Roof Garden Restaurant, Hotel Sevilla, Havana City, Cuba
Considered by Experts to be one of the best restaurants in Havana, the Hotel Sevilla’s Roof Garden is another place that has a lot of history.
The Hotel Sevilla was the first luxury hotel on the island, and opened on March 22nd, 1908, and quickly became one of the favorite spots in Cuba, due to its architecture, decor, and the excellent service.
Its architects effortlessly executed a Moorish style, with detailed arches, colorful mosaics, rows of columns, high beams, and a big central patio that creates a pleasant ambience.
The hotel was the scene for the biggest parties, and especially the Roof Garden became the place to be seen for Havana high society. In 1928, most of the visiting politicians and diplomats that attended the Pan-American Conference of the OAS stayed here.
The famous Mexican painter and muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros, lacking available funds, painted two large murals in the Roof Garden as a form of payment for staying in the hotel. In this same place, the Cuban singer and dancer Ninón Sevilla practiced with her pianist. A party paying homage to the disappeared Girlfriend of the Americas, Libertad Lamarque, the famous Argentinean actress and singer, also took place on the Roof Garden. The then-unknown Ignacio Villa, the Cuban singer and Composer, sang one night for the famous Cuban singer Rita Montaner, who asked him to be her exclusive pianist and accompanist on the spot.
The list of personalities of all types who were guests of the Hotel Sevilla and the Roof Garden goes on and on. Here are just a few: the singer and dancer Lola Flores; the Argentinean actor Hugo del Carrill; the entire Boston Red Sox team and its then star, Ted Williams; the American reporter and Executive Editor of the New York Times Herbert Mathews; the boxing champs Joe Louis and Luis Angel Firpo; the ex-Presidents of Panama and the Dominican Republic, Arnulfo Arias and Juan Bosch, respectively; the Belgian writer of detective fiction Georges Simenon, and the Spanish novelist Vicente Blasco Ibáñez; Josephine Baker; the Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso; and the American mafiosos Santos Traficante (who lived for two years in the hotel), and Al Capone, who occupied the entire sixth floor for himself and his gang.
The Roof Garden is on the top floor of the Hotel Sevilla. Its great hall, with marble floord and magnificent spider lamps, has exquisitely decorated ceilings, and is entirely surrounded by immense windows, where you can enjoy expansive views of the city.
The menu is International, and features innovative culinary options. I can recommend the monkfish in curry and basil, the lobster bathed in rum, and the lamb shank with thyme and salsa. For an appetizer I’d recommend the duck paté with fresh herbs and wine, and for dessert order the profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate sauce.
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