Vandelvira

Vandelvira occupies part of a 16th-century Renaissance convent in Plaza de San Francisco, in the historic centre of Baeza, built by Andrés de Vandelvira, the architect who shaped Úbeda and Baeza. The restaurant has a Michelin star and is run by chef Juan Carlos García, born in Baeza, who came back to his home town in 2020, after years of training elsewhere, to reopen the place his parents had run. You are welcomed in the cloister and eat in the convent's quiet rooms.

A menu that changes every day

There is no à la carte menu: you eat from two tasting menus, Origen and Vandelvira. The house explains that the menu is built each day from the best produce it can find, following the rhythm of nature and its garden, with Jaén produce as the base. The Michelin Guide highlights one of its dishes, the squid and ham "handkerchief" with an Iberian ham dashi. The website does not publish the menu prices: ask when you book.

Twelve hundred wines

The cellar is a central part of the experience, with some 1,200 labels organised into three selections: a historic family cellar, a collection of 120 historic sherries and around 300 international labels. To open or close the meal there are two cocktail lists, with and without alcohol, served in the dining room.

Lunch almost always, dinner only at weekends

It serves lunch from Wednesday to Sunday, with arrival at the table between 13:30 and 14:45 (until 14:30 on Friday and Saturday), and dinner only on Fridays and Saturdays, with arrival between 20:30 and 21:30. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Book well ahead on its website, on 681 98 21 57 or at [email protected]; with long menus, arrive on time.

Baeza before and after

Plaza de San Francisco is in the centre of Baeza, a short stroll from the cathedral and on the route of the walk around Baeza. It is the meal of the Sunday in Úbeda and Baeza, which starts at the Sacra Capilla del Salvador in Úbeda. If you want another chef-led kitchen in Baeza, Acebuche serves two menus next to the cathedral.