Cuba, a tourist destination par excellence, complements the traditional options of sun and beach with offers including culture, history, nature and business that contribute an added value to the leisure options.

Dozens of hotels are distributed on the Cuban territory, accompanied by different service options to meet the vacationers’ demands.

In this sense, the gastronomic service plays an important role with wide promotion in the island thanks to the merging of elements from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In addition, there are variants that emerged from the very Cuban scene where the sea and its numerous species find a privileged position in the history of the Cuban cuisine.

The abovementioned history is supported by emblematic facilities like the bar-restaurant Terraza de Cojímar, a formerly preferred destination by fishermen and related workers.

The facility, with 87 years of history, was opened in 1925 by Manuel García Rodríguez under the name Las Arecas as a mixed store located on the oldest street of the municipality.

Over the years, the small store became a small restaurant for fishermen and passersby, until it was acquired by Salvador Blanco, who named it Terraza de Cojímar. The restaurant became unexpectedly famous thanks the frequent visits by the popular U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway.

In this place, the great novelist met Anselmo Hernández, the fisherman who inspired one of his most famous novels: The Old Man and the Sea.

Ernest Hemingway, winner of the Literature Nobel Prize in 1954, was brought to the restaurant for the first time by his friend and skipper Gregorio Fuentes and, after that, he became a regular customer of the restaurant which he has mentioned several times in his works.

On many occasions, Hemingway’s yacht, named Pilar, was closely followed by visitors who later on would meet the impressive writer’s figure in the restaurant.

Nowadays, the main room keeps its large windows, offering a panoramic view of the sea where visitors can watch fishermen on their daily work or just enjoy the view of boats oscillating on the waves.

The presence of Hemingway and his friends has left traces that can be currently enjoyed like the Don Gregorio drink, made of maraschino, blue Curacao liqueur, rum and crushed ice.

Traditional drinks complement one of the best seafood menus that can be comfortably enjoyed while sitting on period furniture.