Sloppy Joe's Bar

Jose Abeal y Otero bought a grocery store at Animas and Zulueta in 1913, and American Prohibition turned it into the most famous bar in the Caribbean. Per Wikipedia and the bar's historical archive at sloppyjoes.org, Sloppy Joe's offered more than 80 cocktails plus its own 12 year rum, and pulled Hemingway, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy, and Clark Gable through its doors.

The revolution emptied it, a 1965 fire closed it, and the Office of the Historian of Havana spent six years restoring it before the doors reopened on April 12, 2013. What stands today is a careful resurrection, not a theme bar.

Who would hate it? Drinkers allergic to nostalgia. The room trades on its past, and the crowd is mostly visitors paying respects.

The 1913 building presents three masonry stories on the corner of Animas and Zulueta, one block from Parque Central. Inside, the restoration recreated the famous long mahogany bar, the tile floors, and the photograph lined walls from the bar's 1930s heyday. Wanderlog reviewers describe a well decorated room that fills fast in the evening yet keeps service prompt.

Start with the house Sloppy Joe cocktail, the brandy and pineapple original from the 1930s menu, then work toward the classics; most cocktails land around 5 USD equivalent, modest by tourist Havana standards. The Sloppy Joe sandwich, the ropa vieja ancestor that carried the name to Florida, remains on the food menu.

The crowd runs to history minded travelers, cruise passengers on day visits, and Cubans showing guests the room their grandparents talked about. Evenings get busy; afternoons are calm enough to read the memorabilia walls properly.

What regulars say:

• Wanderlog reviewers praise prompt service and refreshing drinks even when the room is full.
• La Habana magazine's guide calls the restoration faithful to the 1930s original.
• Tripadvisor reviewers rate the cocktails well ahead of the food menu.

Who it is for:

• First time Havana visitors tracing the Hemingway trail
• Anyone who wants one drink inside a piece of cocktail history
• Avoid if you want a local scene; El del Frente is the younger room

Getting there: Animas at Zulueta, on the Plaza Hotel block, two minutes from Parque Central and the Capitolio.

Timing: Open daily from midday; afternoons are quietest, evenings bring the crowds.

Cost: Around 5 USD equivalent per cocktail, cheaper than La Guarida's rooftop and most hotel bars.