Zaragozana

CA2
Style of food: Spanish/Mediterranean
Cost: Moderate
Type of place: State
Food
Ambience
Service
Value
Best for: Football memorabilia on the walls is interesting.
Worst for: Gloomy inside, unexceptional food
Monserrate, entre Obispo y Obrapía La Habana Vieja
(+53)7867 - 1040
Open noon-midnight
  • 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 days, travellers and coachmen used to step by this restaurant, which nowadays draws sustenance from the tradition introduced by one of its earliest owners, José Currais, from Zaragoza. Decorated with neckerchiefs, flags, scarf’s and pictures of football players donated by clients, the restaurant has a well-established Spanish cooking tradition. Famous names from the world of art and literature such as Ernest Hemingway (a regular client of adjoining bar and restaurant El Floridita), Nicolás Guillén, Chucho Valdés and Tata Güines have left their stamp on this place.

    The menu includes obligatory paella, Asturian bean stew, classic fried garbanzo beans, and various types of shellfish dishes. How good is it? It is tempting to say that after 180 years it should be a lot better than it is. Decidedly average is about the kindest conclusion to be reached and overall, despite all the memorabilia, it remains somewhat gloomy. Bring on the light!

    (At the time of our visit, the premises were closed for remodeling)

    
  • El Mercurio

    El Mercurio  LH 3

    Located on the ground floor of Lonja del Comercio, an old building that in 1996 was turned into the first modern office building in the Cuban capital, the Mercurio (Mercury) opened its doors on 27 Jan …

    Monte Barreto

    Monte Barreto  LH 3

    Monte Barreto is located just behind the park, which is just behind the Occidental Hotel. It opened on December 16, 2011 by Aldo, who while a lawyer by trade has an interest in food, drinks and talkin …

    Europa

    Europa  LH 4-

    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 cent …

    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 …

    « 8 of 14 pages »