Europa

Style of food: Cuban/Creole

Cost: Moderate

Type of place: State

Food
Ambience
Service
Value

Best for: Great location, nice diner type atmosphere

Worst for: Uninspiring food and a little sterile inside.

Obispo, esquina a Aguiar

(+53)7864 - 4484

Open noon-midnight

Europa is strategically located on one of Old Havana’s main thoroughfares, Obispo. Many Havana residents may still remember it as the old Café Europa, the best patisserie in town in the late 19th century. It was converted to a new restaurant in 2009 and now is one of the most attractive looking places on this strip.

This looks a relatively chic European-style lunch place of the sort you might see in any Continental European city. The only problem is that with the windows open, it is warm in the summer; with them closed it is too much of an air-conditioned cocoon.

Food wise, there are over sixteen unique sauces and the popular frituras de malanga (taro fritters) that go with onion marmalade; grandma’s soup made of natural ingredients; rice and chicken in the Europa style; and a skewer of chicken and shrimps coated with caramel made of a honey, rosemary and balsamic vinegar blend. This is pretty decent quality and consistently receives positive reviews without ever being really spectacular.