5 Best Restaurants in Central Cuba, Cuba

In a restored 18th-century house overlooking the timeless Plaza de San Juan de Dios, this restaurant was named for the campana (bell) that hangs in its courtyard, which was brought to Camagüey from Toledo, Spain, by a merchant who lived here. Seating is either in the courtyard, which is shaded by trees and decorated with the tinajones symbolic of Camagüey, or in the front of the house, with a view of the plaza. The Cuban dishes include boliche mechado (roast tenderloin stuffed with bacon and served in a light sauce), a specialty here; all come with arroz congrí (rice and black beans).

One of the smaller mansions in Punta Gorda houses this pleasant seafood restaurant. Its bright interior—full of shiny marble, colorful tiles, and carved hardwoods—makes it an elegant place to dine, and the waterfront terrace in back is a great spot for lunch. The menu is strong on seafood, with dishes ranging from pescado al camarón (fish fillets in a white shrimp sauce) to a grillada mixta (mixed grill) that contains lobster, fish, and prawns.

At the end of a long dock, this simple restaurant under a thatched roof has the best views in town, not to mention the best ventilation. Though it belongs to the Club Santa Lucía hotel, it's open to guests from other hotels, and it is one of the few places in Cuba that has live lobster. The menu includes an array of seafood dishes, but the langosta, which is prepared a number of ways, is your best bet.

The Manaca Iznaga family's former manor house is now occupied by a restaurant. The building's ochre walls, square columns, wood-beam ceiling, and terra-cotta floors lend considerable colonial ambience. There's an old sugar mill out back, and scattered on the lawn in front are the cauldrons used to boil down molasses. Lunches are usually accompanied by the music of an excellent little band. The specialty is puntas de cerdo a la Iznaga (strips of pork loin in a tomato-vegetable sauce), but the menu includes everything from fresh seafood to grilled chicken.

This refurbished 19th-century building overlooks Plaza Serafín Sánchez and the porticos of the colonial buildings that surround it. It's an impressive edifice, with large, arched doorways. Seating is at sturdy wooden tables, a couple of which have views of the Iglesia Parroquial Mayor. The menu is traditional Cuban with a few twists, such as garbanzo mesonero (garbanzo and pork soup) and ternero a la villa (veal stewed in a clay pot).