A hole in the wall we accidentally found this place when the restaurant we were looking for is…read morefully booked. The owner is very accommodating and helpful when we asked for directions. And the food is good too

Restaurante Mangana is one of -10 street side Cafe's in Plaza Mayor in old Cuenca. We didn't have…read morea way to choose between them so we sat here because it already had a busy crowd. Either the other people had good Intel or we are just all collectively sheep. Anyway, this sheep was very happy with the choice. My wife and I sat outside under one of the many canopies. Our waitress greeted us and instantaneously knew we didn't speak Spanish and without asking brought us an English menu. Very nice! Also she was very patient with us non-Spanish speakers for the entire meal. We sat down around 2 pm which is roughly when people eat their "big" meal of the day. Someone immediately brought bread and table lagniappe (fried potatoes and roasted bacon) and took our drink order. Dos cervezas por favor! For lunch we picked items, 2 each, from their daily menu. I chose the Beans with Chorizo and the Sea Bass as my two. My wife selected the Gourmet salad (walnuts, fresh tomatoes, greens, balsamic) and the roasted chicken. The meal was fantastic. The beans were cooked in a tomato based sauce with flavor coming from the chorizo. The sea bass was prepared with skin-on and was super tender. My wife's meal was equally delicious. One thing we've noticed about Spanish food in general, and it applies here, is that food is prepared so that the natural flavors are dominant. Salt, olive oil, and maybe lemon or vinegar are the primary added flavorings. At Mangana this was the case and the food was beautiful. The corn on my salad tasted like it was just cut off the stalk. As for the European dining experience, this place has it. You are sitting at the entrance/exit (2 way traffic through a single open on the three arches) of a major gathering place of Plaza Mayor. You have the hustle and bustle of busses, cars, tourists, school kids, and motorcycles all passing by and in near proximity with dozens of like minded people enjoying their beer and food out in the open. You will see outside stuff outside, like birds and bugs. Not crazy amounts, but they are there naturally. If you want a more traditional eating experience, they also have a second floor, in-door dining room upstairs. I went up there and there were a few people up there, while most opted to sit in the dry, sun soaked 75F day outside. Downstairs they have very nice bathrooms as well to round out your visit. After the meal we had a couple of coffees to finish out our meal and they were very good as well. I can't say how Mangana compares to all the other places but we definitely had a great experience here.

No bueno. Worst meal of our trip. Wet and old calemares. Not fried all the way. For some reason the…read moreflies were covering the tables, but not those at the restaurant next door? Not sure what the scoop was. Friends ate next door and enjoyed their meal. All 4 of us left most of the food on our plate.

ATENCIÓN CELIACOS! PÉSIMA experiencia, este sitio es un peligro para las personas celiacas. Llamé…read morede antemano para preguntar si podía comer ahí una persona celiaca y me aseguraron que había opciones sin gluten y que muchos de sus platos se podían adaptar para hacerlos seguros. Al llegar al restaurante les alerté de que era celiaca de nuevo y cuando nos tomaron nota pregunté si podía tomar la hamburguesa. Me dijeron que podía tomarla sin problemas porque sustituirían el pan por uno sin gluten. Les pregunté por la seguridad de las patatas e incluso les dije que me las cambiasen por una ensalada si no me podían confirmar que no había contaminación cruzada al cocinarlas, pero me aseguraron que no tenían gluten. Como me habían asegurado que todo era seguro pedí la hamburguesa con patatas paja. Pero un rato después de haberlo servido y cuando ya había probado todo, volvió la camarera y me dijo que acababan de volver a chequearlo y que las patatas podían contener gluten. Pero ya era tarde porque ya me había comido las patatas y la hamburguesa que había estado en contacto con ellas en el plato. Cuando les informé de que no podían servirle a gente celiaca productos que puedan contener trazas me demostraron que en ese restaurante existe una completa falta de conocimiento y formación respecto a la enfermedad celiaca por los comentarios de la camarera ("Pone que puede contener trazas, no que tiene gluten así que igual no tiene", "Ha sido solo un poco", "De momento estás bien, ¿no?"). La reacción autoinmune de una persona celiaca se desencadena cuando se come gluten, por pequeña que sea la cantidad. Y los síntomas empiezan unas horas después de la ingesta de gluten, cuando ya no estamos en el restaurante. Es una enfermedad seria con unas graves secuelas y por eso no podemos comer NADA que tenga la mínima posibilidad de contener gluten, simplemente no podemos arriesgarnos! Les informé de que no me iba a comer la hamburguesa y se la llevaron pero aunque se disculparon con la boca pequeña, ante mi sorpresa a la hora de pagar en la cuenta me la intentaron cobrar! Ahora solo me queda esperar aterrorizada a ver si me da una reacción y me deja incapacitada durante los próximos días. No recomiendo NADA este restaurante aunque digan que tienen opciones para celiacos porque no existe la formación necesaria para garantizar nuestra seguridad. Es crucial que contacten con la Asociación de Celiacos de España y de Castilla la Mancha para pedir que les faciliten con cursos e información y que dejen de poner a este colectivo en riesgo. Es una verdadera pena tener que enfrentarme a esto hoy en día con toda la información que existe. __________________________________________________________ ATENTION CELIACS! This place is an absolutely danger for people with celiac disease. Although they say they have gluten free options that are suitable for celiacs, this is not true. After double checking several times that the food was safe for me to eat, they only told me that my food could potentially have gluten AFTER I had already begun eating it. What's worse is their total lack of knowledge regarding the disease, which the waitress proved with her comments after she informed me that my food could have gluten ("You only ate a little bit", "You feel fine for now, ¿right?, "It only says it MAY contain gluten, not that it definitely does, so you might be alright"). They do not have the necessary formation to provide a safe experience for celiac people and should IMMEDIATELY contact their local and national Celiac Disease association to ensure they receive the propper training. It's so disheartening to have to deal with these situations in this day and age with all the available information that's out there.

Good food, wine, and location. Thanks to Chtistian for putting up with mi español terrible! He was…read morekind to switch to English when I struggled.

Perfect stop for lunch. The view was incredible, and the food and service was beyond our…read moreexpectations. Highly recommend the turbot, eggplant with honey, apples and cheese, and the lamb meatballs.

Meson El Caserío is at the top of the hill overlooking Cuenca and the hanging houses. My wife and…read moreI stopped by for a beer, some tapas, and THE VIEW on a beautiful day. We visited around 6:30 PM. There are several tapas bars in this area and I will bet it is 95% tourists because the local have many other places closer to town to eat. Plus, this is the area where tourists and busses can park. That said, we really enjoyed the experience. We had the pig ear, which is a Cuenca specialty and the first time in my and my lives to have this dish....but "when in Cuenca...". We liked the dish, but for Americans understand this is the full ear which is basically skin, fat, and cartilage. It was very tender and flavorful. We also ordered the Calamari and it came out perfectly cooked to golden brown. Combined with two local beer and the breeze and the view...a little slice of heaven. Let me say as well it was not crowded when we visited. Crowded, but not overly busy. Our waitress was very kind. We tried to speak Spanish, which was ok for some things like offering beer. She was very quick on service and very nice. In fact, she was probably the most "American nice" type waitress we've had in Spain. Most are very transactional, she actually made a recommendation and interacted with a smile. I don't need a smile per se, but since it was the first one I've gotten in Spain it was unique and special. I rate this a 5 because having a beer with this view is truly special and unique and worth the time. Plus, we also enjoyed our beer and food and that isn't always a given in tourist dominated areas.

Mesón el Caserío is at the top of the hill of the old part of town in Cuenca. There's a large…read morepublic parking lot at the top so you can visit Cuenca below, climb back uphill, and build an appetite before coming here. Parrillada de Verduras: Assorted vegetables are grilled over a wood fire, including zucchinis, mushrooms, red bell peppers, asparagus, onions, and tomatoes. They are seasoned with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and salt, and they pack a lot of flavors and are on the edge between crunchiness and tenderness. Oreja a la brasa: The pig ears are grilled over a wood fire. They are coated with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and salt, and cut into strips. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on them. They are crunch, slightly caramelized, with a nice chewiness in the center. Zarajos: Lamb intestines are wrapped around a vine stick in a circular pattern and seasoned with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and salt. The round bundles are then grilled over a wood fire. Squeeze lemon juice. The zarajos have a firm texture and funky flavor. Sepia: The cuttlefish is grilled over a fire until the edges are slightly charred, and then cut into strips. They are coated with olive oil, garlic, parsley, and salt, and served with lettuce. The cuttlefish is tender with a nice smoky flavor.   They also have grilled pork sausage and grilled, black morcilla blood sausage.

Outstanding!!!! An absolute must. Creative fusion restaurant…read morethat produces dishes that border on orgasmic flavors. A highlight of my time in Cuenca.

Wow!!! Just wow!! This restaurant is phenomenal! If you're looking for a break from the typical…read moreSpanish flavors in the area, this is the place to go. While the menu is small, the flavors are BIG BIG BIG! The services was also impeccable! The woman who served us was full of smiles and patience explaining menu items to us. We had three dishes, the tuna tartare, chop suey, and a pork plate. All were truly amazing and distinct. The tuna tartare was fresh and packed with flavor. The chop suey was not at all traditional and made with zucchini noodles, but came in a creamy delicate sauce. Finally the last, the thinly sliced pork dish was rich and nutty. The Asian influence is readily apparent, but we loved how they created new flavors in the fusion. Finally my husband order the chocolate ice cream. It had broken cone chunks on top and a shot of Bailey's they poured over once at the table. It became almost like a cereal! But a very delicious adult version. We can't recommend this restaurant enough! Be open minded, don't expect traditional Spanish flavors, and you'll love it. Expand that palette