Japanese flag outside Crepe Sayu
Crepe Sayu is a small restaurant on the corner of Obrapía and Aguacate streets in Old Havana (Habana Vieja) run by Japanese journalist Sayuri Yoshida. Prior to visiting Cuba I read Sayuri’s fascinating story and looked forward to visiting Crepe Sayu. Having lived in Japan Rocío was also keen.
Miso soup and a main course at Crepe Sayu
Crepe Sayu has delicious, good-value Japanese food including rice dishes with pork, chicken and seafood, sushi, savoury and sweet crepes and miso soup. Drinks include green tea, lemonade and mojitos.
Mojitos and banana and guava paste crepes
The restaurant became our go-to place for lunch and we ate there at least seven times during our Havana visits. The shared tables encouraged conversations between guests. Here we met Minami, a Japanese tourist who surveyed the ruined Campoamor Theatre with us. One time in Havana there were four of us and Rocío spoke Japanese to Minami, English to me and Spanish to the other, all in the same conversation – impressive!
Savoury crepes
Rocío and Sayuri swapped gifts with Rocío giving a gift bought at the Peruvian Japanese Cultural Centre in Lima.
Lemonade, green tea and a main course
Given the ingredient scarcity in Cuba, an authentic Japanese eatery is impossible but Sayuri has done a great job with what’s available.
Kimuchi (Japanese kimchi) and chopsticks at Crepe Sayu
