El Bacura

CA3
Style of food: Cuban/Creole
Cost: Moderate
Type of place: Paladar (private)
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for: Huge portions will leave carnivores fully satisfied
Worst for: Can be baking hot on a summer day
San Juan entre Santa Martha y San Carlos, Reparto Celimar, Habana del Este
(+53)7763 - 0082
Open noon-10: 30pm
  • El Bacura is a great option coming back from a day out at the beach. This is a farmhouse-cum-restaurant and you are welcome to wonder around back where there is a weird and wonderful assortment of animals and where cows are milked at daybreak. More to the point, this is where Gladys (the owner) and her son Paulino can care for their beautiful thoroughbred horses. Indeed, the bistro’s walls are covered with saddles, spurs and bits and pieces from his pride and joy.

    The restaurant itself is based around a large courtyard and boasts a number of areas to sit both inside and out. The only real issue here comes in the summer when the whole place becomes a bit of an oven. At this time, it is reasonable to wish for a bit more outside covering.

    The food is focused on staple Creole dishes, which are done heartily and well. Think big portions at reasonable prices. This is not fine cuisine but some of the main dishes are certainly big enough to share and the meats are always good quality–roast pork piled up high, whole chickens and the like. Plentiful beans and rice. This is great value and I like it, but it could do with a little more work on the outside décor especially in the warm summer months.

    
  • Unión Francesa

    Unión Francesa  LH 3

    The Unión Francesa is one of those places that seem stuck in a netherworld of not quite being sure what it is–state restaurant, association, paladar. I can never tell; it simply is not obvious. It is …

    El Comendador Hotel – Bodegón Onda

    El Comendador Hotel – Bodegón Onda  LH 3

    The Bodegón Onda is located within the Comendador Hotel, which slightly confusingly is next to the more visible Hostal Valencia (one of our favourite places to stay in Havana). This is a delightful, i …

    Don Ricardo

    Don Ricardo  LH 2+

    On for a good Irish pub in Old Havana where you could get a meat pie and a pint of Guiness. Don Ricardo is an Irish restaurant, but how Irish is a little debateable. The place recalls the founder of t …

    Zaragozana

    Zaragozana  LH 2+

    This restaurant’s origin dates back to its founding in 1830. Some people say that it always had the distinctive cooking style of the Spanish region it was named after ever since they opened. In those …

    Marina Hemingway – Pizza Nova

    Marina Hemingway – Pizza Nova  LH 2

    Once upon a time the Pizza Nova was one of the better Havana restaurants serving good quality pizza in the upmarket Marina Hemingway. Perhaps the competition just got better and it is now simply relat …

    La Amistad de Lanzarote

    La Amistad de Lanzarote  LH 2

    We had dinner here once a few years ago. We have never been back. The décor looks cheap and there have been reports of aggressive overcharging. Food wise, the specialty is Pollo Lanzarote, chicken wit …

    El Castillo de Farnés

    El Castillo de Farnés  LH 2+

    In the 19th century, this building was home to a grocery store. Later, Francisco Puig bought the establishment and turned it into a cheap restaurant, which he named Castillo de Farnés after a fortress …

    La Cabaña

    La Cabaña  LH 2

    La Cabaña has a great view of the city but truth be told is a relatively basic place. The Cabaña Restaurant Bar has a private air-conditioned room for 30 people with live music. The rooftop terrace ha …

    Juana la Cubana

    Juana la Cubana  LH 2+

    This is an outdoor restaurant with quality food and reasonable prices. You have to take a picture with Juana la Cubana’s horse and then sit back to enjoy a good Cuban Creole meal.

    La Dolce Vita

    La Dolce Vita  LH 2

    Cuba Absolutely Review: July 2012 Oh, La Dolce Vita. Named after the famous Italian film, this looks fabulous, chic, and elegant. Miami style. An awning out of a corporate tennis tournament covers the …

    « 11 of 14 pages »