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Paladares are the independent, state sanctioned,
family run restaurants of Cuba. Since the beginning of the Cuban government's
quest to open up their country to democratic economic reforms, paladares
were one of the first and only enterprises to fall under these reforms.
Rules stipulate that they must have no more than 12 seats (though they
many times do), strictly family run and must cook rustic Cuban food (i.e.
no lobster or chicken breast as they are reserved only for the tourist
hotels). Within these and other strict guidelines, such as being one of
the few taxed businesses in a communist country, they have flourished.
So much so, it is these paladares that tourists seek out over other state
and hotel run restaurants. The food is authentic, wholesome and inexpensive.
Based
on my personal experience and first hand travel experiences from other
travelers to Cuba, it can be concluded that the number one problem for
tourists there is finding a decent place to eat. Before the emergence
of paladares, choices were limited to either expensive state run hotel
restaurants and cafeterias or snack stands along the streets. The little
bodegas, Cuban national eating places, were off limits for the most part
to tourists as they accepted only Cuban pesos. With the Cuban government
opening up its shores to international tourism in 1993 and allowing the
privatization of paladares in 1995, things began to change. Today, paladares
abound. The main problem with them is that the legal ones are taxed so
high that many do not have the money to advertise. Many times they will
hire a “tout”, or guide, to help bring in customers. Of course,
the guides work on commission only, and therefore tend to favor only those
paladares from which they can profit and push up the prices also. There
are also illegal paladares, but they seem to close as fast as they open.
This of course, is why there is a dilemma for tourists.
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