The border character of Villena, a link between the Meseta and the Mediterranean, is directly reflected in the local gastronomy. Thus, our recipes are clearly influenced by Mediterranean and Manchegan cuisine.

The orchard of Villena provides us with everything necessary to elaborate simple but exquisite recipes, with ingredients from the land: carrots, spinach, lettuce, barley, wheat or potatoes that are combined with the best food.

Hearty soups and stews

Our recipes are perfect for warming up! This is the case of the gachamiga, made with such popular ingredients as garlic, flour, oil and water.

The traditional gazpacho de Villena is cooked with chicken, rabbit, milk-cap mushrooms, gazpacho crackers, snails and the characteristic local pebrella herb, a member of the Thyme family. It is served accompanied by garlic mayonnaise.

Pelotas de relleno are a kind of dumpling/meatball and make up another recipe that is usually prepared during the Moors and Christians Festivities. It is a mixture of minced meat, bread, pine nuts and spices that is kneaded to a rounded shape and cooked in stew.

Among the star dishes, the triguico picao stands out, which is cooked with wheat, pork, chard stems, red beans and turnips.

Do not forget the rice and leg, made in a paella, with boiled beef leg, chickpeas, red pepper and garlic. By boiling the leg you get a very characteristic flavour that surprises everyone.

Tapas

Throughout the year, but especially in spring and summer, it is typical to find delicious tapas to accompany a good beer or local wines. Delicacies such as baked potatoes, lupins, lima beans and snails in sauce, perfect to work up an appetite.

Zarangollo also stands out- a fry-up that usually has courgettes, onion and tomato -, cured meats, fried cheese with tomato preserve or split olives. Small appetizers to enjoy in the company of family or friends.

Sweets

Our cuisine also has appetizing traditional dry biscuits such as sequillos, rollicos de vino, almendraos (almond bites) or toñas, an Alicante-style brioche. Treasures that are not missing in any house of Villena and that can be tasted in any bakery.

You can try the typical cuisine of Villena in many of our restaurants.