Cuban Pizza for Sale: The Story of a Street-Side Pizzeria

Cuban pizza is real, and it follows its own unique recipe. It is not that Cuba is trying to claim Italy’s culinary heritage, but rather that Cuban cuisine has excelled at cultural adaptation, reinterpreting dishes to fit the island’s ingredients and culinary traditions. The result is a Creole-style dish, Roman in its foundation only, with a small, thick, spongy base, crispy edges, and a foldable texture ideal for eating with your hands—no cutlery or formalities required.

Italian pizza first crossed the Atlantic and found its way to Havana in the mid-20th century, eventually spreading across the country. Iconic pizzerias such as Frascatti, Da Rosina, and Montecatini began to appear. However, the Cuban pizza that stirs nostalgia for those missing the flavors of home emerged later, during the economic crisis of the 1990s.

Cuban Pizza: A Dish Born of Popular Ingenuity

As a survival food born from scarcity, Cuban pizza gave rise to a unique and uncommon hospitality concept—street-side pizzerias. These modest establishments had no tables or chairs, just a small opening to place and collect an order.

What started as an unconventional practice evolved into one of the most recognizable staples of Cuban street food. In Cuba today, wherever you go, it is rare to find a block without a sign that reads “Pizzería.”

In Havana, a pizzeria may be set up in a doorway or window, serving as a counter for a homemade pizza business, most often run by families. The pizzas are cooked in rustic wood-fired ovens and sold at lower prices than those in restaurants. Varieties include Neapolitan, ham, onion, sausage, pepper, and Hawaiian, while the core ingredients—wheat flour, tomato, salt, and cheese (whether melted or gouda)—remain consistent.

This phenomenon transformed pizza into a fast and affordable food option.

Where to eat after a hectic day at school or work?

At a street-side pizzeria, which serves as a kind of reliable fixed daily menu. In fact, if asked to name a typical Cuban street food dish, pizza and tamales often come to mind before more traditional but elaborate meals like congrí rice with pork or ropa vieja.

The International Reach of Cuban Pizza

It is clear that Cuban pizza is not a mere copy but has developed its own culinary identity. It is an emotional food, tied to survival, family, and creative resilience. For many, it is an essential part of Cuba’s culinary folklore.

Today, Cuban pizza is extending beyond the archipelago and gaining visibility on the international culinary map. In Madrid, Spain, for instance, establishments such as El Cubanero, ApuLuLu, and Locco Pizza offer their take on Cuban pizza, recreating its flavor even when the ingredients are not entirely the same.

When nostalgia hits, there is perhaps no better way to feel at home than to eat something that, despite its simplicity, carries the flavor and spirit of a shared cultural reality.