Calle 10

CA4
Top Pick
Style of food: International
Cost: Expensive
Type of place: Paladar (private)
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for: Modern and stylish décor, Reliably good food with attentive service
Worst for: Still lacks a certain sex appeal or oomph.
Calle 10 No. 314 entre 3ra y 5ta, Miramar
(+53)7205 - 3970
Open noon-3pm / 6-11pm

  • Calle 10 has had a makeover. Back in the day this was somewhere you would come to for a huge portion of pork ribs cooked barbecue-style in the owner’s back garden under a thatched roof (ranchon).  Now the restaurant has moved inside this beautiful Miramar mansion leaving only a couple of tables the small front porch.

    I like the new décor and style. This is modern, stylish without being overly pretentious. Large paintings decorate the walls, filling the place. The air-conditioning is left to work while the doors are left open which manages to cool the place without putting you in the freezer. This has become a reliably consistent and popular place, especially for lunch.  The international menu is excellent with a decent selection without following the trend to stretch to 20 pages. The soups are very good (we had the tomato and pumpkin) while the ribs and steaks were first rate.

    My only reservation is that it lacks a certain sex appeal or oomph. I can’t realty say why, maybe it is a personality thing, it all runs so smoothly that you are left grasping for the real identity of what is Calle 10.

    Fried shrimp legs at Calle 10:

    This delicacy that most restaurants (I am sure) would just throw away, has a better destiny in the hands of the skillful chef of Calle 10. This is not on the menu, so be sure to ask when you arrive if they have “pechitos de camarones,” and if they do, they will serve you this platter of little legs attached to the chest of the shrimps, battered and fried to perfection. They go like popcorn and they are addictive! And even if they don’t have friend shrimp legs that day, go to Calle 10, one of the best restaurants in town.

    
  • El Baturro

    El Baturro  LH 3

    In 1919, Romualdo Lalueza, a wine and liquor wholesaler and importer from Spain, occupied the building where he had his warehouse and canteen café called El Baturro. Well into 1944, he advertised his …

    Raquel Hotel – Jardín del Edén

    Raquel Hotel – Jardín del Edén  LH 3

    The beautifully restored Hotel Raquel is another testament to the wonders being performed by Habaguanex, the Historian’s Office commercial wing. Opened in 2009, the stained glass ceiling simply takes …

    Castas y Tal

    Castas y Tal  LH 3

    Castas y Tal is located on the 11th floor of a large apartment building in Vedado, just around the corner from Hotel Presidente. The restaurant really has three discreet areas, a main dining room that …

    Al Medina

    Al Medina  LH 3

    Al Medina (The City) opened in 1983 as a Middle Eastern restaurant housed inside a lovely 17th-century building, which was formerly a boys’ school. The menu features a large collection of dishes, gril …

    Doña Blanquita

    Doña Blanquita  LH 3

    Overlooking the Prado boulevard, this has a great location and a pleasant relaxed ambience. Although it could probably do with something of an upgrade, it has been in business for many years and has a …

    Razones

    Razones  LH 3

    Razones is a mid-tier place, which attracts a middle class Cuban crowd, and tourists staying nearby in this residential neighbourhood. Even mid week there is a busy feel to the place, which is explain …

    Café Taberna

    Café Taberna  LH 3

    This is a very lively restaurant on the corner of Plaza Vieja, which is dedicated to Benny More and the home to good son bands, notably Son del Trópico, Sonido Son and the Septeto Matamoros who perfor …

    Las Ruinas

    Las Ruinas  LH 3

    Las Ruinas melds offbeat modern architecture–including some eye-catching stained glass by Cuban artist René Portocarrero and immaculately decayed stonewalls–onto the ruins of an old sugar mill, givi …

    El Tocororo

    El Tocororo  LH 3

    When it was opened, the Tocororo was one of the first upmarket restaurants in Havana. This is an old style Havana state-owned restaurant. Lots of greenery and a piano player do at least give some atmo …

    Meliá Cohíba Hotel – Habana Café

    Meliá Cohíba Hotel – Habana Café  LH 4-

    This is where Vincent Vega would get his ten-dollar shake in Havana and although you cannot actually sit inside the Chevy, Pontiac and Buick, which grace the interior; they do add 1950’s chic to the p …

    « 10 of 14 pages »