The best way to get to know the local gastronomy of Toledo, especially if it is your first time visiting the city, is by hiring a tour with an expert local guide. Discovering the true essence of the gastronomy of the city isn’t as simple as it might seem at first glance, and having a local help navigate the experience is the best way to go. Here are our top picks for the best gastronomic tours of Toledo.
Toledo is a well-known medieval city, located just south of Madrid in the autonomous community of Castilla la Mancha. The city looks like something out of a storybook: an ancient city, perched upon a hill, surrounded by a natural moat (the Tajo river) famous for its production of swords and precious metals. The city is filled with amazing sites to see, and of course, places to eat. A Tour to Toledo is a must for any traveler visiting Madrid. There are many daily tours available. in our opinion, the cheap bus tours are better booked with no meal. You can then enjoy a good quality meal on your own. Private tours or more expensive bus tours usually offer good options to enjoy local meals. You can find here some of our recommended tours to Toledo.
In this article, our expert local guides have put together a list of the top restaurants in the city, to help you plan your perfect Toledo experience.
El Albero is located just outside the medieval walls, near the famous Puerta Nueva de Bisagra.
This restaurant’s traditional Spanish tavern has over 30 years of experience in is serving the public. They serve typical Spanish and La Mancha dishes such as stewed partridge, sweetbreads or oxtail, using the latest culinary techniques and top quality products.
Prices are higher, but the restaurant offers a ton of value for the price you pay.
They open from Wednesday to Monday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Wednesday to Saturday from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Another affordable option with generous portions. This traditional, cozy, and inviting Castillian tavern will make you feel at home while they prepare their delicious home-style cooking. Dishes including Galician beef entrecote, wild asparagus with ham, suckling lamb with potatoes or Iberian ham croquettes. If you want to try their desserts go for the brioche torrija with cinnamon ice cream and the chocolate coulant.
Address: Calle Merced, 6.
Hours: closed on Mondays. Rest of days, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
La Mar Salá is located just outside of the cities old quarter. It is a small, attractively designed eatery with great service. They specialize in seafood which is all wild-caught and of the highest quality. Dishes are tasty and elaborate including the wild bluefin tuna tartare, their red prawn,s or their smoked sardines.
In addition to trying the dishes on the menu accompanied by good wine, they also offer a very reasonably priced 6-course executive menu for 36 euros.
Opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Thursday to Saturday from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
The Maruxiña Lounge is a mix of traditional Spanish cuisine and avant-garde proposals, located right next to the famous Greco Museum and near the cities spectacular Santa María la Blanca Synagogue. The restaurant has an urban and modern atmosphere. You will find dishes like their famous grilled octopus, truffle oil burrata, steak tartare, pad thai, crispy duck or cheesecake. In addition, it has a lounge where you can enjoy pinchos and a magnificent terrace where you can enjoy a drink or dinner with unbeatable views.
Opening hours are: The restaurant remains closed on Mondays. On Sundays, they are only open for meals. Rest of the week, from 11:00 to 16:00 and 20:00 to 23:00 (on Fridays and Saturdays they close at 01:00).
The Parador of Toledo, aside from offering an excellent meal, it enjoys the best panoramic views of the city, making it perhaps the best option fro a romantic diner.
The restaurant offers a well-balanced menu that features a combination of traditional and modern cuisine, in an environment that emulates the old bourgeois Toledo farms, known by the name of cigarrales.
The Parado is also a hotel, but the restaurant opens every day from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Entre Dos Fuegos is located in the Entre Dos Aguas boutique hotel, in the heart of Toledo’s old quarter. The restaurant offers magnificent views from its terrace, making it ideal for a romantic lunch or dinner.
Although it is only a couple of years old, it has already established itself among the best places to eat in Toledo. The restaurant also features an excellent bar and offers high-quality seasonal dishes and an exquisite tasting menu.
The restaurant serves lunch after 2:30 p.m. and dinners from 9:30 p.m., every day.
The As de Espadas restaurant serves traditional Castilian cuisine and a very reasonable price and offers some of the best service in the city. On the menu, go for the sweetbreads with mushrooms, the lamb shoulder, the lamb chops or the red tuna. They offer an extensive wine menu, perfect to accompany your meal. The restaurant is located near the Toledo train station, making it a great option for a meal just before heading back to the big city for the day.
As de Espadas closes on Sundays. The rest of the week, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Casa Tabordo has long been considered one of the best restaurants in Toledo. It offers a great combination of atmosphere, location (on the banks of the Tajo river), and carefully prepared gastronomy. The restaurant serves traditional Toledano dishes, with a slight personal twist. They only work with the highest quality and freshest seasonal products preparing a menu created with market foods and accompanying one of the excellent wines from their extensive cellar. On the menu, you will find stand-outs like the boneless suckling pig, in its juice with crunchy pumpkin; turbot with piparras and garlic oil emulsion; venison tenderloin in mustard marinade, red wine sauce and apple and plum compote; and its delicious torrijas with caramelized cream and vanilla ice cream.
The restaurant remains closed on Mondays. Lunch is served from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and dinners from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. (except Sundays and Mondays).
Clandestina is a more modern option and offers different spaces where you can enjoy your meal. The restaurant features a garden, a tavern area, a main dining area, and a vaulted cave, where you can choose to dine.
The kitchen only uses the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients. Among its most popular dishes are boneless suckling pig, deer croquettes and meatballs, rice, and ravioli.
Opening hours are from Tuesday to Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. and Wednesday to Saturday from 8:00 p.m. to 10:45 p.m.
This affordable restaurant is located just Plaza Zocodover. It is a beautifully designed brewery that gets busy every day with people flocking there to try their iconic tapas. Tapas such as their famous potato bomb, tenderloin sandwiches, and the different grilled meats. The average price of each tapa is between 4 and 5 euros, the sandwiches go for less than 3 euros, and the grilled meat platters for about 10 euros.
The only drawback of the place is its small size that makes you have to wait a long time at the bar accompanied by a beer.
Address: Calle de Santa Fe, 1.
Hours: Monday to Friday from 9am to midnight, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 1am.
Located in the heart of the old town, Bar Ludeña is one of the most famous restaurants in the city because of its delicious food and affordable prices.
The restaurant specializes in traditional, homemade, local cuisine. You will find Cachas Toledanas (the Toledo-style partridge) and Carcamusas (a dish that consists of stewed meat with tomato, peas, and a slightly spicy sauce).
The restaurant is very popular, so if you want to make sure you get a table, make sure you get there with some time because reservations are not allowed. They open Monday to Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Sunday only at noon.
El Peñón, is located near the aforementioned located near La Mar Salá. The restaurant serves delicious homemade dishes at an affordable price. Here you can try dishes such as the typical carcamusa, cooked, artichokes or Basque cod, featured on their lunch menu for just 13 euros.
The service is also top not and it is advisable to call in advance to make a reservation.
Opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
This restaurant is located between the two most important synagogues of the old Jewish quarter, is another of the restaurants where you can eat very well in Toledo.
The restaurant is housed within an old color factory on the ground floor of the beautiful Hotel San Juan de los Reyes. The restaurant offers elaborate traditional recipes with avant-garde touches are made. In addition to having an extensive menu with dishes such as sweetbreads, Toledo-style partridge or pork tenderloin, it has three menus ranging from 18 to 32 euros, which costs the tasting.
They are open every day from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
El Botero is a traditional Castilian tavern, just meters from the famous Cathedral of Toledo. It is an excellent place to enjoy trying typical dishes with a modern touch accompanied by a good house vermouth.
They offer everything from delicious homemade croquettes, venison, oxtail lasagna, and charcoal seared cod.
On the ground floor there is a great atmosphere and it is perfect for having tapas or having a cocktail at night, while on the upper floor you can eat more quietly for about 25 euros per person.
They open Monday from 12pm to 5pm; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 12 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 12 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
COMES is a less traditional option, but a tasty one all the same. COMES is a homemade pizza joint in the center of Toledo. On the menu, you will find wonderful dishes like their cervantina pizza, pumpkin millefeuille, the oxtail ravioli, and the desserts are also fantastic.
COMES is open every day from 9am to midnight.
A Lo Nuestro Tapería & Restaurante is a very nice little traditional tavern in the center of Toledo. They offer a complete menu of craft beers from Castilla La Mancha.
The main menu features a long list of classic Castilian dishes such as red partridge, Toledo carcamusas (a typical dish prepared with lean pork, seasonal vegetables and potatoes, served in a casserole) clay), deer stew, and, for dessert, marzipan.
The restaurant opens everyday from 12:00 to 16:30.
It is not surprising that in a city with an Arab heritage like Toledo, that one of the best restaurants would serve this style of cuisine.
This is the case of the Marrakech restaurant. Located in the heart of the city, in Marrakech you can try, at a very good price, delicious dishes such as hummus, veal couscous with vegetables, shawarma, and the varied Arab pastry. An authentic, exotic, and tasty discovery.
Opening hours are from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Our list wouldn’t be complete without Quixote, and it only seems fitting to have the most Castilian symbol on our list.
The restaurant defines its cuisine as: “a journey into culinary tradition hand in hand with the avant-garde”. The restaurant is located within the Hotel Eurostars Palacio Buenavista, and enjoys a wonderful setting and amazing views of the city. The main dining hall is classically decorated and the menu is filled with traditional Manchego dishes like the Manchego cheese board, grilled Presa Iberian with romesco, hake with noisette butter, capers and boiled potatoes, and the yogurt made from sheep’s milk with macadamia, honey, and ginger.
The Alcázar of Toledo is the fortress that presides over the city of Toledo. Built at the highest point in the city it is currently is an important government building and contains the war museum of Toledo. Alcazar of Toledo – Visitor´s Guide How long to see the Alcázar of Toledo?
Convento de Santa Isabel de los Reyes in Toledo The Convent de Santa Isabel de los Reyes in Toledo, which takes in the Palacios de Casarrubios and Arroyomolinos, was established in 1477. This is not usually considered as one of the top sights in Toledo, but we believe it is
Puerta de Bisagra in Toledo The Puerta de Bisagra in Toledo is one of the gates of the City. It is the most famous Gate of the city and one of the top attractions of Toledo. The Gate of Bisagra, also known as the “New Gate” was first known as
Transito Synagogue in Toledo Toledo is the city of 3 cultures and this top attraction, Sinagoga del Transito is good proof for this name. The Transito Synagogue also receives the name of the Synagogue of Samuel ha Leví since it was him who sponsored its construction. The interior of the
