DRINKS AND FOOD
Daiquiri was invented at El Floridita and of course we also have all other excellent Cuban drinks. Here you will find our menu card.
FLORIDITA HISTORY
Learn everything about the 200 year history of La Floridita. It is the most famous bar in Cuba and one of the best bars in the world.
HEMINGWAY TOUR
Experience Havana in the footsteps of Ernest Hemingway. Enjoy real Cuban life and visit the places Ernest Hemingway loved so much.
El Floridita - Hemingway's favorite bar in Havana
Open daily
12 pm - 1 am
The history of one of the best bars in the world in the heart of Havana.
El Floridita - Hemingway's favorite bar in Havana. The bar "El Floridita" has a history of more than 200 years. Our bar has seen many times and countless people. Until today "El Floridita" is one of the most famous bars in the world and the hotspot of the Cuban capital Havana.
How it all started
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The bar was opened in 1817 with the name "La Piña de Plata" (The Silver Pineapple) and is still in exactly the same place today. From the first day, the bar was a popular place for Havana citizens. A little later, many commercial travelers came as guests and more and more tourists came over. Less than 100 years after it was founded, the bar was already the most popular bar in Havana.
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It was the large number of North American tourists who proposed to the owner at the time to change the name to "La Floridita". The bar has been called “El Floridita” since 1914.
The invention of Daiquiri
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In 1914, the Catalan immigrant Constantino Ribalaigua Vert began working as a cantinero (bartender) in El Floridita. Constantino was very popular with his guests who nicknamed him Constante. He was a funny person who could listen well, important for every bar. He lived the "El Floridita" and the guests loved him for it. When he got the chance to buy the Floridita, he did it immediately. In 1918, Constante became the owner.
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Constante liked to experiment. He constantly tried to offer his guests new creations of rum cocktails. In 1931 he created a daiquiri for the first time. So it was Constante who invented the frozen Daiquiri that made El Floridita world famous. That is why the El Floridita is also called "la cuna del daiquiri" (the cradle of the Dauquiri).
Word spread very quickly about the success of the bar and the bar became a school for the best and most qualified bartenders. The students were called "Cantineros", a seal of quality for everyone who was allowed to learn from Constante.
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The school specialized in cocktails made with fresh fruit juices and rum. Constante thus founded the tradition of the tastiest rum cocktails.
In 1953, the bar was recognized by Esquire magazine as one of the 7 most famous bars in the world.
Hemingway and the El Floridita
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The best-known personality, who is still mentioned in very close connection with El Floridita, is the writer Ernest Hemingway. If you think of El Floridita, you automatically think of Hemingway - if you think of Hemingway, you think of El Floridita.
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Ernest Hemingway was a guest of the bar for the first time in 1932. At that time he had a room in the Hotel Ambos Mundos, just a few minutes from the Floridita. You will guess that it only took a daiquiri to establish Ernest Hemingway's love affair with Bar El Floridita.
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Ernest Hemingway was never averse to a good drink, but “his” daiquiri was always something very special for him. The saying “My mojito in La Bodequita. My daiquiri in El Floridita".
Ernest Hemingway was a loyal regular at the bar for more than 20 years. Countless parties to which his friends invited: politicians, intellectuals, Hollywood actors. Katharine Hepburn, Ava Gardner, Errol Flynn, Spencer Tracy all brought Hemingway to the bar.
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Even when Ernest Hemingway lived in the Finca Vigía and no longer in the Hotel Ambos Mundos, he drove from his house to the bar just to drink his beloved daiquiri. According to legend, after 2, 3, 4 Daiquiris he came up with the idea for his book "For Whom the Bell Tolls".
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But "his daiquiri" was not only good for creativity, he also needed it to endure the difficult life. Another saying from Hemingway: "An intelligent man sometimes has to be drunk to spend time with idiots."
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Ernest Hemingway was at El Floridita for the last time in 1960.
The El Floridita after the revolution until today
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After the Cuban Revolution, the El Floridita lost many of its guests due to the embargo. Due to the fact that guests from the USA stayed away, the bar was briefly out of focus. However, that changed when Cuba was discovered by Europeans, Canadians and South Americans. The bar quickly turned into a hotspot in Havana. The famous guest Ernest Hemingway and his connection to the bar was of course helpful for the new ascent.
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Now other celebrities came to the bar, sonorous names like Naomi Campbell, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan or Ben Affleck.
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In 1992 the bar won the "Five Star Diamond" as the best bar in the world.
To this day, El Floridita is a must for tourists when visiting the Cuban capital. In no other bar can you find tradition and joie de vivre of the Cubans as much as in Floridita.
The interior design of the bar is still in the charm of the 1950s. On the walls you will find pictures and memorabilia from the glorious history of El Floridita. Many of them with original signatures from celebrities from all over the world.
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In 2003, El Floridita erected a memorial to its most famous guest, Ernest Hemingway. A bronze statue created by José Villa Soberon has been sitting at the writer's original “regular place” ever since. So Hemingway will remain the good spirit of the house forever.
Visit our bar in the heart of Havana. Enjoy the best rum cocktails in the world in a historic setting. Our motto: “Don't die without kissing a daiquiri once in your life!”.
Music at El Floridita
Music has been an integral part of the bar since the beginning of the 20th century. The best music groups in the Cuban capital still perform here today. You hear a mix of traditional and modern Latin American music.
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We would like to introduce you to one of these groups, which has been playing at El Floridita regularly since 2007. Experience the "Quinteto D’Amore". This group plays traditional Cuban music and mixes it with international style.
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The five talented musicians are now known far beyond Floridita. So they were e.g. to be seen live in several American and Canadian TV programs in 2016.
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