This longtime staple debuted in the days when private restaurants could only seat 12 people and serve pork and chicken. Today's menu ventures into seafood with wine sauce and chicken with vegetables. What hasn't changed is the venue – upstairs in an open-fronted family dining room with five or six tables – and the service. Big smiles all round.
El Polinesio
Bayamo
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.17 MILES
One of Cuba's leafiest squares, Bayamo's central meeting point is surrounded by pedestrian-only streets, making it a rare and peaceful spot. In addition…
28.32 MILES
This tiny village nestles in a deep green valley beside the deliciously clean Río Yara. Communally it provides a wonderful slice of peaceful Cuban…
Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
0.17 MILES
Birthplace of the 'father of the motherland,' this museum is where Céspedes was born (on April 18, 1819) and spent his first 12 years. Inside, Céspedes…
8.13 MILES
For a floral appreciation of Bayamo's evergreen hinterland, head to this botanic garden about 16km outside the city off the Guisa road. It's on very few…
0.94 MILES
It's worth the jaunt to observe the goings-on at Cuba's only handcrafted coche (horse cart) production line. Most horse carts you'll see in Cuba are metal…
29.5 MILES
All trips into the park begin at the end of the near-vertical, corrugated-concrete access road at Alto del Naranjo (after Villa Santo Domingo the road…
0.19 MILES
Bayamo's main shopping street was pedestrianized in the 1990s and reconfigured with benches and funky artwork. At its southern end you'll find wax museum…
0.4 MILES
The tiny Museo de Cera, Bayamo’s diminutive version of Madame Tussauds, has convincing waxworks of Cuban personalities such as Polo Montañez, Benny Moré…
Nearby Bayamo attractions
0.15 MILES
In 1868 Céspedes proclaimed Cuba's independence for the first time in front of the columned Ayuntamiento.
0.17 MILES
Directly next door to Céspedes' ex-home, this provincial museum completes Bayamo's historical trajectory with a yellowing city document dating from 1567…
3. Casa Natal de Carlos Manuel de Céspedes
0.17 MILES
Birthplace of the 'father of the motherland,' this museum is where Céspedes was born (on April 18, 1819) and spent his first 12 years. Inside, Céspedes…
0.17 MILES
One of Cuba's leafiest squares, Bayamo's central meeting point is surrounded by pedestrian-only streets, making it a rare and peaceful spot. In addition…
0.19 MILES
Bayamo's main shopping street was pedestrianized in the 1990s and reconfigured with benches and funky artwork. At its southern end you'll find wax museum…
6. Catedral de San Salvador de Bayamo
0.23 MILES
There's been a church on this site since 1514. The current edifice dates from 1740 but was devastated in the 1869 fire, so much of what you see results…
0.24 MILES
This is the one original section of Bayamo's main church to survive the 1869 fire. It sports a gilded wooden altar.
0.29 MILES
A forerunner of the national anthem, cowritten by Céspedes (and, confusingly, also called 'La Bayamesa') was first sung from here on March 27, 1851. A…