The Radio Restaurant Rodrigo Rey Doce Propietor [sic] ... Welcome V.S. [sic] Navy ... Good Home Cooking…

A rare unrecorded Cuban restaurant menu serving American naval servicemen

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A rare, unrecorded Cuban restaurant menu directed at American naval servicemen. This bilingual broadside functions as both menu and advertisement for Rodrigo Rey Doce’s restaurant, aptly named “The Radio,” promising “Good Home Cooking” to the U.S. Navy through a fixed-price offering.

For one dollar, patrons could order familiar comforts—ham and eggs, “beesteak,” “french fried potatoes,” veal chops, or cheese with guava jelly—while ice-cold beer was offered at the same price, a detail that hints at the economics of leisure near a U.S. base. An à la carte menu supplemented the set meal, listing dishes in both English and Spanish, including bacon and eggs, fried fish steak, fried fish (parguitos), vermicelli soup, and simple fruit desserts.

The menu suggests a steady clientele of American sailors, likely stationed at Guantánamo, and captures a small but telling moment of cultural exchange between Cuban proprietors and the U.S. Navy. A rare survival, likely kept as a souvenir by a sailor and brought home to the United States.

Price: $125.00