Image by Diana Rita Cabrera-Hernandez Lonely Planet Only in Havana! The entrance to the city's most legendary private restaurant greets you like a scene out of a 1940s film noir. A decapitated statue at the bottom of a grand but dilapidated staircase leads up past lines of drying clothes to a wooden door, behind which lie multiple culinary surprises. La Guarida's lofty reputation was first fermented in the 1990s when it was used as a location for the Oscar-nominated film . Not surprisingly, the food is still up there with Havana's best, shoehorning its pioneering brand of Nueva Cocina Cubana into dishes such as rabbit pâté and oxtail risotto. Reservations recommended.