Food

Guantánamo [1]’s dire dining scene has improved in recent years, although it has no paladares, and the short-lived Restaurante Vegetariano is now the lackluster La Criolla (Pedro Pérez, esq. Flor Crombet, daily noon–2:30 p.m. and 5–10:30 p.m.), serving basic criollo fare.

For romance, head to Restaurante Los Girasoles (Ahogados #6501, esq. a 15 Norte, Rpto. Caribe, tel. 021/38-4178, daily noon–9:30 p.m.), offering candlelit dinners, including shrimp cocktail (CUC2), in an elegant 1950s home. The night I dined here, however, it had only pork and fried chicken (CUC3). Reservations advised.

Alternatively, try Ranchón Río Bano (daily 11 a.m.–6 p.m.), a thatched riverside restaurant at Villa Turística La Lupe (four kilometers north of town).

Five pesos will buy you a slice of what passes for pizza at Pizzería La Veneciana (Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–2:45 p.m. and 5:30–10:45 p.m.), on the east side of Parque Martí. At least the coffee is good at Casa La Indiana (24 hours), on the south side of Parque Martí [2]. And Coppelia (Pérez, esq. Bernace Verona, daily 9 a.m.–10 p.m.) serves delicious ice cream for pesos.

You can buy produce at the mercado agropecuario (Antonio Maceo, esq. Prado, Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–2 p.m.).