– Quote from Owner
“Start at Plaza Vieja,” Carlos, my AirBnB host, said. It was already 3 pm, I had just flown to Havana and was checking into my AirBnB room. I had not even sipped my 3rd beer of the day yet.
“Plaza Vieja is our Old Square, there are several bars,” Carlos advised.
“Gracias Carlos, I’m out of here.”
Carlos called as the apartment door shut behind me, “Do you need anything else?”
Why this place appeals to me
Cigars, music, rum, vintage cars.
Cuban jazz was on my Havana to-do list. Turning on San Ignacio street, guitars, drums and maracas lured me towards Plaza Vieja. Music played everywhere
Slow-stepping the uneven cobblestone street fronting the bar Papa Ernesto, a Cuban gentleman with a Cuban-style hat sat with a friend. The Cuban tipped his rum and coke towards me. He pointed at the COHIBA cigar extending from my shirt pocket.
Carlos, my host, told me his previous guest at my AirBnB left behind an entire box of Cohiba cigars. Help yourself, Carlos said to me. Carlos’ previous guest left behind a $750 box of Cohiba cigars in an AirBnB room that rented for $55/night? Fuzzy math; these forgotten COHIBA’s required certification of authenticity.
“You like cigars?” the Cuban man asked me. He waved his rum drink again.
I handed my gift Cohiba to the drinking man wearing his Cuban hat, “I like real real Cohiba cigars.”
“I sell cigars,” the Cuban man said, accepting my Cohiba. He inspected the label, “Your cigar is garbage, no good.”
Plaza Vieja, in the heart of Old Havana. Once upon a time home base for Havana’s wealthiest citizens. From their balconies Cuban aristocracy looked down on Plaza Vieja executions, cheered fiestas in Havana’s Old Square.
By 5 pm the corner of Plaza Vieja was alive, Café La Vitrola was serving tapas and Cuban jazz to patrons and gawkers. I paid $2.50 at the Vitrola bar for my Heineken and wandered out the door into Plaza Vieja, gawking.
Turning slowly, I absorbed Plaza Vieja. Cafe El Escorial, legendary coffee bar, offering history with croissants every morning on corner #2. Café Bohemia; just beer, rum drinks – corner #3. Restaurant Santo Angel, quiet at 5 pm, corner #4.
A much-pondered sculpture centerpieces Plaza Vieja. A Cuban rooster (COCK) of colossal dimensions, atop of which, a bald and naked lady (SENORITA) straddles, holding a gigantic fork (FORK). Plaza Vieja hums, begging me to return after dark.
As dusk approaches I walk north on San Ignacio street.
How Far Down the Block?
Why you might be nearby?
Along my route I turn west, up Obispo street, stopping outside Restaurante Europa, 5 blocks from Plaza Vieja. Cuban jazz oozes from within Europa. Me and other street gawkers are in Cuban Jazz Heaven. Surveying the crowd, I conclude Havana has no restrictions on where one can carry a drink.
Step into the lobby at Hotel Ambos Mundos (4 blocks from Plaza Vieja), 153 Obispo street. Beckon the caged elevator. The elevator attendant speaks perfect English. Ask to be delivered to the rooftop terrace. Was the Ambos Mundos (translates BOTH WORLDS) really Hemingway’s hideout where he penned For Whom the Bell Tolls?
The rooftop bar of Ambos Mundos, overlooks the port of Havana. A Mojito is recommended.
Down the block, on the corner of Lamparilla and San Ignacio, the waitress at restaurant San Ignacio 214, smiles me in. “You can finish your cigar at the table senor.”
Old Havana restaurants (paladars) are often known by their street number. From inside 214 (2 blocks from Plaza Vieja), street traffic outside the open door entertains me. My smiling waitress places a cigar-style ashtray in front of me.
“Mojito,” I say. San Ignacio 214 is a Cuban paladar.
Lesser Known Facts
A Cuban paladar is a private enterprise restaurant, authorized by the Cuban government. Paladars have a maximum of 12 seats, and a minimum of two employees, both employees must be family members of the homeowner. Paladars offer Cuban home-cooking.
AirBnB designated my room Casa Particular; a room in a house. Similar to a B&B. I shared an apartment with another couple, although I never encountered my house-mates during my three days in Havana. Carlos was my host. Carlos arranged for a driver to meet me at the Jose Marti airport, and porter me to Old Havana in a black 1950-ISH Chevrolet for the 20-minute drive.
The US dollar is charged a 10% surtax at all exchange offices; in addition to the buy/sell spread. The Euro, Canadian dollar are not subject to this 10% surcharge, so bring Euros’ if you have them.
Local Recommendation
At 9 pm, I’ve returned to Plaza Vieja. Eight musicians are throbbing Cuban jazz outside restaurant Santo Angel on the NE edge of semi-dark Plaza Vieja.
On stage at Plaza Vieja’s Café Bohemio, seven female musicians are singing and playing Cuban. I wander forth sipping Heineken and tapping my toes.
La Vitrola on the corner of San Ignacio, has a five-piece group swinging; music, food and drink are delivered by rhythmic staff. Inside décor features memorabilia circa pre-Castro. A 14” TV spools 1950’s black & white footage of life in Havana.
Havana Club rum is claimed by two producers; Pernad Ricard sells Havana Club worldwide – most of it in Cuba. Bacardí has legal rights to the brand name Havana Club in the US only. These two producers of Havana Club are locked in legal battle for worldwide rights; 60 years after the Havana Club brand name went up for grabs in the 1959 Cuban revolution. The rum recipes are not the same.
Something for Nothing
Music, music, music.