Is the food in Cuba really that bad?

[Boood]

Looking for somewhere to go for a fly and flop type holiday in February/March 2023. We want to go for a week or 10 days, not two whole weeks, so Indian Ocean is a bit too far away. Caribbean would be ideal, but it’s all so expensive! We’ve been to the Dom Rep a few times, would be happy to go there again but not to one of the huge complexes- would prefer a smaller hotel where we can explore a bit. So we were looking at Cuba. It looks beautiful, but the reviews of the food are really off-putting. Can anyone who has been tell me what it’s really like? Would probably be looking for 4 star, budget £2k per person at the absolute most.

Well I'd be happy with just about all of this:

www.chefspencil.com/top-25-cuban-foods-traditional-cuban-dishes/

I can see people struggling if they're vegetarian/vegan or prefer beige and chips/pizza/curry/imported foods that are not available but if you find a decent hotel in an area near a few independent restaurants, surely they should be able to offer well cooked local specialties and your budget seems decent enough for them to be not cutting corners due to price.

That all looks great. I’ve just read that even 4 and 5 star hotels tend to do very little fresh stuff, really limited ingredients and weird combinations, and there that isn’t really much a restaurant scene at all. Would very much like to be told otherwise!

We went to Cayo guillermo a few years ago. There was loads of fresh food. Seafood, meat, fruit, salad etc. Not much hot Vegetables but that wasn’t an issue.

As it’s a communist county the food is very, very basic. It’s pork, beans, rice, chicken and whatever vegetable is in season. I wouldn’t go for the food, although it tends to be very fresh. I went a few years ago before the big crackdown so I’m not sure if they still exist, but the private places (ie technically illegal) are better than the public government places that all serve the same bad thing.

It is honestly a fascinating country. So beautiful, so interesting and unlike anywhere else. Good rum too ;) I recommend the cocoa cafe in Havana.

There are big resorts that are better but that’s not why I would go.

They don’t allow private enterprise and only have what they grow so you’re right.

I would suspect it very much depends on where you go. We went like 6 or 7 years ago now? We stayed in casa particulares in Havana and Trinidad, so ate in local homestays and restaurants. The food was perfectly nice. In Cayo Guillermo we stayed in a big spanish chain hotel and the food was standard all inclusive style buffet. Not great but fine for the 5 days we did there. My suspicion would be the food in Varadero would be worse as it's more resort style but maybe someone else who has been more recently can confirm.

Absolute LOL at this. It’s all just combinations of meat, rice and bread. Which is nice as a once a day thing, but it is very boring to eat like this all day, every day, for a few weeks.

@Boood i went to Cuba a few years ago and must say the food was pretty limited. There was a very limited selection of anything that all fell along the lines of beans, rice, meat, bread but not much in the way of fresh produce. I did a week in Havana, then another 3 weeks on various beaches and stayed in the “top” 5 star hotels but the experience was pretty much the same. The hotels really did try and cater for different tastes, they had themed nights on but it was all basically the same stuff (ie sushi night was still rice wrapped around beans).

Cuba is a really beautiful country with fascinating history, the salsa scene is amazing, the cocktails incredible etc etc but you don’t go for the food!

We had some awful food about 5 years ago. We ate well in some Casa Particulars, but outside that there was very little choice.

Restaurants would give you long menus, then when you came to order it would turn out that all they had was several variants of chicken, rice and beans.

Unless you're staying in a big resort, I'd look very carefully at the Casa's reviews and only go for ones which get great fredback for food.

The food in the casa particulares was lovely a decade ago. Loads of fresh fish, fab coffee and hot chocolate. I never felt like I was missing out.

It's not haute cuisine but it's perfectly good. Especially if you're staying in a big chain all inclusive type place.

Cuba is well worth seeing. I haven't been for 15 years do not sure if it's changed, but it's like nowhere else I've been.

The wages system has 3 levels and you get paid at one of these depending on your role. The only extra money you can make is from tips so you get astrophysicists and top surgeons serving behind the bar because they make more money on the lowest level plus tips than they would on the highest level in their actual jobs. If you get in a taxi and ask to be taken to a restaurant, they just take you to their mums house and you eat whatever the family were having for tea, so there isn't a proper restaurant scene as such. There is no unemployment, everyone gets a job so you end up with 6 people working in a tiny shop, one greets you, one shows you around, one on the till, one packs your bag, one escorts you out, etc. Its a very weird experience!

Definitely recommend going at least once ☺️

It’s a communist country. Go figure

One of my friends just went to cuba - said that the food was amazing, and really cheap too so ideal for a family.
The only thing is a lack of wifi - internet only in the hotel and not in restaurants etc, so something to bare in mind

The food truly is terrible. Even the freshest meat and veg is badly cooked. But the rest of the experience of the country is amazing so worth the terrible food.

Cuba is beautiful. It’s a must visit imo, white beaches and clear water, I was swimming with the baby barracuda on the beach and had excursions to swim with dolphins and turtles, was amazing and everyone is ever so friendly. Food wise, actually in the all inclusive hotels it’s not too bad, the one we went to had cooking stations, a meat one, a fish one, an omelette one etc, and then plenty of everything else on offer, even had a snack bar with chips, burgers,pizzas etc but don’t go expecting fine dining. I only went a few years ago. Restaurants outside of hotels are actually okay, we had a great time. if you go just make sure to tip everyone, they are so grateful and will do anything for you!

I went a few years ago now but the food wasn’t good. Real shortage of appropriate food- eg spaghetti for breakfast in 4 star hotel. It may be better now.

I agree with all this, it's beans, rice, and pasta and icecream type stuff in the Spanish run hotel chains so it's not a country you go to for the gastronomy, but I found it perfectly fine. Lots of fresh pineapple too, although I found that I was allergic to it, but that would be OK if you didn't have that problem.

It’s terrible. I had a few nice dishes but the overall experience was limited variety and often actively poor. It’s about the only country I’ve visited where food in a big resort is the best option.

I had one of the best meals of my life there- in La Guarida, Havana (and I worked for a while doing Michelin gastro tours in Spain so have been spoilt!) We did a amazing 5* holiday so the food was excellent but La Guarida was just a standard restaurant in someone’s home. I really enjoy the style of cooking and I speak Spanish which helps.

I would not say that Cuba is a fly-and-flop place though. It’s full of culture and history and there’s so much to do, you’d be massively missing out if you just went to sit on a beach, and if you want to fly and flop and eat, probably go elsewhere.

I wouldn't go to Cuba for a fly and flop type holiday. Cuba is an amazing country which is best seen staying in local casas and travelling around. The locals have so much rich history to share. I spent a few weeks travelling around and added an extra 5 days in a resort at the end. The resorts are nice but I don't think the same quality as a 5* resorts in other countries. The food we had in the resort was not as good as in local casas. They seem to try and do a lot of international food but it was pretty bad. Food in local places did revolve around rice, beans and meat but it was cooked much better. If you want fly and flop in a decent resort, I'd look at Mexico.

I wouldn’t say it was terrible and I certainly didn’t go hungry. I was doing a group tour and staying in casa’s so different to the hotel experience. Yes, there’s a lot of rice, beans and plantain but it’s a poor country with limited imports of food. You generally eat what they can produce and what’s in season. The rum, the dancing and the friendliness of locals more than makes up for the average food but you won’t get to experience the culture in the same way in a 4* hotel.

I should add that the vegetarian on our trip really struggled and I’m not sure how they’d deal with allergies…

It’s not great. Actually I would say it’s not even good

I went to Cuba a few years ago and fell in love with the people and country. It is not a fly and flop destination and you will be disappointed if you did this as the hotels are limited in food choices. They try to cater for all but it is quite samey in terms of chicken, rice and pineapple. I would recommend Mexico, Barbados, Jamaica or the Bahamas instead as you can get away with one or two days out but pure relaxation and good food otherwise.

OP, we went a decade ago but from what I hear not much has changed...

Besically there are 2 types of place to eat:
1 - tourist spots, chain hotels, big restaurants. They have to procure everything from government registered sources, and so it is not great. We were served fried spam and omelettes at breakfast at a few different "classy" places!

2 - unregistered, under-the-radar places - casa particulares, some great 'secret' restaurants in people's homes, as PP has said. These businesses can pay cash in hand for super-fresh ingredients - we were offered a lot of lobster! It was very delicious but it took some decent language and research skills to track these down.

So if you are going for a hotel-based fly and flop then I'd agree you won't be likely to get great food in Cuba. You'd be better off finding another destination.

Saying that, Cuba is an incredible place to visit and the culture is phenomenal! We had an amazing 3 weeks, travelling independently and a little off the beaten track. :)

We went a few years ago and the food was pretty basic - lots of rice and beans.

I also wouldn't recommend it for a fly and flop holiday - it's more about sightseeing and the various things to see are all quite far apart and the infrastructure is poor so travelling around takes a while.