Cuba, a destination par excellence for tourists, complements its offers for leisure with a wide catalog of dishes that are complemented by unique gastronomic establishments.

The options for urban tourism have, as an additional element, references to ideal places where visitors can learn about the typical dishes of Cuban cuisine.

Holidaymakers who come every year to the Caribbean island are also attracted by the diversity of local gastronomy, which is present in emblematic restaurants such as La Bodeguita del Medio (La B del M).

La B del M, which is located a few steps from Cathedral Square (207 Empedrado St.), is highly visited by tourists and among its best known offers is the mojito, a drink that combines light Cuban rum, mint, lemon, ice and sugar.

Precisely, that cocktail turned the U.S. novelist Ernest Hemingway into one of the regular customers of the restaurant, as he was attracted by the cozy and familiar atmosphere of that establishment, with exquisite smells from its kitchen.

The restaurant serves, among other dishes, roasted pork, Moorish rice (made with black beans) and cold beer (ideal for Cuba's warm climate), but what gets the palms of popularity are the "pork rinds", fried and crispy pork skin, which is highly demanded to accompany a good drink.

The fame of La Bodeguita is not only in its food, but also in a singular custom that leads diners to stamp their signatures, phrases and photos on the walls of the establishment, as an indelible sign of their passage through Cuba.

The list of famous people who have eaten at La B del M is very long, from the Nobel Prize for Literature Winner Ernest Hemingway and late Chilean President Salvador Allende, and including dancers, painters, writers and artists from several countries.

In addition to the traditional offer of the popular mojito, new options were incorporated at the customers' request, with a menu that shows a wide range of Spanish, Chilean and, of course, Cuban wines.

The restaurant also extends its influence throughout the country, now with the opening of a franchise in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.

The new establishment is dedicated to Ñico Saquito, a very charismatic musician who was born in the neighborhood of El Tivolí and who compose the popular piece Cuidadito Compay Gallo.

Currently, there are other branches in Varadero, Trinidad and Holguín, three of Cuba's major tourist destinations.

The brand La Bodeguita del Medio, registered by the Ministry of Tourism of Cuba, has eleven franchises in countries like Mexico, Australia, Macedonia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Lebanon.