Paladar "La Esperanza Mayo"
Paladares have increased competition among government-provided restaurants, which is remarkable, given the meager conditions of many paladares. I think a lot of these places have succeeded by simply offering what everyone wants: good service, good prices, wide variety on the menu, among others.
Other paladares have done well because they hand over a small amount of their profit to the government, although this may be a bit risky. Let me explain.
In a society like Cuba’s, in a police system like ours, can you imagine how Queen Sophia of Spain could have visited a paladar in Havana (La Guarida), without it having been “previously taken” by the Cuban government’s special services? And how else can you explain Jimmy Carter eating at "La Cocina de Lilian" during his stay in Havana?
Besides, think of the frequent visits to paladares by all of the foreign business people and journalists in Cuba, with all of the information that these people have access to. They have information that is requested and well-received by government services. What do you think happens?
If the rules for paladares strictly state that they can only have 12 chairs for diners, how can the aforementioned establishments (along with others), have several spacious rooms for customers, with much more than 12 seats? Do they get away with this by bribing government officials (something so common as to longer be newsworthy), or because they pay with the use of their facilities for different state services?
Another reason why I’m a bit suspicious of the paladares: more than a few of the homes that host these paladares are the property of relatives of powerful political figures, or “historical leaders of the party”, or other people closely linked to them. For example, the mansion that houses "La Cocina de Lilian, was the home of General Rafael del Pino before he fled the island.
I say this not to discourage you from patronizing these restaurants; to the contrary, most of them leave customers quite satisfied. Just take the proper precautions and don’t speak more than necessary, since there could be a hidden camera or a bug where you least expect it, and as my grandfather used to say, eavesdropping is very bad manners….
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