El Floridita Bar — Restaurant in Cuba

Visiting Havana, Cuba?

DO NOT MISS Floridita Bar in Obispo area, Havana, Cuba! Famously known as la cuna del daiquiri or the cradle of daiquiri, - one of the famous cocktails originated from Cuba, this place is such a hip spot to get your favorite drinks, lavish seafood plates and memorable 40s ambience you will love.

I came here way before the pandemic and even pas lunch time, the place was still bustling with tourists try to get 'the Hemingway's experience' . This famous American author was a regular here and even had his life-size statue on his favorite spot in the restaurant.

I really love the ambience of the place, vividly showing the golden era of 40s and 50s, with draperies, cushions and murals You will love taking pictures here. The food is nice and it is a bit expensive, particularly for the seafood menu. Daiquiri is of course very popular but you also get the 'virgin' one without alcohol or other beverages. the bartenders and the waitresses are super friendly. I tried the Gran Plato Hemingway, soup and salad. It was delicious indeed!

When I was here before the pandemic, it was very packed with tourists, be it in the bar area or the dining room. I man not pretty sure whether it is disability friendly but I guess the staff will be very helpful .

The restaurant is located in Obispo area and you will find many cintage cars in different make and colors.

Highly recommended if you got a...

What an incredible experience visiting Floridita was.

Floridita originally opened in 1817 with the name La Piña de Plata. Walking up to it I could immediately feel the old-school, classy vibes the exterior of the high-class restaurant and bar were giving off. The pink paint and rustic signage outside were just the beginning. As you walk in, the first thing that catches your attention is the electric atmosphere. Live music, everyone’s mingling, it’s classy. Real classy.

Over to the left you see a life-sized statue of Ernest Hemingway at the bar that was sculpted by Cuban artist José Villa Soberón back in 2003. We finally squeezed our way through the crowds and found a table with enough chairs. We definitely got lucky, the place was packed and people flooded in non-stop the entire time we were there.

I had the chance to try the Papa Hemingway and Strawberry daiquiris. Both were delicious but the Strawberry daiquiri was by far my favorite. It was also the favorite within our group. The Papa Hemingway is your typical daiquiri with maraschino liqueur. It was definitely interesting but still tasty. Visiting Floridita was definitely my favorite part of Old Havana, by far.

I will definitely be back to Floridita next time I...

Sadly, and unfortunately had the worst possible costomer service I’ve ever experienced. We were quickly let into the restaurant and were not seated, no one approached us at any point during our anticipated visit here. The bar tender made us drinks upon over 10 mins of waiting at the bar. Ignored by multiple employees. The one waiter a young man refused to serve us and ignored us the entire time for no apparent reason. No communication was maintained and he denied that we had a table even though we’re sitting at one. Meanwhile they are still serving other customers. We came in kindly upon being let in by the security at the front. There was no communication between the security and the staff at which caused this issue. The young man waiting tables on 4/3/23 went out of his way to place dirty dishes by our spot at the bar and was aggressively disrespecting us while I tried finishing the one drink I ordered before leaving. The establishment is unorganized and staff was ruthless. I feel sad and discriminated against after my experience there. Honestly didn’t want to write this review but can’t keep my experience from being out there. No one deserves that treatment at any...