Dining in Cuba

The Paella Restaurant in the Hotel Valencia was my favourite – the only place where I ate twice. I ordered their cheese plate and washed chunks of Stilton wrapped in slices of mozerella down with a Merlot for an absolute taste orgasm. The Paella and a couple of other restaurants I liked have a delicious dish of thick succulent slices of chicken, beef and pork in a subtle glaze.

Once I discovered that my hotel breakfast could include a juicy hamburger with mozzarella I ordered nothing else for the rest of my mornings. When I went to Cuba in the eighties (to Varadero, not Havana) I was disappointed by the blandness of the food but eating this last week has been a delight.

All Havana service industry staff – even in the lowest of dives and even where only locals and people like me eat and drink – wear black and white uniforms. You even sometimes see people dressed this way patronizing establishments on their way to and from work.