Las Terrazas de Cojímar: One hundred years of flavors and legends

By Yoanna Cervera

Photos: Abel Rojas Barallobre

In a picturesque fishing village east of Havana, the sea air mingles with the echo of the waves. With a privileged view, a century-old restaurant defies time: Las Terrazas de Cojímar, a witness to Cuba’s literary and tourism history.

Inaugurated on May 20, 1925 as Las Arecas bar, it was first a mixed grocery store and then, “It became a modest inn for fishermen and passers-by, until 1940, when it was acquired by Salvador Blanco, who gave it its current title,” explains Argentine Professor and researcher Ricardo Koon, someone who treasures important notes linked to this setting and especially to the life of Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway, who made it legendary.

“This is Hemingway’s little table, number 11. He used to sit here to wait for Gregorio Fuentes, the skipper of the Pilar yacht,” recalls Iván Morgado Castro, maître d’ of the restaurant, who also points out the space that is preserved like a museum, where a bronze bust of the writer stands, created by Italian sculptor Renzo Orvieto, which arrived here as a donation from Francisco Luqueta, a dear friend of Cuba.

Koon, biographer of the famous writer, notes several references to the site. “After docking the Pilar, we had cocktails and hors d’oeuvres based on freshly caught lobster at Las Terrazas de Cojimar,” Ernest Hemingway recalled, referring to some of the time he spent here with Fuentes. The novelist would return again and again to the restaurant with friends, artists and other personalities, moments that are recorded in a photographic gallery in the main hall.

After 1959, the restaurant went through several stages linked to gastronomic companies and tourism entities. It is currently under the administration of the Empresa Extrahotelera Palmares, part of the Cubasol Group, but the common denominator has always been its seafood cuisine.

The menu is a tribute to the sea. The butterfly lobster — prepared in the 50’s style — and the paella to share — an inheritance from the local fishermen — stand out. However, the real ritual is at the bar. The ‘Don Gregorio,’ the house cocktail par excellence, is a mixture of rum, blue curacao and grenadine, “served in a pre-chilled glass to maintain its freshness,” the maître d’ explains. Drinks such as the Daiquiri, which pays homage to Hemingway, are also enjoyed, as well as a variety of juices or the refreshing lemonade, made with natural essence.

Las Terrazas has also been the setting for films such as The Old Man and the Sea, recalls Morgado. The largest shark ever caught in Cuba (1,500 pounds, in 1945) was exhibited on its walls and its photograph traveled the world.

“We have a 95% approval rate in surveys,” Morgado Castro stresses. A standard of satisfaction that seduced personalities such as Fidel Castro — who signed the guest book in 2002 — Oliver Stone, Daniel Ortega and sports stars like boxers Teófilo Stevenson, Juan Torriente, Ivan Pedroso, Javier Sotomayor; as well as renowned national and international artists, among them Spacy Trice, Bola de Nieve, Sarita Montiel, Flora Fong, Nelson Domínguez, Choco and many others who remain in the restaurant’s memories.

This site is part of the tourist routes marketed by travel agencies and benefits from the initiatives of the Hemingway Mural Local Development Project. International personalities, scholars and even the so-called “Papas,” those faces almost identical to that of the US writer with the exceptional pen who always arrive here in December, spread the story of Las Terrazas de Cojímar.

With a restoration underway, the team will celebrate its centennial on May 20. “It will be a great celebration; cultural personalities, researchers, friends of ours will come,” the maître d’ notes. Meanwhile, the music of Grupo Jaspe, the paintings of local artists, and photographs by Corrales, Córdova, Chino and Iván, accompany diners and allow visitors to relive this history.