford spectacular views over the city and are drenched in sunlight via the floor to ceiling windows. But at night the heat and the breeze from the sea are delicious. Around Las Ramblas in central Havana the pavements throng with brightly dressed locals and live music emanates from every bar. In contrast the old town with its magnificent buildings is elegant and staid and more touristic.
The people in Havana are very convivial, walking alone will not leave you without conversation. Algunes persones li demanarà un munt de preguntes i després demanar diners, altres només li demanaran que moltes d'aquestes preguntes, encantat pel món exterior gairebé impossible lluny de l'abast.
En la seva biografia 'Antes que anochezca"Reinaldo Arenas va escriure, infeliç a l'exili després finalment el que és als Estats Units "La diferència entre els sistemes comunistes i capitalistes és que, encara que tots dos li donen una puntada al cul, en el sistema comunista cal aplaudir, mentre que en el sistema capitalista es pot cridar '.
its good Karan, appreciate your efforts in being vegetarian there! Also start practicing Sel Inquiry / Atma Vichara, that would take you towards the supreme being / God…As a friend, I can definitely share details regarding the same. You can drop me a mail and I will forward you more info on this.
Love,
Satheesh Kumar, India.
Hello Satheesh
I have been vegetarian for many years and some countries are more difficult than others. Cuba was a challenge but then so are parts of France! Whereabouts in India are you from? Some time ago I stayed at the Sivananda ashram in Kerala (amongst others) and it was enlightening..
Hi Karen,
Nice comments – I am visiting Havana and Varadero in May/June with my wife – we are both vegetarians and would love your comments on the veggie friendly places to eat in and around Havana.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon
Hi Deepak
The two Italian restaurants I mention are really nice, the one in Vedado is more like a cafe and you sit inside, the one in the old town is more elegant and there are tables outside on a quiet street. I went for a day trip to Las Terrazzas, a eco village and they had a wonderful looking vegetarian restaurant there but if you go on the (government run)tour from Havana they stop at a different restaurant for lunch at its not close to this one (they go there at the end) so it will take some planning. We missed out on this one because we thought we could just pop in there…es diu El Romero i té molt bona pinta
Hi Karen,
Gràcies pels vostres suggeriments 😀 He fet una mica de cerca en línia i he trobat una bona selecció per al 4 dies a l'Havana – Sens dubte farà una excursió d'un dia a Las Terrazas i també als jardins botànics – sembla que també hi ha un lloc vegetal encantador.
Espero que gaudiu del vostre temps a Cuba – Segur que estaré al dia del teu bloc
Hi Deepak
També vaig fer una llista de llocs vegetarians abans d'anar-hi, però malauradament el grup que vaig conèixer a l'Havana eren majoritàriament carnívors.! He llegit crítiques molt diverses sobre el restaurant dels jardins botànics, però no hi vaig poder anar. More on the agenda were places like Hemmingway’s haunt La Bodeguita del Medio, worth it for the atmosphere and the photos but not really for the food! Another one I read about but didnt get the chance to go to was Restaurant Vegetariano between calles C and D, the tip I read somewhere was to refuse table service…It was a shame the government tour didnt go past El Romero (the vegetarian restaurant) at Las Terrazzas until the end of the day. But forewarned is forearmed and I think its worth taking a detour. Thanks for reading my blog and have a fantastic time in Cuba.
Appreciate you sharing, great post.Much thanks again. Awesome.
Fantastic article.Really thank you! Want more.
Thanks Caleb
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I havent so far Daniel, but its a possibility…
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Hi, I do believe this is a great website. M'hi he ensopegat 😉 Potser tornaré a visitar-lo una vegada més des que el vaig marcar. Els diners i la llibertat són la millor manera de canviar, que siguis ric i continuïs ajudant els altres.
Moltes gràcies per l'article. Moltes gràcies!