Cafeteria Frente al Aeropuerto sits across from SCU’s T1
This is a basic street-side café just outside Antonio Maceo International Airport’s Terminal 1, across the main access road rather than inside the terminal. It’s useful if you arrive early and find the limited airside options closed or overwhelmed. Expect a simple Cuban-style setup: counter service, a few tables, and cash-based payment more common than card.
Pricing here typically undercuts terminal snacks, with coffee and soft drinks often under the equivalent of a few US dollars, depending on current local rates. Food usually leans to simple items like ham-and-cheese sandwiches, small pastries, and maybe a basic plate of rice and beans if you hit it around local mealtimes. Don’t come expecting printed English menus or fixed pricing boards like a chain.
Because it’s outside the airport fence line, you need to factor in the extra 5–10 minutes to cross the road and walk back through the front of T1 before check-in or security. That means this spot suits arrivals or very early departures, not tight turnarounds. Once you head back to the terminal, you still deal with standard SCU check-in queues and security screening times.
Official hours aren’t published anywhere, and reviews don’t pin down an opening or closing time, so assume local-owner flexibility. Early-morning flights around 06:00 may find it shut, and late-night arrivals after 22:00 are hit-or-miss. Treat it as a “nice if open” option rather than your only meal plan before a long-haul connection out of Cuba.
Practical tip: ask your taxi driver or airport staff on arrival if “la cafetería frente al aeropuerto” is open before walking over, then keep small local bills handy in case they don’t accept cards or larger foreign notes.