Havana: Coppelia serves ice cream again, but its prices scare away customers

Havana/The first flavor offered this Wednesday in Coppelia It’s not strawberry or chocolate: it’s the scare. As soon as the customers settle down at one of the tables in room one of La Torre, an employee says good morning to them and, before taking their order, warns them: “Just so you know, the ball costs 175 pesos.” The advertisement has the effectiveness of a repellent. A man and a woman who had just sat down get up and leave.

The once cathedral of ice cream has changed the endless lines for a silence that is barely interrupted by the voices of the workers inviting people to enter.

The former cathedral of ice cream, on the corner of 23rd and L in Havana’s El Vedado, has changed the endless lines for a silence that is barely interrupted by the voices of the workers inviting people to enter. From that Coppelia where students met at the exit of the classrooms, couples met for a date and friends spent hours talking, the iron fences, the trees and the roof of peculiar geometry remain. The clientele, on the other hand, now fits comfortably in a small part of the only room that provides service.

Only part of La Torre and an outside kiosk are working this Wednesday. In the first, three flavors are offered: pineapple orange, chocolate strawberry and condensed milk. In the second, next to the stairs to the upper floor, they sell waffles with Tropical brand ice cream, for 150 pesos each.

Above, the balls served in crystal glasses also do not impress with their size. A family orders two for each member and the grandmother sums up the experience with a devastating sentence: “They stayed in my teeth.” Another consumer concedes that at least they no longer serve them in layers, as was the case before, but he also finds no reason to be enthusiastic. “The ice cream can be had, it’s not bad, but I’ve tried them better in private ice cream parlors,” he admits.

The product served at La Torre comes from a MSME, not from the traditional and state-owned Coppelia brand. The private presence in these facilities is not a national exception either. In July, the family business Hakuna Matata agreed to take over the ice cream and dairy offering at Coppelia on the Isle of Youth. Before, the establishment of Sancti Spíritus had reopened supplied by a private company from Ciego de Ávila.

The product served at La Torre comes from a MSME, not from the traditional and state-owned Coppelia brand.

The jump in prices in Coppelia allows us to measure how much the Cuban pocket has shrunk. Before the Ordering Task, a ball cost 1.50 pesos. In 2021 it went to seven pesos on the ground floor and La Torre courts.. In May 2023 was sold at nine pesos and, when Coppelia reopened in February 2025, The prices ranged between 30 and 40 for each one. The current 175 represents almost six times the lowest rate of that reopening.

To this we must add that the recent history of the establishment seems like a novel in installments, with more closures than happy endings. In December 2024 it was practically paralyzed; In February 2025 it reopened amid restrictions and shortages. In March of this year it closed again due to lack of ice cream and, when service returned, there was only one flavor: chocolate.

Now the problem is not only finding ice cream, but being able to pay for it. Not even the traditional glass of water accompanies the snack. Anyone who is thirsty should buy a small bottle for 240 pesos. And, as if the establishment wanted to remember that it continues to carry the vices of gastronomic service in Cuba, from inside an employee this Wednesday let out a shout that crossed the room: “The water is gone!” to notice that there was no longer any way to wash the glasses or the spoons.