The streets are alive with the sound of jackhammers. It seems as though a new restaurant, shop, art project or hip private villa opens every week in Havana, which is embracing new sophistication and a spirit of optimism in the wake of December’s exciting announcements. The rapprochement between the US and the “forbidden isle” – and the exchange of political prisoners after more than half a century of hostility and sanctions, with rousing speeches delivered by leaders on both sides of the Florida Straits – is huge news for small business owners in Cuba.
To be fair, there have been visible changes in the tourism sector for years, the result of a softening towards the private sector on the part of Raúl Castro since 2008, under which a small-scale marketisation has been allowed to flourish. So the private apartments, artisanal boutiques, tourism outfits and cool bars have been brewing for a while, it’s just that the pace has ratcheted up a notch.
For the time being, US tourists will still find holidaying in Cuba difficult (though not impossible) because personal travel remains restricted to 12 categories, from professional meetings to educational and humanitarian activities. But with licences now scrapped there are hints that direct scheduled flights between US airports and Cuba are in the offing. So the received wisdom is to go now, while this often frustrating but always beguiling city remains utterly unique – and before a Holiday Inn opens on every corner to service the floods of yanquis who will inevitably descend.
What to do
Live music safari
El Jelengue de Areito in the city centre (410 Calle San Miguel, between Calle Campanario and Calle Lealtad, no phone number or website) is a tiny new venue that the locals cram into on Friday nights for a shot of rumba; for jazz and trova. Privé Lounge (Calle 88A #306, between 3ra and 3raA, Miramar, +53 7 209 2719), is a mellow pioneer in Havana’s newly privatising live music scene. There’s classical at the Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís (Plaza San Francisco de Asís); the 5pm Sunday performances may include local ensembles, quartets, soloists and choirs. For live salsa it’s got to be Sunday nights at the gorgeous Jardines del 1830 (Malecón 1252, on the corner of esquina 20, Vedado, +53 7 838 3091), set amid the gardens of a colonial mansion.
Art studios
Artists and photographers with international acclaim (stellar painters such as Roberto Diago, Yoan Capote, Kcho and Roberto Fabelo) are like rock stars in Cuba, where successful creativity is still ahead of entrepreneurship in the bank balance stakes. Sign up for a day with Sussette Martinez, the curator with the best connections – she can also connect you with up and coming artists whose more affordable work is available to buy directly.
• One-day art tour with Sussette Martinez (+53 5 258 5678, costs £40; transport is extra, £35)
Artisanal hotspots
Havana’s repository of crafty studios and boutiques are on the rise as small businesses flourish. There’s a huge buzz around graphic artist Idania del Río’s shop Clandestina, in Old Havana (Villegas 403 between Brasil and Muralla) which sells contemporary posters, T-shirts and witty cards. At Piscolabis Bazar-Café (San Ignacio 75 between Empedrado and O’Reilly, Old Havana) you can drink dark sweet Cuban coffee and eat cake while browsing the shelves. It is a great little shop selling artisanal pieces such as homewares and jewellery from Cuban designers. As well as seeing top Cuban art and photography at the Fábrica de Arte Cubano (corner of 26 and 11, Vedado), visitors can buy jewellery and clothes by up and coming Cuban designers. It’s also Havana’s hottest night spot of the moment.
Surfing
Surfers have had a raw deal in the many years when anyone floating in the sea was viewed suspiciously by the authorities. The gang at Havana Surf (Havana-surf.com) is trying to get permission to start a surf school; meanwhile you can join them (and make a donation, or hand over an old surf board) for a casual surf. Contact them or head to surf spots such as Calle 70, down the road from the Russian embassy in Miramar; and the beach at Guanabo on the eastern beaches (Las Playas del Este).
Where to eat
La Casa
A restaurant has been operating out of this gorgeous Californian-style home since 1995 and everyone from Matt Dillon to Diego Maradona has enjoyed its Spanish tapas, Italian pastas and French pastries. The current buzz is around sushi Thursdays; chef Yuki prepares the freshest sushi, tempura, nori and teriyaki dishes here each week (he can also be hired to cook in your villa or apartment).
• Calle 30 #865 between 26 and 41, Nuevo Vedado, +53 7 881 7000, restaurantelacasacuba.com
Café Bohemia
In a secluded internal courtyard off the Conde de Lombillo Palace on Plaza Vieja, Havana’s prettiest square, this Italian-inspired cafe specialises in baguettes and paninis, cold cuts and cheese, Italian coffee (rare in Havana) and gin cocktails. Front covers of the long-established magazine Bohemia line the walls – one of the owners is the daughter of the late deputy editor, Ricardo Saenz.
• Plaza Vieja, San Ignacio 364, +53 5 4031 568, havanabohemia.com
Otra Manera
This beautiful space is the project of a Cuban-Spanish couple, Amy Torralbas and Alvaro Diez, who have abandoned the Costa Brava to realise a Cuban dream. She is an artist, he is a sommelier who spent part of his training at the famous Catalan restaurant El Bulli; together they have reopened Torralbas’s mother’s old paladar. The soft minimalist interiors hung with Asian art herald a new era of sophistication for Havana’s private restaurant scene. Tables also spill into a lush tropical garden. The Spanish-Cuban fusion menu is based on the produce of a local organic farmer.
• Calle 35 #1810 between 20 and 41, Playa, +53 7 203 8315, otramaneralahabana.com
El Idilio
At this unpretentious, good value paladar you choose Cuban classics off a chalkboard menu from the open kitchen or follow your nose to the barbecue. The restaurant is decked out in jolly gingham tablecloths, with the sun kept out with bamboo blinds.
• Calle G 351, Corner of 15 Vedado, +53 7 831 8182, no website
Cafe de los Artistas
This friendly, cavernous space, etched in brick and stone, with arched doorways, chalked-up menus, stained glass, huge timber doors and Cuban tiled floors is on one of Havana’s most up and coming streets, a thin ribbon that exits near the port. Apart from the excellent solomillo steak, ropa vieja (shredded flank steak) and fresh fish, it’s an excellent place for a piña colada or five.
• Calle Aguiar 22, between Pena Pobre and Avenida de Los Misiones, +53 7 866 2418, facebook.com/cafedartistas
Where to drink
La Fábrica de Arte Cubano
This multi-space, multi-function former oil factory is one of Havana’s hottest night spots, with queues around the block. While you’re drinking in its bars and spaces you can peruse art and photography from Cuba’s best names, and listen to live music. Popular musician X Alfonso is behind the project.
• Corner of 26 and 11, Vedado, +53 7 838 2260, fabricadeartecubano.com
Cafe la Flauta Mágica
This 10th-floor penthouse-with-pool turned jazz bar is named after the late Richard Egües, a flautist with the popular charanga band Orquesta Aragón, whose nickname was “La flauta Mágica”. His son Rembert, a pianist and composer, and grandson Richard have returned from years of exile in Paris to launch this project – a heartwarming story that’s typical of the new Cuban openings. From the sofa-lined terrace you peer directly on to the Cuban flags that cram the forecourt of the US Interests Section (in lieu of an embassy) on the Malecon and listen to a variety of jazz forms. Recently opened, it’s often packed to the rafters. It also serves food from the former chef of one of Havana’s best paladares, Atelier.
• Calzada 101 between L and M, Vedado, +53 7 832 3195, no website
Espacios
This contemporary bar in a suburban home has carved multiple spaces out of its various rooms, which have a laid-back, frat-house feel. A huge garden is filled with drinkers milling around and there’s often live music from the city’s trova (traditional singer/guitarist) scene.
• Calle 10 #510 between 5ta and 31, Miramar, +53 7202 2921, no website
Humboldt 52
This vibrant hangout in the animated streets of Centro Habana was a pioneer for Havana’s newly confident gay scene, though the welcoming vibe means anyone can happily drink here. You can catch a drag show and dance under a disco ball. And you might be serenaded by an operatic duo.
• Calle Humboldt 52 between Infanta and Hospital, Centro Habana, +53 5 330 2989, facebook.com/Humboldt52
Where to stay
Casa Vitrales
Osmani Hernández’s tasteful renovation was a pioneer among the new generation of Old Havana guesthouses because while preserving the gorgeous tiles, 19th-century shutters and mouldings, it also brought in decent beds, light fittings and bathrooms for its nine bedrooms.
• Doubles from £18 B&B or £270 for the house (sleeps 18), Calle Habana 106,+53 7 866 2607, cvitrales.com
Casa Pedro-María
The position of this small colonial home is amazing – across the road from the Museo de la Revolucion in one of Havana’s most up and coming neighbourhoods. The one-storey house has original features including rough stone walls and timber ceilings, an internal courtyard and roof terraces and a pretty, spacious living area that looks out to the lively street.
• Doubles from £53, Calle Chacón 209, Old Havana, +53 7 861 4641, boutiquehotelsincuba.com
NH Capri La Habana
A stone’s throw from the Nacional – the grande dame of Havana hotels – the Capri was the 1955 high-rise creation of the mob, who ruled the city back then. Its rooftop pool featured in the opening sequence of Mikhail Kalatozov’s 1964 propaganda film I Am Cuba. After the revolution its glamour slumped and eventually the government closed it down in 2003. It re-opened in 2014 as a partnership between the state and Spanish chain NH Hoteles. Many of the rooms have amazing views of the Florida Straits and are fresh, simple and contemporary (though decorated with black and white prints of Havana in the 1950s). Other historical flourishes remain in the form of polished granite floors with bronze inlays and original lobby chandeliers. And the rooftop pool is back in business.
• Doubles from £110 B&B, Calle 21 between N and O, Vedado, +53 7 839 7200, Nh-hotels.com
Tropicana Penthouse
This recently opened 1950s-style penthouse for couples has been painstakingly created by a Cuban-British pair who already successfully run a renovated art deco apartment in gritty Centro Habana. Tropicana is a swan fashioned from an ugly duckling just behind the Hotel Deauville. It has a large roof terrace with a view of the ocean and Havana landmarks including the old Spanish harbour fortress El Morro de la Cabana.
• From £99 per night, sleeps two, Calle Galiano, Centro Habana, +53 5 254 5240, tropicanapenthouse.com
Hotel Terral
This contemporary new-build hotel opened in mid-2012 on Havana’s famous esplanade, the Malecón. Behind its steel facade are 14 spacious, sea-facing rooms, two of them junior suites with large roof terraces and fantastic views. The bland marine-themed interiors won’t win any design awards but this was the first significant state opening on the city’s iconic seawall for about 20 years.
• Doubles from £111 B&B, Malecón and corner of Lealtad, Centro Habana, habaguanexhotels.com
The writer was assisted on this trip by Esencia Experiences (01481 714 898, esenciaexperiences.com), which can book all of the places to stay, restaurants and activities mentioned above
