Santiago de Cuba Restaurants and Dining

(Santiago de Cuba, Cuba)

Dining out in Santiago de Cuba is an enjoyable experience, with a varied choice of restaurants serving local, national and international dishes at good prices. Many eateries are located in attractive older buildings in the colonial centre, close to the major hotels and cultural attractions. Good restaurants are found in the upscale hotels, with a few offering French-style Cuban cuisine.

Most eateries in Santiago de Cuba present a relaxing, old-fashioned or even colonial ambience, which blends well with the style of the food. Outdoor dining is popular, with several restaurants residing at the foot of the castle hill and serving delicious food. Local cafes serve snacks or even full meals. Visitors staying in casas particulares will be treated to traditional Cuban cooking at its best.

What to Eat, and Where

As expected from a major seaport city, seafood is an important ingredient in many local dishes. In upscale Santiago de Cuba restaurants, such as El Morro, lobster features strongly and is reasonably priced, as are dishes such as filet of fish stuffed with cheese, spices and chicken. Other delights include prawns and fish with a cheese topping. On a more traditional note, the first-floor Las Gallegas Paladar dining establishment, close to the Parque Cespedes, offers lamb as the house speciality, with smoked pork dishes and chicken as alternatives.

Cuban cuisine has a Creole slant to it, without the fiery flavourings. Instead, Cuban cooks often use herbs and garlic rather than spices to enhance the food. A Santiago dining speciality, 'boliche', is a beef roast stuffed with chorizo sausage, while 'ropa vieja' involves tender beef simmered in a tasty tomato-based sauce. The tamales here taste a little different, as they are boiled in salt water. Spanish influences surface at restaurants in the form of stews such as 'caldo gallego', with its blood sausage, saffron and white beans. Fried potato balls with a stuffing of ground beef are a great snack, and Cubans are addicted to rich pastries of all kinds.