Havana Guide
El Floridita: the cradle of the daiquirí and Hemingway's bar
A ten-minute walk from Refugio 204, on the corner of Obispo and Monserrate, stands a pink-fronted bar that has been pouring drinks for over two centuries. It is called El Floridita, it was crowned «the cradle of the daiquirí», and it was Ernest Hemingway's favourite corner. This is its story, told in detail.
Two centuries of history: from «La Piña de Plata» to «El Floridita»
The place opened its doors in 1817 under the name La Piña de Plata (The Silver Pineapple), right in the heart of old walled Havana. Over the years it became La Florida and, out of the affection of habaneros, the nickname stuck for good: El Floridita. Few bars in the world can claim to have served without interruption for more than two hundred years.
Constante, the Catalan who perfected the daiquirí
Its leap into legend came thanks to Constantino Ribalaigua Vert, «Constante», a Catalan bartender who started behind the bar in the early 20th century and eventually owned the place. Constante was an obsessive perfectionist: he squeezed the lime by hand, strained the juice, measured every gram of sugar. He is credited with taking the daiquirí to its most famous form, the frozen daiquirí, blended with shaved ice until it turned to snow.
The daiquirí: from a mine near Santiago to the glass
The drink was not born here but in eastern Cuba. Its name comes from Daiquirí, a beach and mining area near Santiago de Cuba, where in the late 1890s an American engineer, Jennings Cox, mixed rum, lime and sugar to refresh his guests. But it was at El Floridita that the daiquirí was refined and went global. Constante created numbered variations —from Daiquirí No. 1 to No. 4— playing with maraschino, grapefruit and the way it was blended.
Hemingway and the «Papa Doble»
Ernest Hemingway lived in Cuba for nearly twenty years and made El Floridita his second home. He ordered a daiquirí built his way: a double measure of rum, no sugar, with grapefruit juice and a touch of maraschino. The menu still remembers it as the «Papa Doble» or «Hemingway Special». He is also credited with the famous line «My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquirí in El Floridita» —though historians debate whether he truly said it, the legend is now part of the bar.
El Floridita today
The bar is still alive, with its mahogany counter, red-jacketed bartenders and live music. At the end of the bar, where the writer used to sit, there has stood since 2003 a life-size bronze statue of Hemingway by sculptor José Villa Soberón —today the must-have photo for every visitor. It is touristy, yes, but stepping in, ordering a frozen daiquirí and toasting beside «Papa» is one of those rituals that sum up Havana.
Where to stay near El Floridita?
From Refugio 204 it is barely a ten-minute walk: head down towards Parque Central and, when you reach it, El Floridita sits right at the start of Calle Obispo, on the corner with Monserrate. On the way you'll pass the Capitol and the Grand Theatre. We recommend going in the late afternoon, before the evening crowd arrives.
Refugio 204 is a casa particular in the heart of Old Havana, a ten-minute walk from El Floridita and two from the Malecón. Four independent apartments, ideal for families and groups.