El Templete's the jewel in Old Havana's culinary crown. Its Gallego chef´s Arkaitz Etxarte sophisticatedly simple take on traditional ingredients gladdens the hearts of Havana foodies, who flock to El Templete for his mango duck and chateaubriand accompanied by delightful side dishes and a short but wellchosen wine list. Puddings are Lucullan, too—no—one should leave Havana without experiencing the chocolate brownies (Bohio de Chocolate). The Templete's right by the harbour—best to get a table inside so as not to be engulfed in carbon monoxide by passing lorries, but be sure to get a table by a window to watch the Regla ferry bustling to and fro across the harbour.

El Templete
Avenida del Puerto corner of Narciso Lopez, La Habana Vieja,/ Tel. +53 (7) 866 8807

The Café del Oriente is a bit self—consciously grand, but the service is excellent and the majority of dishes very well cooked. The café menu downstairs differs from that of the upstairs restaurant, but if you'd like to see both menus the staff are flexible from serving from either one of them on both floors. In general there's perhaps a tad too much emphasis on fruity additions to savoury dishes, but the Café's Filet Mignon melts in the mouth and the Caesar Salad's the best we've tasted on either side of the Atlantic.

La Guarida has become a Havana institution especially for people visiting Havana; everyone's been here from Calvin Klein to the Queen of Spain. The setting is marvellous—one climbs cracked and battered marble stairs past a once—grand ballroom full of drying washing to an intimate and enchanting restaurant, which is usually humming with activity. The food is so good that the menu has remained unchanged for years.

A chic source of first—class Italian food, convenient for supper after the opera or ballet, or for those in need of good solid sustenance and ice cold beer after a long morning's viewing of the Museo de Bellas Artes. The restaurant's interior was designed by Roberto Gottardi of National Art Schools fame and it's a cut above most modern Havana eateries, a relief to both eye and taste buds if you're all—frijoled—out. Further decorative delight is supplied by the pulchritudinous punters propping up the bar.

La Cocina de Lilliam
48 No. 1311 e/ 13 y 15, Miramar. / Tel. +53 (7) 209 6514

Worth the longish taxi drive to the suburbs. Lilliam and her team serve huge portions of delicious Cuban and International food in an artfully—lit, jungly garden with water features, statues and huge trees towering overhead. It can be slightly unnerving sitting under the latter when flowers, seeds and assorted wildlife start splashing into your soup, but Lilliam's regulars just keep their cool and treat them as garnishes.

Immaculate furniture and décor give the restaurant and attached bar an up—to—date chic style. The Canadian chef, Michel Cascione, provides an eclectic Mediterranean mix with efficient and unassuming service. In the New Year a new selfcooking setup will provide for an incredibly varied menu (think Asia, Mexico, Japan, Spanish) which Michel hopes will really set the place apart.

El Aljibe is one of the busiest restaurants in Havana, catering to the business and diplomatic crowd as well as to many large tour groups. The reason for the steady stream of clients is the best Creole food in Cuba; rice, beans and chicken really do not get any better than this. The atmosphere is provided by palm leaf/bamboo themed designs, particularly attractive during the day.

Fabulous outdoor vegetarian restaurant in the Zenny surroundings of the Japanese Garden in the National Botanic Gardens. Everything served on the premises is grown nearby, and the combinations of salads, different rice dishes and juices, followed by delicious puddings, are perfect Sunday lunchtime treats. Afterwards, take a gentle stroll down to the lake and over the bridge for a post—prandial nap in the little wooden summer house on stilts above the water.

Whilst Havana's Chinatown doesn't enjoy a fraction of the choices of ingredients that Oriental restaurants in many other capitals enjoy, the chefs in the Barrio Chino's small establishments work wonders with vegetables, rice, duck, pork, chicken, fruit and nuts. Tien Tan's kitchen behind the groundfloor restaurant is a fabulous sight—serried rows of young Cuban Chinese men wield their woks like weapons in a sizzlingly hot kitchen, stir—frying at supersonic speed. The results are delicious al dente variations on traditional themes, with lots of fresh ginger and soy, best accompanied with cold Xing Dao.

This restaurant offers unmatched views and is worth a visit in itself just to take in the bird's eye view of Havana. This is an elaborate fine dining experience with attentive service and good quality international food. Sometimes this does seem like too much of a well—kept secret and you should try to arrive neither too early nor too late to ensure that you have company in a large dining room.

When it was opened by Erasmo, the Tocororo was one of the first up market restaurants in Havana. It remains an excellent option if you have the time for an elaborate lunch within a tropical garden replete with piano player by day and jazz band by night. Steak and lobster are the real house specialities and are done well. The Tocororo is also the location for Havana's only Japanese restaurant; located to the left as you enter the main restaurant, which serves good sushi, sashimi and tempura and a new Tapas bar which has live music until 2am.

A wonderful place for a special treat, housed in the ballroom on the top floor of the Hotel Sevilla, its carved, painted and gilded neo—mudejar ceiling and carefully—designed lighting are perfect aesthetic compelements to the food. For a special dinner a deux, choose one of the small tables by the balconies which have spectacular views over the city, the sea and the harbour and, on steamy summer nights, a very welcome breeze. We specially recommend the ??