El Alfar

What it is

El Alfar occupies a former early-20th-century pottery workshop, listed as a Site of Ethnographic Interest, at Calle Rosa del Azafrán 8. You enter through a large blue gate and, once through it, you change centuries: whitewashed walls with the traditional indigo skirting, a large tree-shaded courtyard, glazed porches, clay floors, tiles, old working tools and a traditional-style dining room.

The most distinctive things are the potters' kilns, of Roman and Almoravid type according to the tourism listing, and a collection of Roman archaeological pieces and traditional pottery that you see while you eat. In 2016 the business received the Castilla-La Mancha Business Merit Award in the social economy category.

What to eat

The cooking is traditional La Mancha. From Monday to Friday there is a menu of the day, from €16.50 for adults and €9 for children, according to the municipal listing. It publishes no menu or website of its own, so we cannot give you the dishes: ask by phone what is on that day or what it offers for groups.

Hours and booking

It is open every day, Monday to Sunday, from 12:00 to 18:00: these are lunch hours, with no dinners, and make it one of the safe places to eat in Consuegra on a Sunday or Monday, when others are closed. Book for the weekend on 925 48 18 07 or 615 594 294, or write to [email protected].

With children

It works well for families: there is a children's menu on weekdays, the tree-shaded courtyard gives shade and space, and the kilns and old pieces have something of a museum that keeps little ones entertained while the food arrives.

Before or after

It fits as lunch between a morning at the windmills on Calderico hill and La Muela castle, which is open from 10:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 18:00, and an afternoon in the old town, with the Plaza de España and the archaeological museum. To continue the Roman theme, the Roman dam is a few kilometres from the village, towards the Montes de Toledo. In October, during the Saffron Rose Festival, it is advisable to book further ahead.