• Submitted by: manso
• Travel and Tourism
• 11 / 02 / 2010

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10/31/2010. By Tino Manuel. It wasn’t by chance that José Lezama Lima (1910-1976), author of the novel Paradiso, chose Old Havana’s El Patio restaurant, a place of flavors aplenty and a dreamlike atmosphere, as his culinary headquarters.

The writer, who once compared mutton to reading, without detracting from neither, considered El Patio a one-of-a-kind place to taste excellent cuisine.

It opened its doors more than 45 years ago, on February 28, 1965, on the Plaza de la Catedral, which is located in the oldest area of the Cuban capital: Old Havana —declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982.

Lezama Lima knew how to choose very well, just like the hundreds of tourists that do it every day in groups or on their own, touring the historic and cultural areas of the old quarter’s cobble-stoned streets and colonial architecture.

The restaurant itself is an 18th century house that belonged to the Marquis of Aguas Claras, and it had several uses until it became a haute cuisine center.

The facility can seat 350 diners, divided in four restaurants, a café and two snack bars, aside from a protocol lounge with 13 seats, which makes it a catering complex.

El Patio receives around 25 000 patrons per year and it holds cultural galas organized on the Plaza de la Catedral, the most anticipated of them being the new-year’s eve celebrations, during which it serves for more than a thousand people.

According to its employees, the marketing strategy of the restaurant prioritizes the guests’ preferences, quality, the historic-cultural potential and a better promotion of the catering services.

Added to that approach is the presence of Cuban and foreign intellectuals. Aside from Lezama Lima, other artists have been or are regulars, including painters Victor Manuel, Posada and Ecuadorian Oswaldo Guayasamín, writer Alejo Carpentier, Nicaraguan statesman Daniel Ortega, and Cuban musicians Frank Fernández and Juan Formel.

Those who have already passed away provide supreme soul and spirituality; those alive renew the restaurant’s lineage every day; all of them foster a unique atmosphere for the many people who go there to enjoy the culinary art and spend an unforgettable time.

Spanish, Italian and French visitors prefer it for its variety of 32 dishes both of international and local cuisine, accompanied by national products as renowned as rum, cigars and coffee.

The menu is rounded off with an excellent wine list to go with the true Cuban fiesta that is El Patio.

Source Cubanow