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.

    
  • Café El Escorial

    Café El Escorial  LH 4-

    Café El Escorial was opened a few years ago in the magnificent Plaza Vieja. The coffee is excellent, everything from Cuban coffee, café au lait, coffee frappé, coffee liquor through to coffee daiquiri …

    La Julia

    La Julia  LH 3

    La Julia is an old timer on the Old Havana paladar circuit. It’s been around long enough to be called an institution. This is an unfussy family-run paladar on O’Reilly Street that serves Cuban Creole …

    D’Doce

    D’Doce  LH 3

    D’Doce opened on April 17, 2011. We turned up two days later having seen the large stylish sign outside and a pink glow from inside which was intriguing. It is located on the second floor in the front …

    La Mina

    La Mina  LH 3

    The building that houses La Mina and which was the residence of the bishops of the nearby principal Parrish Church back in the 16th and 17th centuries was refurbished in 1985 and became La Mina Restau …

    El Palio

    El Palio  LH 3

    As of September 2013 that the garden has now been closed and the restaurant moved inside with a bar upstairs. The menu is largely unchanged. El Palio is like a room without a view by the sea. This is …

    Centro Asturiana Xana

    Centro Asturiana Xana  LH 4-

    The Sociedad Juventud Asturiana is a Spanish cultural society from the province of Asturias, which has a special legal status in Havana. Essentially, the society functions as a cooperative, which mean …

    Santo Ángel

    Santo Ángel  LH 4-

    In 1866, the house now occupied by this restaurant was owned by Susana Benítez de Parejo, who then decided to establish El Santo Ángel (The Holy Angel) college for poor children in this place, which s …

    Chaplin’s Cafe

    Chaplin’s Cafe  LH 3

    Cuba Absolutely Review: January 2012 Chaplin’s opened in January 2012 as the new kid on the block. Now it is almost a veteran! You will know you are in the right place when you see someone dressed up …

    Mango Habana

    Mango Habana  LH 3

    Mango Habana is a small low-key restaurant located just behind the Capitolio near to Parque Central. For the style of mom and pop places this is pretty decent with clear transparent prices outside, a …

    Le Garage

    Le Garage  LH 3

    Le Garaje is affectionately known by Habaneros as the Cuban version of Hooters. I would stream more of a Johnny Rockets burger joint, Havana-style. This is a completely new concept to Havana and has b …

    « 7 of 14 pages »