El Aljibe Restaurant
The word Aljibe in Spanish means spring or fountain, a place for collecting water, as well as a metal box used for bringing the precious liquid on trips. But the Aljibe in question here is a restaurant that I’d like to recommend for several reasons.
The house specialty is Aljibe Chicken (Pollo al Aljibe), a dish that has been in the owner’s family for many, many years. The owners had a restaurant called Rancho Luna and later a second one, and which became the preferred spot for its sauce that it used with the chicken.
The Aljibe Chicken comes with white rice, black beans, French fries and fried plantains, and a vegetable salad. The price is affordable, so the house specialty is really a very good deal.
If chicken isn’t your thing, the pork is equally good. The restaurant also serves other chicken dishes, like veal, fried chicken, and fish and seafod. The appetizers are also good: salads, fruit cocktail, chicken salad, and the popular Chicken Soup Grandma Style (Sopa de Pollo a la Abuela).
The desserts are traditional, and I recommend the torrejas (like French toast), custard, flan, and of course cake and ice cream. The restaurant also has a plentiful wine cellar, with wines from far afield- even California wines, which is rare in Havana. The bar is also well-stocked.
The ambience is like eating in the home of an old friend, and the service is always warm and friendly. It is open from 12:00 to 12:00, and has private parking available. The clientele is largely made up of the diplomatic corps, foreign businesspeople, international journalists, and other visitors to the city.
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