ORIGIN

A legendary place in Havana’s culinary imaginary

As soon as you enter El Polinesio bar restaurant you can see two clay ovens shaped like a tunnel through some glass; fired by marcuri wood, this is where spiced meat is smoked using a secret, ancient recipe. Together with its famous Tiki cocktails, made from rums and tropical fruit juices, and its incredible totemic décor, this space is the heart of this legendary eatery that has formed part of the culinary imaginary of Cubans for generations.
Since the 1960s, going to El Polinesio has always been a really special experience because the exotic dishes and emblematic seasoning are only part of the ingredients. On entering El Polinesio you are immersed in an exotic world full of flavours and sensations that transport diners to a magical paradise where enjoyment comes first and foremost.
Starting with a Kibú or a Zoombie cocktail, made from three types of rum—white, brown and añejo (aged)—cherry liqueur, orange and lemon juice and a touch of grenadine accompanied by cheese balls, wontons or rolls, has become a ritual that is still popular today.

The Havana house of the Tiki gods

Tiki culture and gods have a sanctuary in El Polinesio. This very special space with dark lighting and a mat ceiling is brimming with cocktails based on rum and fruit juices, totem-shaped jugs, exotic dishes and seasoning, and also fishermen’s creels from the South Pacific and idols carved out of hardwood. It’s a décor that takes visitors back to another age and another world.

At the entrance, carved out of hardwood and watching over us from a column, is the great Kane, the main Tiki deity who said: “Make the Earth!” and at that moment, the sea and islands began to appear for him, spreading his seed for eternity.

The walls and corners of El Polinesio contain further surprises with the enigmatic statues of Ku, the Tiki god of war, Lono, the god of agriculture, and Kanaloa, the mother of water and the sea. The totems and other decorative Tiki culture items remind you that you are in a very special mythological world, which was all the rage in the 1970s when Elvia Presley filmed Blue Hawaii and shirts with palm trees, the hula hula dance and bars decorated in the style of the Polynesian islands became all the rage.
At the circular bar, the bar counter and in the restaurant, these statues with disquieting gestures are always looking at you with their enormous mouths and thick lips and reminding you that you are in El Polinesio.