Restaurants in Yecla
Try local Gazpachos Yeclanos or fried goat cheese in tomato, washed down with a drop of good local wine
There are plenty of options for those choosing to eat out in Yecla, ranging from tapas to gastronomic taster menus, as well as practical lunchtime set menus (Menú del Día set meals).
Yecla is well known for its warming stews, soups and hearty meals including traditional gazpachos yeclanos. This is not gazpacho in the sense of a cold Mediterranean soup, but is a large flat disc of a bread-type base, spread with game, snails and rich stock, all eaten with a special wooden spoon and designed to share. It's a rich, hearty dish and if you choose to order it, then be sensible beforehand and stick to a salad and perhaps caldo con pelotas (meatballs in a rich chicken broth) or fried goats’ cheese with tomato, another very typical Yecla dish, as otherwise it will prove impossible to finish!
It’s well worth trying, particularly if washed down with one of the excellent reds produced in the Yecla area (click here for more information about how to visit the Yecla wineries).
Diners normally eat the meat and softened bread from the centre, then finish off the crust from around the edge with honey afterwards.
Known as the dish of shepherds and hunters, this was cooked traditionally over an open fire, the flat bread forming the base on which meat hunted from the land, and snails gathered from the countryside, were cooked.
The image shows a gazpacho enjoyed in Restaurante Los Chispos, which has been particularly recognised for its Gazpacho, although the dish is also available in plenty more local eateries!
La Zaranda
For more local information including What's on and what to see, go to the home page of Yecla Today.
Oficina de Turismo de Yecla
Yecla is a large municipality in the north of the Region of Murcia, home to just under 35,000 people, and these days is best known for its wines, which enjoy Denomination of Origin status, and its furniture production, which has its origins in the abundance of pine trees on the mountainsides and the high plateaux.
While visitors in the 21st century may be attracted primarily by wine tourism, the town (or city, as it was proclaimed in 1878) also has a wide historical, cultural and natural heritage, and an identity quite different from the coastal areas of the Region of Murcia. For this reason it is often grouped together with its neighbour and fellow wine-producing area Jumilla as part of the Altiplano area.
Yecla borders with Castilla-La Mancha and the Region of Valencia and is closer to Alicante coastal areas than much of Murcia. These visitors come to see the historic old town itself - an atmospheric and interesting place, crammed full of history - the natural beauty of Monte Arabí, with stunning views for those who enjoy the outdoors, the gastonomy and of course the wine route.
Yecla boasts cave paintings from 10,000 years ago in Monte Arabí, a Bronze Age settlement at El Arabilejo, Iberian remains in El Pulpillo and a Roman administrative centre at Los Torrejones as well as the remnants of the 11th century Moorish castle on the hill behind the town. More modern (and complete) testimony to the past are the buildings in the town centre, which include the grandiose Basílica de la Purísima, with its striking blue dome, the archaeological museum and the attractive Plaza Mayor, where the 16th century Town Hall stands alongside the Renaissance Casa de los Alarcos, the clock tower and the old grain store.
The tourist office holds a full selection of leaflets, maps, pre-planned routes, accommodation and restaurant options and information about visiting Yecla for both individuals and groups.
There is parking close to the tourist office, although those driving to Yecla for the first time are advised to park in Calle Perales.
For further information go to the home page of Yecla Today.
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday 8.00 to 15.00
Saturdays 10.30 to 14.00 and 17.00 to 19.30.
Public holidays 10.30 to 14.00
Click for map, Yecla tourist office