7-course gourmet taster menu on a short walk in Caravaca de la Cruz for just 25.50 euros!

Enjoy the city centre as you discover some of the favourite snacks of Caravaca!

In 2025 the Town Hall of Caravaca de la Cruz has joined forces with local restaurants to launch a series of five easily affordable gastronomic routes in and around the city under the name of Sabores del Camino, enabling visitors (and locals!) to enjoy the local cuisine whether they are exploring for the first time or retracing familiar ground.

One of these routes is the “Camino de Levante” (The Eastern Way), named after the main pilgrimage route featured in the city’s Holy Jubilee Year every seven years. All of the 7 bars, cafeterias and restaurants featured on this route are within 100 metres or so, so a little to-ing and fro-ing is no inconvenience, and are located close to the Plaza del Arco, the church of El Salvador and the start of the climb up to the castle-sanctuary.

They are presented here in a suggested order, but of course you can pick and choose!

To start with, one of the local tapas, this time the “Tapa del Pelegrino” (the pilgrim’s tapa) at Bodegón Isi. This is a classic old tavern where the traditional food of the area is revered, and this tasty tapa consists of a slice of toasted artisan bread topped with sobrasada spicy meat spread, fresh cheese and an anchovy.

First served here during the Holy Jubilee Year of 2003, the dish is priced at just 2.50 euros, a fine way to whet the appetite for what’s to come!

Next up is a quick “Crunch Trufado” at La Bodega. On our toast this time is a specially created truffled cheese with tomato, dried and cured fish and dried black olives, a delicacy which will set us back just 4 euros in a gastro-bar which enjoys such a wonderful location.

Moving away from the traditions of Murcia cuisine, let’s move on to try a little tuna tataki at Restaurante del Progreso in Plaza Nueva. The restaurant fuses standard Mediterranean-style cooking with modern touches and prides itself on the quality of service provided. Price? Just 4 euros again!

Now back to a very traditional Murcia speciality, the delicious “morcilla” blood sausage, although at Bar 33 in Calle Pilar it is served on a crunchy base with a cheese and pistachio topping. Our portion sets us back just 3 euros: sit outside the bar, which has been run by the same family for 3 generations, and enjoy the great view up to the castle!

The starters are now merging into a series of mini main courses, and next on the menu is the Pavé Bravo, a crunchy mix of salsa brava, sobrasada made using the meat of the “chato murciano” breed of pig and honey alioli. This is served at Las Delicias del Horno, one of the flagship restaurants in the historic centre of Caravaca, but your portion is going to cost you no more than 3.50 euros!

The big question now is are you still hungry enough for a portion of beef? Only a small one, but the recommendation is the delicious “picaña trufada”, a few slices of rump steak served on wasa bread with truffle sauce, as served in La Despensa del Peregrino, a bar with its own butcher’s shop where the specialities are mainly grilled and barbecued meat. A wide range of tapas are served from Thursday to Sunday and this one comes in at 4.50 euros.

Finally, to round off your culinary tour of this delightful corner of Caravaca, a truly representative dessert from the north-west of Murcia: a couland made using local cheeses, filled with pear jam and served on a biscuit and lavender honey base. This is on offer at Cafetería el Horno, and each dish of “Sabor de mi Tierra” costs 4 euros.

And the total cost for this gourmet taster menu is just 25.50 euros (drinks not included), although at 7 courses you might decide not to complete the whole menu!!!

Establishments featured

Bodegón Isi, Calle Pocico nº 2, open Wednesday to Friday 11.00-16.00 and 19.30 to midnight, Saturdays 12.00-16.00 and 19.00 to midnight, Sundays 12.00 to 16.00, telephone 626 648043). Click for map.

La Bodega, Plaza del Arco nº4, open Sunday to Thursdays 11.00-16.30, Fridays and Saturdays 11.00-16.30 and 20.00 to 23.30, telephone 645 079431). Click for map.

Restaurante del Progreso, Plaza Nueva 2, open every day 9.00 to 16.30 and 20.00 to midnight, telephone 676 359986. Click for map.

Bar 33, Calle Pilar 17, open from 12.00 to 16.00 and 20.00 to midnight every day except Sunday evenings and all day Wednesday, telephone 968 702719. Click for map.

Las Delicias del Horno, Calle Mayor, 7, open every lunchtime 13.00-16.00 and Tuesday to Saturday evenings 20.00 to midnight, telephone 868 175166. Click for map.

La Despensa del Peregrino, Calle Mayor 13, open Thursday to Sunday between 13.00 and 16.00 and on Fridays and Saturdays from 20.00 to 23.00, telephone 868 185063 / 627 282803. Click for map.

Cafetería el Horno, Calle Mayor 7, open every day from 8.00 to 23.00, telephone 696 703387. Click for map.

Prizes available!

Those completing any of the Sabores del Camino routes in Caravaca can enter draws for prizes, such as free dinners at the restaurants taking part. All you need is a QR scanner and to get your app stamped at each establishment you visit: register your details here!

For more local events, news and visiting information contact the tourist office and information points or go to the home page of Caravaca Today.

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Calle De Las Monjas, 19, 30400 CARAVACA DE LA CRUZ

Tel: 968 702424 / 968 701003

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Caravaca de la Cruz tourist office

More information about the places of interest which can be visited in the municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz, along with what's on and local news can be found in the Caravaca Today.

Caravaca de la Cruz, in the north-west of the Region of Murcia, is one of only 5 Holy Cities in the Roman Catholic world, a centre of pilgrimage, along with Rome, Jerusalem, Santiago de Compostela and Santo Toribio de Liebana, and is home to the Cross of Caravaca, the Vera Cruz.

The status of Holy City was bestowed by Pope John Paul II in 1998, granting the City a Permanent Jubilee year every 7 years for perpetuity, the first one held in 2003 and the next in 2024.

The strategic and natural advantages of Caravaca de la Cruz have attracted the attention of settlers for more than 800,000 years, the Cueva Negra yielding remains of Homo Heidelbergensis, forbears of the Neanderthals and the municipality also houses important archaeological remains from the Argaric, Iberian and Roman cultures. many of these can be seen in the Municipal Archaeological Museum.

As a border town caught between the Catholic forces of Castille and the last remaining Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada, Caravaca had a turbulent medieval history, but it was during this period that the legend of the Cross of Caravaca was born, bringing the religious orders which shaped the structure of Caravaca today, with its impressive hilltop castle and eclectic collection of churches and monasteries, religious tourism today being a backbone of the town´s economy.

Caravaca de la Cruz is a municipality with important natural resources, including extensive forests, part of which have protected status due to their wealth of flora and fauna, and due to the abundant water supplies is also a major area for canned fruit production, apricots in particular being an important crop.

Caravaca is renown for its important May Fiestas, held in honour of the Vera Cruz, which also incorporate the Moors and Christians celebrations and the Running of the Wine Horses.

Caravaca de la Cruz is also the home of Europe´s largest collection of ethnic instruments at Barranda, the Museo de Música Étnica Barranda  and is the location of the Barranda festival de Cuadrillas, which celebrates the Region's ethnic music traditions.

The municipality is home to around 26,000 inhabitants and shares boundaries with Moratalla, Cehegín, Lorca, Puebla de Don Fadrique in the province of Granada and Vélez-Blanco in the province of Almería.

Tourist office opening times:

Weekdays: 10.00 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30

Saturdays: 10.30 to 14.00 and 16.30 to 19.30

Sundays and public holidays: 10.30 to 14.00

 

Click for map, Caravaca de la Cruz Tourist Office