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Food Event Details

Join the staf for their everyday's task

Join the staf for their everyday's task

Learn about the details making a paladar work

Learn about the details making a paladar work

Try a little bit of our cuisine

Try a little bit of our cuisine

Discover a little bit of Cuba

Discover a little bit of Cuba

Join your friends for lunch

Join your friends for lunch

Learn about paladars over drinks and lunch

Havana · Navigate the Island burgueoning culinary scene

4.9
(15 reviews)

2.5 total hours

Access backstage in a Restaurant, lunch

Available in: English, Español

Monday, Wednesday, From Friday to Sunday 11:00 - 13:30 hrs


Contact our team if you have special needs

Contact

For almost a decade I have explored Havana's culinary scene as a founder of Alamesa - Cuba's leading restaurant search and discovery service - I have witnessed its evolution and learn its secrets. All I know about how this business roll in Cuba, the techniques, the tricks, the places, and the people, I learned it by doing, in the most entrepreneurial way possible. I'd love to share with you my experiences and findings while interacting with restaurants and bars in Cuba. I also co-created Ruta de Tapas Habana (Havana's Tapas Route), the first and biggest tapas and drinks competition in Cuba. Its goal is to highlight the burgeoning restaurant scene of the city in all its creativity and presents it to locals. I'll introduce you to it.

Anyone can take you to a paladar - private restaurant- in Havana, but I can take you beyond it. I'll help you understand what it takes to run a paladar business in this city while visiting the inner workings of one. How do they get the ingredients for delicious Ropa Vieja? How´s bread kept crispy for Cuban sandwiches? What are the challenges? You´ll tour the areas, attend a mise-en-place meeting, make your own Mojitos, try the house specialties right from the pan and exchange with the crew in the kitchen. You'll literally follow every step of your meal ending in a table in which we will share the most candid conversations about Cuban reality sided with generous lunch and drinks. Over coffee, I´ll give you tips and recs on how and where to find good meals in my city.

We'll meet outside La Catedral restaurant.

Calle 8 entre Calzada y 5ta, en el Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución

I will take you through the internal processes of the restaurant and we will share elements of your daily life with the staff members.

Calle 8 e/ Calzada y 5ta, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución

Please let me know if you have any dietary restriction. Write to me if you don't find availability for the dates you want. there is always room for another chair at lunch's table.

Sylvie S
Sylvie

05/Feb/2020

Merci à Ariel pour sa bonne humeur et sa passion. J ai apprécié tous les instants de cette expérience. Encore une fois, félicitations pour tout

a prize for the host

Service of excellence
April A
April

16/Jan/2020

Ariel was splendid and so much fun. His enthusiasm and passion for the restaurant industry is contagious. The experience was fun, especially learning to make my own Mojitos, and very informative. When the experience felt like I had made a new friend in Ariel and ready to own my a restaurant! Highly recommend to learn about the entrepreneur culture in Cuba, enjoy some great food and the best Mojitos with the recipe! A once-in-a-lifetime experience.

a prize for the host

Great connoisseur
Gee G
Gee

10/Jan/2020

This tour was better than I expected . Ariel speaks English or Spanish to perfection . We got all the inside scoops on the running and ins and outs of a paladar and we are soooo much and soooo good .

a prize for the host

Great connoisseur
Jacqueline J
Jacqueline

20/Dec/2019

Ariel was amazing and my mom and daughter also thoroughly enjoyed the experience as much as I did. Ariel is knowledgeable, engaging and makes you feel like family. He immerses you in the Cuban culture and love of food. You can tell when someone loves what they do and Ariel exemplifies it.

a prize for the host

Good talk
Gillian Brinnand-Nannestad G
Gillian Brinnand-Nannestad

18/Nov/2019

Highly recommend this tour. It is a unique way to learn about the culture of Cuba, and how it operates through the eyes of a restaurateur. He loves his country and its people. This shows through his enthusiasm and his willingness to answer any question. The restaurant was fantastic and staff friendly. We very much enjoyed this tour.

a prize for the host

Good talk
Ty T
Ty

06/Apr/2018

Ariel is an incredible human being. This is an absolute MUST DO when visiting Cuba. He taught us so much about the city of Havana and the food industry. He is incredibly kind and knowledgable. The food was top notch, the drinks were delicious and our conversation with him was priceless!

a prize for the host

Service of excellence
Sherry S
Sherry

01/Apr/2018

Ariel was a fascinating guy to meet and spend a few hours with. We talked about Cuban society in general and the paladar business in particular, especially the challenges faced because of the Cuban govt. control of the food supply. It got a bit "into the weeds" at times with details of the restaurant business, but overall it was a great experience with great mojitos and a good lunch.

a prize for the host

Great connoisseur
Maria M
Maria

26/Jan/2018

We had a great and fun experience learning how to make Cuban special drinks. Ariel was so wonderful and helpful with giving us insight in to the lifestyle of the area. I would highly recommend you book this experience with Ariel.

a prize for the host

Service of excellence
Ayesha A
Ayesha

23/Jan/2018

This was a great chance to pick the brain of a Cuban who has wholly embraced the changes happening in Cuba. Ariel was very friendly and informative, and welcomed any questions we had - not only about the operation of a paladar but about Cuba in general. Overall a great experience providing plenty of insight and a great lunch (and cocktails)! Thanks Ariel!

a prize for the host

Great connoisseur
Jamie J
Jamie

16/Jan/2018

Ariel was a great host. He is a fun guy with a lot to share. During our experience, we learned how to make mojitos; we went behind the scenes of a restaurant, and we ate tasty food. I highly recommend this experience. You won’t be disappointed.

a prize for the host

Service of excellence
Taylor T
Taylor

10/Jan/2018

Ariel was the perfect host and his experience was exceptional. He gave us an amazing insight into dining in Cuba which made the rest of our trip a breeze. He was funny and went above and beyond to make sure we had a fantastic time.

a prize for the host

Service of excellence
Sarah S
Sarah

10/Jan/2018

We loved our experience with Ariel. It was great chatting to him about his business, Cuban food and restaurants and just Cuba in general. It was lots of fun and it made our stay much easier once we knew where to go and what Cuban specialties we couldn’t miss!! Thanks for a great day Ariel!

a prize for the host

Great connoisseur
Gerry G
Gerry

03/Jan/2018

This is an excellent experience! Arial is a great speaker, and we learned so much (like I now know how to make a mojito and run a restaurant!???) Apart from the great insight into private enterprise in Cuba, - and the great food - Arial recommended several restaurants from his app (AlaMesa) - we visited these and they were all outstanding! Highly recommended!

a prize for the host

Good talk
Gus G
Gus

29/Dec/2017

This was a very enjoyable experience. We had a lot of fun, learned some things and enjoys some great food and drinks. Be sure to ask Ariel for Havana restaurant recommendations. He gave us some great ones.

a prize for the host

Service of excellence
Renee R
Renee

29/Dec/2017

Ariel was super knowledgable and very warm. The experience is even better than my daughter and I expected. The popular restaurant is such a beautiful establishment with a great story. We were so fortunate to have a family of 3 from Colorado that did the experience as well and they were great. We learned a lot about the restaurant business, the culture of the restaurant and ate amazing food there too. Oh and had super tasty drinks as well. It was great to see another part of Cuba( about 20-30minutes from Havana)..more residential but full of life and culture. Worth every penny and I highly recommend. I plan on dining at the restaurant when I return. Thanks Ariel!

a prize for the host

Service of excellence

Reserve this tour

$54.00 USD per person

€51.95 EUR per person

$1296.00 CUP per person

Person People

Request a date

By clicking "Request a date" you agree to the Terms and conditions

Reserve
Learn about paladars over drinks and lunch

Reserve

Reserve this tour

$54.00 USD per person

€51.95 EUR per person

$1296.00 CUP per person

Person People

Request a date

By clicking "Request a date" you agree to the Terms and conditions

Reserve

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