Mesón de Cándido

Mesón de Cándido is at Plaza del Azoguejo 5, right up against the tallest arches of the Aqueduct. It is a house more than a century old, which a 1941 decree included in the city's inventory of monuments, and it has been run by five generations of the Cándido family. It was made famous by Cándido López, the Mesonero Mayor de Castilla (Chief Innkeeper of Castile), and with him a custom that other restaurants in the area have copied: cutting the suckling pig with the edge of a plate.

The suckling pig cut with a plate

According to the house, Cándido once wanted to cut a suckling pig without a knife to hand and used a plate; he turned it into a ceremony in the late 1940s, and between the 1950s and 1960s it was already his trademark. Today a member of the family still carves it this way several times a day, in front of the diners, to show how tender it is. The suckling pig carries the Cochinillo de Segovia guarantee mark, roasted in a wood-fired oven, and a portion costs €31.

What to order

For a first course, the judiones de La Granja, the other Segovian dish worth trying; they are filling, so if there are several of you share one plate. Then, the suckling pig. If you are not going to have it, ask about the rest of the menu when you book: the website highlights above all these two dishes of Castilian cooking.

Opening hours and bookings

It is open every day, at midday from 13:00 to 16:30 and in the evening from 20:00 to 23:00, so it serves just the same on a Sunday as on a Monday. You can book on its website, through Google or on 921 425 911, and the house recommends it above all at weekends and in high season.

Bear in mind its booking policy: tables are not assigned in advance and asking for a terrace or window guarantees nothing; if in terrace season you prefer outside or inside, say so when you book. If someone is in a wheelchair and needs the ground floor, let them know and they will give priority. If you are more than fifteen minutes late, the booking may be moved to another time or cancelled: call if you are running late. There is no time limit at the table within the service.

With a dog, terrace only

Pets are not allowed inside; they can only go on the terrace.

Beside the Aqueduct

You leave your meal with the arches in front of you, lit up if you stay for dinner: the visit to the Aqueduct starts in the same square. For parking, use the nearby public car parks; the square is not for cars. The family also owns the Hotel Cándido.