Huerta de las Palomas Restaurant

On the outskirts of Priego

The restaurant of the Hotel Rural Huerta de las Palomas is at kilometre 3.5 of the Zagrilla road, about five minutes by car from Priego, surrounded by gardens and with a pond. It is a four-star hotel from Zerca Hoteles, the same group as the Zuhayra in Zuheros, and its restaurant has its own page and telephone number for booking a table.

The house describes its cooking as Mediterranean and carefully made, with produce of the land: vegetables from the market garden, native goat, cow and sheep cheeses, oxtail, lamb, quince and extra virgin olive oil from the area.

What to order

The 2026 menu is published on its website, with prices and in half-portion and full-portion formats for several starters. Among the cold dishes there are Córdoba salmorejo (€8.50), orange remojón (€11), a board of Subbética cheeses with their preserves and, in season, ajoblanco with apple and fig bread (€9). Among the hot dishes there are recipes from the area such as potaje of "amonás" beans with chorizo and blood sausage, picadillo soup, Córdoba flamenquín and homemade cheese and quince croquettes.

In meat dishes, the one the house mentions in its introduction is Córdoba-style oxtail (€20); there are also lamb chops with garlic, rosemary and thyme (€22.50), confit Iberian secreto with caramelised apple and pig's trotters in almond sauce. For fish, gilthead bream, stuffed sea bass or gratinated cod with quince aioli, all between €17.50 and €18. There are also eggs, scrambled and sautéed dishes, such as the scrambled eggs with campion shoots and Iberian ham, and a wok or two for those looking for something outside the traditional.

When to go

It has free parking, so it is convenient for lunch after visiting Priego or on the way to Zagrilla and the sierra. In summer, the hotel opens a patio-terrace for eating outdoors, and the café serves portions if you only want something quick.

It organises weddings, communions and christenings in a separate events hall, with capacity for five hundred people: a spring Saturday may be full. The website does not publish opening hours or a closing day; call 957 720 305 or 621 209 525, or write to [email protected].

What to combine

A morning in Priego is enough for the Fuente del Rey and the Barrio de la Villa and Balcón del Adarve before going down to eat here. In the afternoon, the río Bailón trail, at Zuheros, is another Subbética walk to round off the day.