Food & Drink At The Iberostar Tainos

It's is well known that Cuba isn't exactly known for its fine cuisine, we were even told this on the bus ride to Varadero resort by our tour rep.

The food in the hotel was not as bad as I was anticipating, the main problem that I found was that everything seemed to lack flavour, however there was a large variety to choose from, so even the pickiest of eaters should find something they like.

There is a salad bar and pasta section as well as hot plates where you can find, steak, vegetables, jacket potatoes, fish, chicken, rice, meatballs and various other hot dishes. They also have a meat joint each night, usually beef or pork and a selection of different cheeses and rolls. For those of you with a sweet tooth they have a large selection of different cakes, ice cream and a fruit stand where you can find melon, pineapple and oranges.

At Breakfast there is a variety of different cereals, yoghurts, pancakes and fruit. There's also chef who will make omelets and fried eggs for you. On the hot plates you'll will find boiled and scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages and they also have a toaster.

Now for all you Brits out there, here is the most important piece of info you will need. When you ask for a cup of tea they will bring you a plate full of different tea bags the aim is to pick the right one, if like me, you are not a lover of herbal tea then you need to choose carefully as from what I can remember there are only two types of black tea. Look for the one with the red tag or in a red packet, also they seem to think that people only have milk in coffee and not tea so ask for milk otherwise you won't get it, and for those who like black coffee make sure you specify this very clearly as they do not ask they will just pour it straight in.

You can also find orange and grapefruit juice but I found these to be very watered down. I didn't see them serve any international drinks but they did sell bottles of Coca Cola in the hotel shop.

Speciality Restaurants

In the holiday brochure it specified that you can only have one visit per week to each of the speciality restaurants but when we arrived we were told that we could go as many times as we liked as long as they had the space. If you want to go to one of the restaurants I would recommend booking it the day before, you can do this at the reception desk, and they will then give you a reservation slip, which you need to take with you on the day. Gentlemen are requested to wear long trousers.

Brazilian Restaurant

I personally didn't go too much on this one; in fact I found it rather amusing. The restaurant is situated next to the Buffet restaurant, when you are seated you will receive a menu, which you then get told you don't actually order from the menu is pre-set. They have a small buffet there, which you help yourself to first, then you are given a plate with one small jacket potato and some vegetables, then one-by-one you will get served 4 or 5 different types of meat, sausage, white sausage, chicken and pork. These will all be done individually so my best tip is do not wait until they are all served as everything else will get cold. You can find desserts on the buffet table.

Creole Restaurant

This was my favorite of the two, it is situated next to the Rancho Bar, unlike the Brazilian restaurant, you have a menu which you do order off, there are a few different options to choose from, I would recommend having the soup as a starter rather than eat from the small buffet, as the restaurant is open plan and attracts a lot of bugs which head straight for the food. I had steak here, which was lovely, and my boyfriend had the fish, which was recommended by the waiter, you then have a few different options for dessert.
The one thing that puts many people off is the fact that it is open, so you do get quite a few mosquitoes but if you cover up then you should be fine.

Our Photos of the restaurants and bars at the Iberostar Tainos

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Bars

There are 4 bars at this hotel:

Lobby Bar
Beach Bar
Pool Bar
Rancho Bar

The lobby bar was quite busy in the evenings, we tended to avoid it due to the mosquitoes, the pool bar is quite small and gets very busy during the day so you often have to wait a long time to get served, you are better off taking the 30 second walk to the Rancho Bar as this is less busy.
Then you have the Beach Bar which is great for when you want to spend the day on the beach they also have a waitress service here which is really nice. You can taste some differences in a few of the bars, for example the tea and coffee was better in the Rancho Bar but the Pina Coladas were nicer in the Lobby Bar. Once you have been there a few days you get to know the best places to get your drinks, it's more of a case of what you personally prefer.

Lunch

Most people head to the pool bar for lunch, there is a medium size buffet where you can find, salad, pasta, bread, burgers and chips, they also have fruit and ice cream. Once a week they have a BBQ on the beach where you can find burgers, hot dogs and fresh fish.

Opening Times

Breakfast

Continental Breakfast from 4am to 7am.
General breakfast with a varied buffet from 7am to 10.30am.
For those who get up late they also prepare a continental breakfast from 10.30am to noon.

Lunch

At the buffet restaurant 1pm - 3pm or at the snack bar 12 noon - 4pm.

Dinner

Buffet restaurant - 6.30pm - 9.30pm.
Brazilian - 7pm - 9.30pm.
Cuban - 7pm - 9.30pm.

Bars

Lobby Bar - 9am - 1am.
Theatre Bar - 7pm - Midnight.
Pool Bar - 10am - 5pm.
Bar Ranchon - 10am - Midnight.
Beach Bar - 10am - 6pm.

Swimming Pool closes at 7pm.

Read Visitor Reviews on Alpharooms.com