Cuba - Lonely Planet [338]
Paladar Las Gallegas (Map; Bartolomé Masó No 305; meals CUC$8-10; 1-11pm) Around the corner from the cathedral, this place has been here for donkey’s years in Santiago-paladar terms, bashing out OK potions of pork, chicken and sometimes carnero (lamb). There are a couple of tables on a narrow balcony overlooking the street.
Paladar Salón Tropical (Map; 64-11-61; Fernández Marcané No 310, Reparto Santa Barbara; 5pm-midnight Mon-Sat, noon-midnight Sun) The city’s best paladar is a few blocks south of Hotel Las Américas on a pleasant rooftop terrace with fairy lights and decent views. The food is plentiful and tasty with a varying menu of succulent smoked pork, chicken and sometimes lamb, served with congrí (rice flecked with black beans), salad and plantains (green bananas) and delicious yuca con mojo (starchy root vegetable with garlic lime sauce). Reservations are a good idea as this is a favorite spot for young Cuban women who come here with their 50-plus-year-old foreign sugar daddies.
RESTAURANTS
Santiago 1900 (Map; 62-35-07; Bartolomé Masó No 354; noon-midnight) In the former Bacardí residence you can dine on the standard chicken, fish or pork in a lush dining room replete with a slightly abandoned colonial air. The menu’s in pesos, meaning few dishes should cost you more than the equivalent of CUC$2. There are also, not surprisingly, a couple of good bars here selling mojitos etc.
Pan.com (Map; Aguilera btwn General Lacret & Hartmann; snacks CUC$3; 11am-11pm) Havana’s refreshingly efficient fast(ish)-food chain has just opened a small branch in Santiago, but the staff has yet to cotton onto the chain’s slick service. Arrive with low expectations and see what’s available on the ostensibly long menu.
Ristorante Italiano La Fontana (Map; Meliá Santiago de Cuba, cnr Av de las Américas & Calle M; 11am-11pm) Pizza deliciosa (CUC$5 and up) and lasagna formidable (CUC$8), ravioli and garlic bread (CUC$1); mamma mía, this has to be the number-one option for breaking away from all that chicken and pork!
Cafetería Las Américas (Map; 64-59-23; 24hr) A local hangout of sorts, on the traffic circle near Hotel Las Américas, this cafetería terrace does good basics: chicken, spaghetti and pork for under CUC$2. Inside is the affiliated restaurant with decent full meals of comida criolla (Creole food, usually rice, beans and pork) for CUC$5.
La Teresina (Map; 68-64-84; Aguilera btwn Porfirio Valiente & Mayía Rodríguez; 11am-11pm) One in a triumvirate of inviting-looking restaurants along the north side of Plaza de Dolores, La Teresina doesn’t quite live up to its splendid colonial setting. But the terrace is shady, the beers affordable and the food – a familiar mix of spaghetti, pizza and chicken – plentiful enough to take the edge off a hungry appetite.
La Perla del Dragón (Map; 65-30-82; Aguilera btwn Porfirio Valiente & Mayía Rodríguez; 11am-11pm) Santiago’s token Chinese restaurant doesn’t quite match up to the diversity of Havana’s Barrio Chino, but it’s a change from the standard chicken, pork, fish triumvirate and enjoys a pleasant setting on shady Plaza de Dolores.
Cafetería Las Arecas (Map; Av Manduley No 52; dishes around CUC$3; 10am-1am) Nestled in the garden patio of La Maison, the mansion-turned-mod-shopping-center, this cafetería has an inexpensive menu with spaghetti, pizzas and chicken dishes. Fish filets start at CUC$5.50. The fancier dining-room restaurant in the rear part of the main building is open until 10pm.
Restaurante El Cayo (Map; lunch CUC$6-20) If the congenial fishermen on Cayo Granma don’t corner you beforehand, this is the island’s only state-run place, serving seafood for lunch.
El Barracón (Map; 64-32-42; Av Victoriano Garzón; noon-midnight) Spanking new, and already competing for the title of Santiago’s finest food house, El Barracón opened its doors, amid much fanfare, in August 2008 to reignite the roots of Afro-Cuban culture and cuisine. Early portents are good. The restaurant’s