Lunch is the meal to plan in Alcalá de Henares, because Spanish lunch hours shape the day: most set menus are served from about 13:00 or 13:30 to 16:00, on weekdays only. A menú del día costs 14.50 to 18.50 euros in the old town, the Casino on Plaza de Cervantes serves roast suckling pig for 25 euros, and Martilota has a children’s menu at 15.90 euros. Almost every restaurant here is within 500 metres of the main square, and terrace tables cost 10 percent more at several of them.
Where should I eat in Alcalá de Henares? For a cheap, complete lunch, the weekday menú del día at Francesco’s (14.50 euros), Antológico (14.90 euros) or Taberna 7 (15.50 euros). For a Castilian meal on the main square, the Casino, with suckling pig at 25 euros and the local costrada pastry at 9 euros. With children, Martilota’s kids’ menu is 15.90 euros.
- Lunch hours: roughly 13:00-16:00 for set menus.
- Weekdays only: most set menus skip weekends and holidays.
- Monday dinner: Francesco’s and Antológico.
- Terrace: 10 percent extra at several places.
How do lunch hours work here?
A menú del día is a fixed-price weekday lunch: a starter, a main, a drink and dessert or coffee. In Alcalá, Taberna 7 serves it from 13:30 to 16:00, Monday to Friday except holidays. Dinner starts late, around 20:00 to 20:30, where restaurants open in the evening at all.
| Restaurant | Set lunch | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Francesco’s | 14.50 euros | Calle Libreros 15 |
| Antológico | 14.90 euros | Calle Victoria 2, by the cathedral |
| Taberna 7 | 15.50 euros | Calle Ramón y Cajal 7 and Calle Libreros 7 |
| Las Cuadras de Rocinante | 16 euros, stews by day | Calle Carmen Calzado 1 |
| Hemisferio Loft | 18 euros, vegan options marked | Calle Mayor 6 |
| Casino | 18.50 euros | Plaza de Cervantes 9 |
Which restaurant for which kind of meal?
For Castilian food on the main square, the Casino serves suckling pig at 25 euros and the costrada de Alcalá, the town’s traditional pastry, at 9 euros; a glass of house wine is 4 euros. For stews, Las Cuadras de Rocinante builds its 16-euro menu around the day’s pot: fabada beans on Monday, cocido on Tuesday and Friday, lentils on Thursday.
For sharing plates, Taberna 7 has Russian salad at 11 euros, a Betanzos-style tortilla at 14 euros and house croquettes at 2.50 euros each; its terrace does not take bookings. For Italian, Francesco’s has pizzas from 14 euros and oxtail ravioli at 16.50 euros, though the pizzas contain gluten.
Where to eat with children or special diets?
Martilota, on Plaza de la Paloma, publishes a children’s menu at 15.90 euros and a gluten-free children’s menu at 17.90 euros; for adults there is truffled tortilla at 15.90 euros. Hemisferio Loft marks which starters and mains on its 18-euro set menu are vegan. Ordering à la carte, bread is charged separately at both, 1.50 euros a head.
Is it worth leaving the old town?
For two specialities, yes. Skrei Noruego, at Avenida de los Jesuitas 28, 1,805 metres from Plaza de Cervantes, is a cod specialist, with cod in tempura at 19.50 euros and an 18.50-euro set lunch. The Asador Parrilla La Ermita, by the Ermita del Val chapel and the river, grills entrecôte at 24 euros and roasts suckling lamb and pig to order; it takes bookings by phone only and closes on Mondays.
To plan the rest of the day, see things to do in Alcalá de Henares and what an Alcalá de Henares day trip costs. For Madrid itself, the menú del día explained and eating out with kids in Madrid.
For the trip, see how to get to Alcalá de Henares and, with children, Alcalá de Henares with kids.
Questions about eating in Alcalá de Henares
What is the best value lunch in Alcalá de Henares?
A weekday menú del día: Francesco’s on Calle Libreros charges 14.50 euros, Antológico 14.90 euros and Taberna 7 15.50 euros, each with a starter, a main, a drink and dessert or coffee. Terrace tables cost 10 percent more at all three.
What local food should I try in Alcalá de Henares?
The costrada alcalaína, the town’s traditional pastry, which the Casino on Plaza de Cervantes serves for 9 euros, and a Castilian stew: Las Cuadras de Rocinante puts cocido on its 16-euro menu on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Where can I eat in Alcalá de Henares on a Monday evening?
Francesco’s, the Italian restaurant on Calle Libreros, and Antológico, by the cathedral, both serve dinner on Mondays. Taberna 7 on Calle Libreros also opens all day on Mondays, while its Ramón y Cajal branch and the Casino only open at lunchtime, and the Asador La Ermita is closed all day.
In Alcalá, the best-value meal is the weekday menú del día.