El Castillo de Farnés

Style of food: Spanish/Mediterranean

Cost: Moderate

Type of place: State

Food
Ambience
Service
Value

Best for: Feels like you have found some sort of secret hideaway

Worst for: Not really sure it was worth finding

Ave. de Bélgica (Monserrate) esquina a Obrapía

(+53)7 86 - 7-1030

Open daily Restaurant noon-midnight; Bar 24 hours

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 in Catalonia, his hometown. On the corner of the façade, there used to be a figurehead depicting the horn of plenty, currently preserved and used as the symbol of this place. This was allegedly one of Fidel’s favourite hangouts after the Revolution.

Today the place is largely hidden behind a busy bar, which is open 24 hours. House specialties include Spanish ham and potatoes as well as chickpeas and chorizo and a wide range of seafood. This place does have a certain charm but is neither so cheap nor so good as to really make it somewhere worth seeking out. If you are around though and fancy a bite in a discreet location, you could do a lot worse!