In Havana, the question ‘What bar should we go to?’ is a particularly good one. With so many excellent bars to choose from you would be forgiven for feeling a little overwhelmed with the choice.

Best 5 bars in Havana with live music

In Havana’s best live music bars you get to mix with locals, make friends, share stories and taste a bit of the local culture through dance, music, and drinks.

Here are some of our favorite bars in Havana where you can also enjoy great live performances. Choose your tunes – jazz, trova, boleros or rock ‘n’ roll – and get a taste of Cuba’s top musical talents.

  • La Zorra y el Cuervo

    This subterranean, cramped, smoky jazz club is the epitome of the genuine jazz joint. Its tiny stage has seen some of the brightest stars of the Cuban jazz scene, ranging from Chucho Valdés to Roberto Fonseca to spontaneous visits from international giants like Wynton Marsalis. There are also performances from the young up-and-coming Cuban jazz crowd in the line-up every night.

    Opening hours: 22:00 – 2:00
    23rd Street between N and O, Vedado
  • La Bombilla Verde

    La Bombilla Verde owes its name to a song by the Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodriguez. Right now it is an active artistic space in El Vedado, a kind of cultural café and tapas bar where the Cuban Trova is the star, with live performances almost every night, sometimes programmed and sometimes improvised. Young songwriters from all over the island come to perform here. Bohemian and relaxed, it’s quite different from the prevailing bar environment in the city.

    Opening hours: 12:00 – 24:00
    905 11th Street between 6th y 8th, Vedado.
  • El Gato Tuerto

    El Gato Tuerto (literally “the one-eyed cat”) is a dimly lit bar with gleaming furniture, crowned with a small stage and only a few tables. Once a meeting point for local artists and intellectuals, the iconic bar is known for its intimate atmosphere and live bolero performances. Today visitors can enjoy great live, slow-tempo Latin bolero performances as well as Cuban Trova music and jazz.

    Opening hours: 22:00 – 4:00
    14 O Street between 17th y 19th, Vedado
  • Pazillo

    A cozy space located in the Vedado neighborhood, Bar Pazillo is a relaxed space reminiscent of a living room with your favorite records playing in the background. Aside from excellent live music performances from renowned artists every night of the week, the bar offers an irresistible array of the cocktails, from deliciously refreshing caipirinhas to perfectly balanced gin and tonics.

    Opening hours: 12:00 – 3:00
    604 5th Ave between 4th and 6th, Vedado.
  • Underground fun: the conga room

    Whether you call it “Elegguá”, “the bar with no name” or its official moniker, “The Conga Room” (all three can be used to refer to this place), everyone agrees there are few better things to do in Old Havana at 3 am. This is the kind of clubby bar that you discover by chance. You start the night not knowing anyone and end up inviting a dozen new friends to your home for one final drink. Dark and decadent, it is the most underground bar in Havana

    209 Aguiar Street between Tejadillo and Empedrado, Old Havana

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