A video posted on Facebook by content creator Isabel (IsabelVlogs) shows the current state of neglect of the former Chinese restaurant Lai-Lai, located on 18th Street and 1st Avenue in Varadero, in the province of Matanzas, and has sparked a wave of nostalgia among Cubans both on the island and abroad.
The content creator and bartender at a hotel in that tourist destination recorded the clip in response to a request from her followers and accompanied it with words that summarize the collective sentiment: beautiful memories in this place, the food was very tasty that was eaten there, specialty: Chinese food.
However, the images tell a different story: broken windows, overgrown weeds, peeling paint, and a makeshift perimeter fence are all that remains of an establishment that for decades was a culinary landmark of Cuba's main beach resort.
The Lai-Lai, whose name means "come, come" in Mandarin, has a history that dates back to before 1959, when the property was a private summer house.
After the Revolution, the State expropriated it and initially used it as a party hall for weddings and quinceañeras, and later transformed it into a Chinese restaurant.
In the 1980s it generated long lines due to the quality of its cuisine, although its prices made it inaccessible for most Cubans.
More than five years ago, the regime closed the establishment under the pretext of a "major renovation" that never took place.
In March 2022, a report already documented deep cracks in the walls, collapsed ceilings, damaged woodwork and shattered glassware, with the seafront in ruins.
Four years later, the deterioration has only progressed, and IsabelVlogs' video confirms this with images that painfully contrast with the memories of those who once dined there.
The case of Lai-Lai is not an exception but rather part of a systematic pattern of neglect of recreational and tourist infrastructure in Cuba.
In recent months, similar situations have been documented in Boca Ciega, the Liceo de Guanabo, the coastal development of Tarará, and the Floridita restaurant in Havana, which appeared completely empty of customers in a video from late March.
This deterioration coincides with the worst tourist collapse in Cuba in decades: the island closed 2025 with only 1.8 million international visitors, the lowest figure since 2002 excluding the pandemic, and in January 2026, only 184,833 tourists arrived, a 9% decrease compared to the same month of the previous year.
Varadero, which used to welcome over a million tourists annually a decade ago, today faces an estimated 70% decrease in visitors, empty streets, and a hotel occupancy rate that did not exceed 21.5% across the entire island in 2025.
While the government shows no signs of action, the Lai-Lai continues to wait for a promised restoration that has been long overdue, becoming a symbol of the culinary and recreational heritage that Cuba has allowed to decay.
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