Toledo Eats
The first local food we tasted in Toledo was mazapán, the sweet that the city is famous for, made from local almonds, sugar, and egg whites. The mazapán was waiting for us in our hotel room, a gift from hotel management. It tasted nothing like the “marzipan” available in the United States - it was less sweet and more freshly made. We soon discovered that there were shops all over town selling mazapán, in many different forms.
Toledo’s signature dishes are stews. Carcamusas is made with chunks of pork, spicy tomato sauce, and peas. Perdiz a la Toledana is partridge cooked with onions, garlic, and white wine. We had both of these delicious dishes at Bar Ludeña, the restaurant that invented carcamusas. The menu of the day offered three courses and a beverage for just 20€ each. We asked for wine and were given a full bottle of rioja to share. Best meal and best deal in Toledo!
Another local specialty is Manchego cheese. Toledo is the capital city of the La Mancha region (the home of Don Quixote), and Manchego means “of La Mancha.” At the MQM Museo del Queso Manchego, a series of small exhibits explained how the cheese is made from the milk of an ancient breed of sheep called Manchega, using traditional methods. In the tasting room, we sampled three types of Manchego cheese, paired with some excellent Rioja crianza (a superior Rioja aged in oak barrels). We liked the “medium” (aged 6-9 months) cheese best - it was flavorful without being too dry.
A local bakery called Materia was awarded “Best Manchego Cheesecake in Spain” for 2024. So naturally, we had to try one. The center was more custardy than cheescakes we are used to, but it was rich and unmistakably Manchego.
The complimentary hotel breakfast was wonderful! Coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice, and a lovely board with cheese and jamón, fruit and yogurt, and toast with jam or fresh tomato spread. Oh, and there were eggs made to order.
After days of eating jamón and meat stews, we craved vegetables. We found them at Café del Kasco, where the made-to-order veggie paella paired perfectly with a glass of cold Alhambra beer, and at Street & Soul, a vegan restaurant where everything was delicious, especially the roasted pear salad and the “vegetable meat” satay with black rice.
Note: Finding an open restaurant in Toledo was a bit hit or miss. They had odd hours, were closed on different days of the week, and didn’t always match the hours displayed in our maps apps. Many of them didn’t have websites. Fortunately, the city was so compact that it was easy to walk to another spot if the first one was closed.
