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| Floridita Restaurant and Bar, Havana, Cuba |
To those who had a chance to come and visit Havana, they might be strongly advise to visit Floridita Restaurant & Bar. Not only that it is uniquely known as the original home of Daiquiri, but also because Ernest Hemingway, one of the famous American novelists, who spent his life for around 10 years in Cuba, was a regular here. This restaurant is being well-known as one of his favorite hangouts, it has his life - size bronze statue on Hemingway’s corner.
But besides that, the interior design of the restaurant is also beautiful. Its classic murals depicting incredible view of Cuba as well as elegant upholstery and accents make you feel comfortable dining or hanging around here. Not to mention delicious food they serve here, along with the refreshments.
When we first passed this lovely pink restaurant, my dear friend Erma and I just started our walking tour + salsa class session. That was on the second day of our visit to Havana, Cuba. As our tour already included lunch in the local restaurant, we planned to come back here again on the next day. As it is situated in a popular area of Obispo calle, you will see many antique cars in various make, colors and types. Interesting to watch indeed.
When we first passed this lovely pink restaurant, my dear friend Erma and I just started our walking tour + salsa class session. That was on the second day of our visit to Havana, Cuba. As our tour already included lunch in the local restaurant, we planned to come back here again on the next day. Besides, we had to walk around the old square or Plaza Vieja, and there are so many things we had in our itinerary, including having salsa dancing class. Yeaaah!
As it is situated in a popular area of Obispo calle, you will see many antique cars in various make, colors and types. Interesting to watch indeed. Before I share more, let’s enjoy some of these photos first.
Floridita is also known as ‘la cuna del daiquiri’ or the cradle of Daiquiri. Here’s the famous bar, initially open back in 1817. It was used to be called La Piña de Plata and still famous till now. As you can see in the photos below, the bar is very vibrant indeed. The bartenders and the waitresses are very friendly indeed! The statue of Ernest Hemingway is located in one of the corners near the bar. It was a long queue when I tried to get there so I didn’t really go near.
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| Busy bar.. this is before the pandemic, though |
When we came here for our late lunch (I was super hungry at that time), after visiting Santa Maria Del Mare beach and Musee de la Revolucion, this place was packed, especially the bar. Well, we came here before the pandemic so you can imagine many tourists were flocking at the same time.
As you can see, the bar is very festive! Big mural in the background showing pictures of sceneries from the past, with majestic ship sailing in the bay. It was busy and vibrant, with a lot of happy chatters and giggles when we arrived. Some were even dancing to the music being played in the background. Again, the waitresses were very bubbly and smiley.
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| The cradle of the Daiquiri |
At one corner, you can see a special stand selling merchandise of this famous restaurant, like t-shirts, aprons, glasses, mugs, ashtray and more. Perfect for those collecting memorabilias.
As for the dining room, as I mentioned above, you will be transported back to the golden era of the 40's and the 50's. Big round tables with comfy chairs for family or group as well as table for two are available.
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| the ambience of the restaurant |
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| the busy bar seen from the dining room |
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| the menu... noce the Gran Plate Hemingway? His favorite! |
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| it has soups and entries as well |
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How about the famous Daiquiri?
Let’s see how it looks!
Looking fresh indeed right.. no wonder this is one of the all-time favorite beverages of the Cubans and many others. With hot and humid weather Cuba, this drink will be perfect.
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| cheers... |
Daiquiri itself is originally a cocktail, composed of rum, lime juice (or any fresh juice.. and I chose strawberries. Super fresh!) and super fine sugar. As it originally has alcohol on it, good thing is you can still order the ‘virgin’ one or the one without the alcohol. That’s what I got here 💜.
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The original Daiquiri (the white one) and the virgin one
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Of course besides Daiquiri, they have other choices of food and beverages as well. Don’t worry.. they also have many non-alcoholic drinks for us to choose, like soft drinks, juice and shakes.  |
| Cheers.. |
Can you guess what we ordered? For sure I ordered the soup and I chose the Sopa Noche de Paris. Soup of the night in Paris! Sounds very intriguing right. It is basically broth with onion, cheese and baguette on the side.
