La Teja Restaurant

What it is

La Teja is the restaurant of Un Tercio de Vida, the boutique accommodation on Calle Dolorosa, in Riópar Viejo, the stone hamlet at the top of the hill, about 3 km from present-day Riópar. It presents itself as a gastronomic restaurant of the Sierra del Segura: it reinterprets traditional La Mancha cooking with contemporary technique, using local, seasonal, zero-mile produce.

It works with three offerings: seasonal menus that change with the produce, a main menu and a wine list with wines and spirits. The service, says the website, may suggest dishes that are not on the menu.

What you eat

The summer menu published on its website in 2026 gives a good idea of the style, which mixes game and vegetables from the sierra with nods from elsewhere. Among the cold starters, pickled mountain partridge salad (€22), a cured and smoked bonito tataki (€23), steak tartare with roast bone marrow and foie (€35), a peach salmorejo with prawn (€19.50) or 100% acorn-fed ham (€28). Among the hot ones, Iberian ham or mushroom and truffle croquettes (€3.50 each), artichoke with red prawn (€25) and crispy squid with pumpkin purée and sea urchin sauce (€27).

For mains, a rice in a tin of artichoke and Iberian ham for two (€58) that changes each month, oven-baked sea bream (€29), aged beef sirloin (€30) and cuts by weight, such as aged beef New York (€90/kg) or grilled T-bone (€110/kg). The sourdough bread with butter is charged separately (€2.50 per person), and the main course is individual for each diner. For dessert, brioche French toast, warm brownie, lemon pie or fig with custard, €8 to €10.

The prices of the seasonal menus are not published, and the menu changes with the season: take it as a reference, not a closed list.

Hours and booking

The website does not publish hours or closing days. Always book on 610 01 33 02, the same phone number as the accommodation, especially out of summer and on weekdays. You do not need to be staying: the website invites you to book a table or a stay separately.

Before or after

It fits as dinner after a day at the Source of the River Mundo, less than 10 km from Riópar, or as lunch after walking round Riópar Viejo, with its 15th-century church of the Espíritu Santo and the castle ruins. On clear nights, the hamlet's Starlight viewpoint is a few steps away: stargazing is the plan for after dessert.