Must try dish in Segovia – The Suckling Pig @ Restaurante El Cordero Review

Spain is paradise for foodies and one of the top dishes you can never miss is “cochinillo”. Where is the best place to have it? The answer is Segovia Spain, just an hour drive from Madrid. You don’t just come here for the food, the place is also well-known for its 2000 years old aqueduct which is majestically above the streets and monuments of Segovia city.

“cochinillo”

After visiting the Roman aqueduct, we went to the restaurant we booked for the “cochinillo”.

“Cochinillo” is a suckling pig fed on its mother’s milk, between the ages of two and six weeks. The way Spaniard cooked is as a whole, put it in the oven with their secret recipe and served hot with a crispy crust and the best place to have this Spanish cuisine of Castile is in Segovia.

Restaurante El Cordero – Review

The Restaurante El Cordero is about 10 minutes walk from the Segovia Aqueduct.  There are narrow cobbled stone streets and old buildings along the way.

Most of the buildings here are fairly old & rustic so including the restaurant that I am about to dine in – El Cordero.

The restaurant is quite big and separates into a few sections. It serves few types of customer, group tourists on a tour, stumbles on tourists and locals. The group tourists will be given seating in the underground basement.

The decoration of the restaurant is quite fun to see, I like the old lamp hanging on the ceiling and how the owner used fresh vegetable such as pumpkin and squash to displayed at the different corner of the restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant, you see a tapas bar which is for the local I suppose.  There are also a few tables at the entrance for customers with the smaller group.  Up to 4 pax only.

For tourists with a bigger group, we need to go down to the basement.  It is quite interesting to visit the old building layout in Segovia city.  The staircase to the basement is narrow and the wall is decorated with paintings, picture, and posters.

At the basement, there are already few groups of tourists dining.  As usual, you see Jamon, the Spanish ham line up at the top of the ceiling.

Judiones a la Granja

The first dish is the big bean soup which is also a signature in Segovia as these beans are huge and coming from the nearby town of La Granja de San Ildefonso.  We can’t really see the beans anymore because it has been mashed so it is easier to drink I guess.

Then follow by the salad consist of olive, fresh onion, and tomatoes.

The main course is the roasted suckling pig and usually best to go with wine.  Wine is very cheap in Spain restaurant around 2 euro, many times can be cheaper than soft drinks.

People in Spain have been eating Cochinillo ever since Roman times. It’s a popular dish in the Castilla and Leon region but Segovia has the best reputation for cochinillo. If you are not visiting Segovia, you can also find cochinillo in Madrid.

Dessert is ice-cream, super sweet for me so I didn’t finish it.

The basement wall is decorated with many pictures, mostly showing the culture and arts of Spain and some famous people.

Jamon – The Spanish Ham

You see Jamon hanging all over Spain restaurants, at the window display of the restaurants or at the bar counter when you enter.

There are two types of Jamon in Spain, Iberico, and Serrano. Iberico cost a lot more because the pigs are fed with a special diet, such as acorn and herbs and can roam freely. The process of making the ham is long, about 18-24 months and at the third stage of the curing process is the drying stage and this Jamon will be hung by the hoof with ropes. You can also see a plastic cup at the bottom of each ham for the fat/oil dripping.

At the toilet entrance, there are cute pictures at the door to show ladies and gents toilet.

Final thoughts:

You can also find cochinillo, the Spain style of roast suckling pig near Madrid but Segovia is the “place” for this suckling pig cuisine.  Crispy on the outside and tender and flavorful on the inside which melts in your mouth, similar to the Chinese roast suckling pig.  If you love meat, this would be a wonderful dish for you and do remember to pair it with a glass of wine.