Cuban food has a reputation for being underwhelming, and the state-restaurant system did not help that reputation. The paladares — private restaurants operating from family homes that were legalised and expanded in the 2010s — changed things significantly. Havana now has a functioning restaurant scene, with private chefs experimenting with Creole cuisine, fresh seafood, and Cuban ingredients in ways the state system never attempted.
The fundamentals of Cuban cooking are worth understanding: black beans (frijoles negros) served over white rice is the daily staple, eaten at every meal. Ropa vieja (shredded slow-cooked beef in tomato sauce) and lechón asado (roast suckling pig) are the classic meat dishes. Fresh fish and lobster, caught in Cuban waters and generally excellent, are available at good paladares at prices far below what equivalent quality would cost elsewhere.
La Bodeguita del Medio is the famous option in Old Havana for traditional Creole food alongside mojitos; it is reliably good and reliably busy. Paladares in Vedado and the Miramar neighbourhood tend to be more ambitious and less crowded. The state peso restaurants and bodegas that ordinary Cubans use are cheap, filling, and sometimes interesting for the experience of watching Havana feed itself at peso prices.