Our first night in Havana got off to a bit of a rough start.  We walked and walked and walked trying to find our intended dinner location, Casa Abel, without success.  Of course, no one knew the restaurant, our cell phone GPS would not work, and our backup was booked up (spoiler alert, we visited both later in our trip!).  I hate picking a place without any knowledge, but we had no choice, and decided to eat at Restaurant Decameron, just across from our hotel.  Our choice turned out to be a great pick and this may have been the best meal that I had in Cuba!

Decameron is supposed to be an “Italian style” restaurant but I didn’t really see it.  However, it was set up in a romantic style with indoor and ourdoor seating.  Most people coming in had reservations, so I think that we got lucky!

The interior.

First things first, drinks!  Decameron has a long list of cocktails, and we started with the classics – a pina colada and a daquri.  Both drinks were excellently prepared and beautiful ,but they lacked a good amount of rum.  We found this to be the case throughout Havana – if you want a decent amount of rum, you have to ask!

Pina Colada

Daquri.

Since we were starving after walking all over Havana, we split the house croquettes to start.  While I am not 100% sure what was in the croquettes, it seemed to be pork and potentially a bit of fish.  The croquettes were served with a spicy mayo and were actually really good!  I would totally order them again!

Croquettes.

For mains, Dan and I both ordered Caribbean lobster.  Dan ordered the sweet pineapple lobster, which was very delicious, huge, and only $15 CUC!

Pineapple Lobster.

I also ordered Caribbean lobster, but mine with a hot peppar sauce!  I loved this dish and it was so large I couldn’t finish it!  Mine also cost $15 CUC.  GREAT DEAL, and very, very tasty (especially for Cuban standards).

Lobster in Peppar Sauce.

For dessert, we split a lemon pie.  I LOVED this lemon pie!  It was beautiful and delicious.  The meringue and the accompanying fruit paste complimented the bitter lemon so well!  Yum, yum, yum!

Lemon Meringue Pie.

STEAL OUR TRIP

Restaurante Paladar Decameron:  Linea Number 753, Vedado, Havana.  T: 53 7 8322444. E: restaurantedecameron@gmail.com.  I would call, Facebook message, or email for a reservation before you leave, especially if you are a large group or want to sit outside.  We were able to walk in on a Friday night, but it was just two of us and it seemed like we were just able to get in!

ON A BUDGET

While certainly not expensive, there are many cheaper places to eat in Havana!