Restaurante Habana La Macarena

En el corazón de Bogotá, no tuve que viajar muy lejos para entretener mi paladar con las delicias de Cuba. Y encantados estaban. ¡Mis expectativas fueron superadas por un estadio o más! En primer lugar, debería abordar la cuestión del tamaño de las porciones. Los que me conocen saben que disfruto comer. Mucho. Las porciones eran grandes, no demasiado grandes, pero ciertamente lo suficientemente grandes. Incluso el entrante era de tamaño generoso. Era un placer contemplar cada cuchara o tenedor lleno. La carne estaba maravillosamente tierna. La maravillosa combinación de gustos y colorido entorno fue casi suficiente para engañarme y pensar que había salido de Colombia hacia Cuba. El personal era amable y servicial. El dueño que es cubano me contó historias de su tierra natal. Ciertamente me gustaría volver a probar la música en vivo, ¡lo cual estoy seguro solo mejorará la experiencia!

Cerca del distrito gastronómico de La Macarena encuentras un pedacito de La Habana, de Varadero o de Santiago. Si quieres pasar un buen rato, algo romántico o bailar son o bolero, con unos mojitos, este es el lugar. La comida es enorme, no cara, deliciosa y original. Bien atendido por el propietario, tiene un grupo de música en vivo aquí, a veces toca música con su gente y terminas tarde, dándote un buen apretón de manos con el equipo del restaurante.

The food, especially the ropa vieja dish was really tasty. Service was very good but the decor could be better. However, food and music were vey good. Would definitely return

Ilhe means home in yoruba language. Yoruba is an African Language brought into Cuba by slaves forced to work on sugar cane fields from the 18th to 20th Century. African culture and Spanish culture are wonderfully mixed in Cuba, from the language to the food. In this restaurant Ilhe located up the hill of Macarena neighborhood, you won 't find a huge menu luckily), but the few dishes they have are a delight for all senses. I suggest to order the yuca con mojo , for me it is the best cassava in town with a delicious onion, lemon sauce. I should add, as Bogota is located high on the mountain, and cassava grows in low height or at the sea level, for finding good cassava in the mountain, you really need to have the skills to make the good choice, when choosing your cassava provider. Ilhe succeeds to bring Cuban Caribbean flavors, to the 2600 mts above the sea level : Bogota. I also recommend the mojito and the beans frijoles negros dormidos .I went on Saturday night, and they had Live Music with a good Cuban musician, singing the very well-known Cuban songs... At the end, my friends and I started humming some of the songs!

I've had Cuban food in Havana as well as many other venues across South and Central America. This was just a somewhat average dinner. The ambiance was rather bland and there seemed to be some pizazz lacking. I couldn't decide between the Ropa Viejos and the Roasted Pork Cuban style, but chose the latter. It was average and didn't make me want to come back for more. The side dishes were rather uninteresting and bland. There was a mandatory 5,000 peso cover charge for the guitar player/singer but his music was so overwhelmingly loud that the words and music was indecipherable. I think had he skipped the speakers and just gone with the guitar, it would have been OK. I don't know what other Cuban restaurants there are in Bogota, but I'm sure there's one that would surpass this one.