Paladares in Havana: How Cuba's Private Restaurants Work

What is a paladar in Cuba?

It is a legal category before it is a style of cooking. Cuba's labour ministry lists the licence as "Elaborador vendedor de alimentos y bebidas mediante servicio gastronómico (Paladares)": a person who prepares and sells food and drink through a restaurant service. Resolution 32 of 2010 allowed that activity in the licence holder's home, with tables and chairs for up to 20 diners.

What a diner sees, then, is a business owned by Cuban individuals, not by one of the state gastronomy or tourism companies. Some sit in a family's apartment. Others, especially since 2021, are registered companies with dozens of staff. The word "paladar" covers both, although the second kind is legally a different entity.

How did private restaurants become legal?

The legal base is Decree-Law 141 of 8 September 1993, which the 2010 regulation describes as having "ratified and expanded" self-employment. The rules we could read online show how the ceiling rose step by step. We did not find the text of the 1990s rules that first set out paladares, so this guide does not quote their limits.

The 2011 change appears in Gaceta Oficial Extraordinaria No. 29 of 2011, which says the aim was to allow hiring "in all activities". The 2012 finance ministry resolution matters for a different reason: it set tax terms for self-employed cooks running paladares and cafeterias under lease contracts with state gastronomy companies. A restaurant can be private in management while occupying a state-owned building.

Paladar, self-employed or company: why it matters

Today the rules split private restaurants into two legal forms. A self-employed licence holder may hire up to three people, family or not, under Decree-Law 90 of 2024. Anything bigger has to be a company.

Those companies are the mipymes, first created by Decree-Law 46 of 2021 and now governed by Decree-Law 88 of 2024. They are graded by headcount, owners included: micro (1 to 10 people), small (11 to 35) and medium (36 to 100). Each needs approval from its municipal administration council and must be registered as a limited liability company.

Decree-Law 133, published on 2 September 2026 and in force seven days later, says its purpose is to "eliminate restrictions". It adds private companies with more than 100 staff and restates that company names must include S.R.L. or S.U.R.L.

How do you pay at a paladar?

In cash, in most cases. The UK Foreign Office, updating its Cuba advice on 25 September 2026, says the Cuban Central Bank has announced that international cards such as Visa and Mastercard are no longer accepted. It advises bringing enough cash for the whole stay and says US dollars and euros are widely accepted. Canada's travel advice still says Canadian cards are increasingly accepted at restaurants; that line conflicts with the Central Bank's June 2026 announcement, so do not rely on it.

The currency printed on the menu has a legal background. Decree-Law 133 requires companies to sell their goods and services in Cuban pesos "except in the cases provided for in current legislation". The decree does not list those exceptions, so in practice a menu may show pesos, dollars or both. Ask which currency the price is in, and at what exchange rate, before you order. Our guide to money in Cuba explains the official and floating peso rates.

Canada's advice is blunt about the rest: confirm the price before ordering, do not leave an open tab, check the bill before paying and do not hand a card to bar or restaurant staff. It also suggests carrying small banknotes for street food, taxis and tips. We found no official guidance on how much to tip.

Can US travellers eat at paladares?

Yes, and US rules point towards them. The list of 12 authorised travel categories in 31 CFR 515.560 states that it does not authorise tourist travel. One of those categories, the Support for the Cuban People general licence, covers travel with a full-time schedule of activities that strengthen civil society. Its Note 2 names eating at privately owned restaurants (paladares) as a qualifying activity, alongside staying in a casa particular. It adds that these alone do not fill a full-time schedule.

The same licence does not authorise direct financial transactions barred by 31 CFR 515.209 with entities on the State Department's Cuba Restricted List. The list published in the Federal Register on 6 February 2025 names state holding companies such as GAESA, CIMEX, Gaviota and Habaguanex, and many Havana hotels, including the Hotel Florida and Hotel Raquel in Old Havana. It names no paladares or private mipymes. A restaurant inside a listed hotel is a different matter from a private one down the street. For why Habaguanex matters in the old city, see our Old Havana restoration guide.

What shortages mean for your meal

Menus in 2026 depend on electricity and fuel. The Foreign Office's warnings page says the government announced on 13 May that reserves of diesel and fuel oil were exhausted, and that the national grid collapsed on 14 July. It advises conserving fuel, water and food. The UK government advises against all but essential travel to Cuba.

Canada warns that food shortages or spoilage caused by power cuts and fuel shortages "can occur even in restaurants and hotels", and that fuel shortages can limit generator use. The US State Department, in a page last updated in May 2025, reported severe shortages of food and drinking water, and daily power cuts of up to 12 hours in Havana.

Before you sit down

Ask three things at the door: which currency the prices are in, whether the kitchen is running tonight, and whether the business is a family paladar or a company. Carry enough small-denomination cash for the meal and a tip, keep the bill until you have checked it, and if you are travelling under US rules, keep a record of where you ate as part of your schedule.