Where the Obama’s had Dinner on their First Night in Cuba

Table at the San Cristobal private restaurant in Centro Habana.
Table at the San Cristobal private restaurant in Central Havana.

HAVANA TIMES — President Barack Obama had dinner Sunday evening with his family in a “paladar”  (private restaurant) in Havana, one of the small business owners that have begun to flourish in recent years on the socialist island, reported dpa news.

The restaurant chosen by the Obamas for their first dinner on the island is called “San Cristobal” and is located in Central Havana, a neighborhood of narrow streets and colonial buildings, some of them badly damaged.

Many onlookers lined the streets to watch the US presidential family and their group’s arrival.

The restaurant specializes in Cuban food with Spanish elements and caters mainly to tourists and foreign visitors as the prices are too high for most locals.

The “paladar” is one of the highest rated in Havana. Like other private restaurants, the local has been installed in a private home.

The old house with spacious courtyards and high ceilings has a unique decor with religious elements on the walls and antique furniture from the colonial era.

30 thoughts on “Where the Obama’s had Dinner on their First Night in Cuba

  • Nice to see a sensible reply

  • Oh I’m sure ya’ll have the best seafood. I was just hoping that our POS POTUS choked or got a bad one down there. Nothing against ya’ll, trust me.

  • No wife, I am female, try again.

  • Okay then ply em with some of that famous toxic Cuban rum.

  • There are so many new paladares sprouting up in Cuba; most have not even made it into the pages of the Lonely Planet, Rough, or other guides. Just ask the locals, or walk around, and try. Favorites during my latest visit were Mango Habana (Industria #352, Centro Habana), Florida Blanca, (Ave. 38, # 3720, Cienfuegos), Dona Nora (Calle 37 #4219, Cienfuegos), Guitarrra Mia (Jesus Memendez #19, Trinidad), Litoral Mantancero (Manglar #12115, Playa, Ciudad Matanzas), and D’Lirios (Dragones y Teniente Ray, Habana Vieja), but find your own.

  • Although I didn’t drink the tap water, during my last visit (late Sept.-early Nov.) some of the veggies or fruit must have been rinsed in tap water, resulting in me loosing 7 lbs. If you need to lose weight, this is the right “elixir!” By the end of my trip, I was afraid to eat!

  • “Get a life”? What are you doing here?

  • The US has a population of 300+ million souls. The fact that modern technical allows us to provide fresh produce, including seafood, thousands of miles away from any body of water is one of our modern miracles. Cuba by comparison has difficulty providing fresh seafood even when surrounded by water. Some areas of the Cuban interior see no seafood at all! ….Chicken anyone?

  • It’s an island with great fresh seafood unlike the processed, frozen “freshness” of the United States

  • Hi Allan, try Flint!! or invite them to Baltimore, Sanford, Oakland, Miami Gardens and see how long will it take to be shot dead?

  • Anything that Pres O does to lift my country out of its condition works for me Andale Barak!

  • Why…

  • The water in Havana is not as bad as other Latin American countries. I brushed my teeth in it without problem and ate tons of food washed in it.

  • Like your wife did?

  • Oh, I promise he won’t drink tap water in Havana. Nobody does if they can help it.

  • I am sure he will break bread in a much less illustrious place before he leaves. It was his first night in town.

  • I hope they got some bad shrimp.

  • Hope the royal family enjoys the Havana Omelette…

  • Lol…. I’ve eaten in this palodar and believe me there is nothing wealthy about it, however the food and the art and the family that runs it are wonderful. (the stairs up to it are a little nerve racking though)

  • If he wanted to start a religion maybe rimmshot.

  • As if the owners of this tiny place would qualify as “rich” in the view of any American. What’s wrong with celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of the owners of the place, got a problem with that as well?

  • perhaps he will before he leaves.

  • Looks nice.

  • What’s for dinner ?

  • mmmmm

  • Gotta be better than the water in Flint!!

  • Such a nasty, idiotic and immature thing to say about your president and his family. Get a life.

  • Obama should have eaten in a poor person’s home,then it would have meant something. Breaking bread with the poor would be better.

  • I hope they drink the water.

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