Some people have been berating state-owned Cuban restaurants for shoddy service and bland food. They clearly haven’t been to El Aljibe yet. Opened as a family restaurant in 1946, this restaurant has charmed Cuban and foreign taste buds ever since with just one dish – its all-so-tasty, all-you-can-eat roasted chicken, cooked with the Garcia family’s secret recipe. The chicken is so flavorful with a nice golden brown sheen. It is fork tender and served with rice, beans, vegetable salads and fried sweet potatoes. The flavors are all in the chicken juice, which the staff will generously drizzle by the spoonful on top of your rice, making the dish even more fragrant and savory. The restaurant has a flat price for the chicken – $12 CUC for each person. Besides chicken, the restaurant has diversified its menu to include other choices like beef, seafood and pork. But let’s face it, people who travelled thousands of miles to Aljibe are here for the chicken! A very spacious restaurant in the lush Miramar area, the restaurant can serve up to hundreds of guests. So be patient if the friendly staff don’t get to you right away. The restaurant also has the best wine collection in Havana. Its general manager Inty Alvares told us they have over a thousand different wines in the cellar from Italy, France, Australia, California, Germany, Spain, Chile, Argentina and Hungary that go from $12 CUC up to close to $1,500 CUC. The most prized bottle is a 1999 Sassicaia.
Address: Ave. 7ma entre 24 y 26, Miramar, La Habana, Cuba
Tel: +53 7 204 1583, +53 7 204 1584
Opening hours: noon to midnight
Price: Affordable