Description: Having been a big Hemingway fan as a teenager, it was good to take lunch in one of the bars that he regularly frequented and which has subsequently become a famous pilgrimage point for visitors to Havana. It’s only a short walk from Ambos Mundos (see separate entry) and it didn’t take much to imagine the huge frame of the great writer staggering the distance from bar to hotel room.
In the corner was a life-sized statute of Hemingway propping up the bar with a bronze book lying open in front of him. Ostensibly, this was his favourite corner. Just inside the bar entrance, a three-piece band with a very accomplished singer was performing for the customers who weren’t opposed to dancing in the bar’s constricted space. It’s a large and very popular bar/restaurant and, despite the imposing bar, which takes up the width of the room, it feels a very intimate and fun-loving place to be. It felt like party time and we actually sensed that this was how it always felt.
Everything was extremely informal and we easily found a table for two just outside of the formal dining area. There was no rush to serve us and I suspect that had we had chosen just to take in the atmosphere no-one would have really complained. We asked for the menu and eventually it arrived, not that we were in a rush as we were enjoying the music and the general ambiance of the place. We were only looking for a snack and decided on a vegetable sandwich, which, at 4.5 peso seemed like decent value in such a prestigious café. It turns out that prices here were no more expensive than anywhere else and when it arrived, this large warmed baguette, crammed with fresh salad, was more than adequate for both of us. A tasty morsel which would "fill a gap" until our evening meal.
I made the mistake of ordering a cup of tea, which after a long, long wait finally arrived; a cup of hot water with a tea bag in it. There was no milk and when I finally caught the waiter’s eye he looked at me with a degree of amazement when I asked for milk. He returned promptly and filled my cup to the brim. The end product was grim so I decided to stick with coffee as my chosen beverage.
Although we didn't dine out at El Floridita, we checked out the menu in the almost circular dining room with its plush velvet curtains. It specializes in seafood (no surprise) and I reckon that you could eat quite well here for around 20 pesos, not overly expensive but higher than many other places in town.
This is an establishment with real atmosphere and, although low-key, you can kind of sense the historical importance of the place. The excitement almost oozes out onto the street as visitors recognise the name. A place to chill!
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