Café del Oriente

Habana Vieja


A posh, elegant side to Havana greets you as you walk through the door at this long-standing state-run establishment in Plaza de San Francisco de Asís. Options include smoked salmon, caviar (yes, caviar!), goose-liver pâté, lobster thermidor, steak au poivre, a cheese plate and a glass of port. Plus there's service by gents in tuxes.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Habana Vieja attractions

1. La Conversación

0.03 MILES

Making up a trio of sculptures in Plaza San Francisco de Asís, La Conversación was added in 2012, donated by the French ambassador as a gesture of Franco…

2. Plaza de San Francisco de Asís

0.04 MILES

Facing Havana harbor, the breezy Plaza de San Francisco de Asís first grew up in the 16th century when Spanish galleons stopped quayside on their passage…

3. Lonja del Comercio

0.04 MILES

This large, box-shaped building on Plaza de San Francisco de Asís is a former commodities market erected in 1909. The building was completely renovated in…

4. Casa de Carmen Montilla

0.04 MILES

An important art gallery that is named after a celebrated Venezuelan painter who maintained a studio here until her death in 2004. Spread across three…

5. Fuente de los Leones

0.05 MILES

The cobbled Plaza de San Francisco de Asís' oldest and most impressive statue is the white-marble Fuente de los Leones, carved by Italian sculptor…

6. El Caballero de París

0.05 MILES

A statue outside Plaza San Francisco de Asís' famous church depicts El Caballero de París, a hirsute street person who roamed Havana during the 1950s,…

7. Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín

0.07 MILES

Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín is an old studio and now a museum for the work of the great Ecuadorian artist, who painted Fidel Castro in numerous poses. The…

8. Armería 9 de Abril

0.07 MILES

An old gun shop (now museum) stormed by revolutionaries on the said date in 1958. Mercifully, the armaments are no longer for sale.