tl;dr the regional tapas are paired with a side of snobbishness at this historic Toledo bar Toledo is known for a handful of regional foods (hello, marzipan!), but one of the most comforting on a drizzly day is carcamusas. This traditional stew pairs pork with a tomato-and-pea broth, simmered down into a sort of ragu. Carcamusas is offered widely across Toledo, but its origin is attributed to Bar Restaurante Ludeña, whose owner, back in the 1950s, named it after his clientele of "carcas" (elderly men) and "musas" (younger women). The restaurant is barely noticeable on the ground floor of an aging multilevel residence. The "door" is simply a patterned curtain, and a glassless window beside it peers directly into the bar. Inside, the room feels storied but timeless. The wood slatted walls are decorated with Spanish artwork and historical designations bestowed upon Ludeña. The black-and-white stone floors, stainless steel bar, and retro jukebox each make the others feel anachronistic. I could count the number of tables in the bar on one hand, but additional, sit-down seating is available in an indoor back dining room and outside. The clientele includes a fair mix of locals and tourists. Spanish-language pop fills the air. My mother and I visited Ludeña during a day trip to Toledo. We were granted only 1 hour for lunch, but Ludena was a comfortable walk from Plaza de Zocodover. Be sure to explicitly place your name down if you're hoping for a table -- we simply stood near the dining area waiting, but another group "jumped" us because we hadn't joined the official queue. No matter; we slid into the first bartop table within 10 minutes (a stroke of good fortune that appears to be a relatively rare occurrence based on prior reviews). We ordered from the a la carte menu (the menu del dia is only available for dine-in). The "half-portion" of signature Carcamusas was loaded with slightly fatty, melt-in-your-mouth pork in a shallow pool of curry-thick broth. The tomato-y stew felt like a warm embrace and paired well with a spongy slice of bread. Meanwhile, the moderately large Ensalada Mixta (served without tuna, per my mother's request) paired crisp greens with a decent balsamic vinaigrette, but otherwise was mostly standard. Lastly, the house vermouth was served in a whiskey glass with two oversized ice cubes; the spices were somewhat muted, but the glass was still a hit. The general wait staff was dismissive, but the bartender made us feel welcome -- I'm convinced that he sneaked a double portion of carcamusas onto our appetizer-sized plate. Our bill felt pricey at 20 euros, yet it proved to be the light lunch we needed to energize us for a Toledo walking tour. While Ludena is by no means a "must-try" tapas bar, it will, at a minimum, be a serviceable bet for a bite of regional cuisine in the historic heart of Toledo. read more

Ludeña - Carcamusas - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

I recently took a day trip to Toledo which was planned one night in advance. Given the shortness of time there it was difficult to decide where we would dine for lunch as the options are plentiful. After swift research we decided on Bar Ludeña and had a fantastic experience. We walked in about an hour before closing and waited for a high-top to become available in the bustling bar room, subsequently placing all food and drink orders with the bartender. The staff was welcoming and the restaurant seemed to have a rich history. The food was excellent. We had heard about carcamusas, which is a stew native to the region consisting of lean pork and peas in a tomato sauce - this dish is a must! We also ordered a partridge salad (would recommend) and a couple of wines (would highly recommend). Ultimately, Ludeña was one of our favorite dining experiences during our whole week in Spain. read more

Ludeña - Carcamusas and partridge salad - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

The portions here are insane but in a good way! We did not expect to get so much food. We ordered the setas (mushrooms) and carcamusas which is made of pork. Super tasty, reminded me of a good home cooked meal. The beers were delicious and perfectly chilled. You have the option of sitting in the bank with waiter service or in the bar section where you can order at the bar and take the food back to your table. Service was friendly as well! read more

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This is a very touristy place. Food is mostly Ok for appetizers and good local wine. All inexpensive. The Carcamusas was not good; although flavorful, low quality of the meat used. Staff is kind of stern attitude; like they are processing you... read more

Ludeña - Wall in dining room - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

Excellent traditional cuisine of Toledo Spain It was recommended to us by one of the locals working at gift shop read more

This place has a good-value set menu option for lunch. I liked the starter (simple shrimp with lemon), although it was a bit too salty. The main course I selected--which everyone seems to get, and for which this place is renowned--was the "carcamusas," which is a meat stew. It reminds me of a Filipino homestyle dish that I don't particularly like, so naturally, I wasn't a fan of carcamusas either. The meat was so dry and unpleasant texturally! Ended off with the flan, which was good but a bit too heavy on the sweetness and caramel flavour. read more

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Bar Ludeña is highly recommended and did not disappoint on our trip to Toledo! Their caramusas were tasty. We also had the omelette which was popular too. It was really busy but we ate a quick lunch in the bar area. For 10€ it's a great spot to try! read more

Ludeña - caramusas and omelette - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

Place is busy. Service is lacking (think only one server for entire place). Ordered salad - saw some old lettuce leafs - kind of disappointing. The salmarejo was average. The carcamusas was good. The shrimp scampi and sea bass were outstanding. read more

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Came here on recommendation from Rick Steves guidebook and had an INCREDIBLE meal. The place was packed, and we were packed in. Servers literally flew around the tiny dining room and service was brisk. We ordered the 3 course daily menu. For starters, my husband got some kind of garlic soup and I got the white bean stew. I'm not kidding when I say the white bean stew was probably my favorite thing in the 2 weeks I was in Andalucia. It was SO GOOD. Savory, tender beans, heart warming. Husband thought his garlic soup was just okay. Then we both got the roast beef in jus with potatoes and it was amazing. Tender slices of fork-tender beef, in a rich jus, with tender onions and the fried potatoes in the jus was to die for. We died. Dessert was flan for us, which was pretty good. All in all a really, really good meal. We left paying under 40 euro for the two of us including wine. Minor complaint is it seemed that some Spanish-fluent guests may have gotten some slightly quicker service than us American tourists. However, nothing really lacked in our service and the food was fantastic. read more

Ludeña - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

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We came here as per Rick Steve's recommendation. This is a great recommendation. The fixed price menu was a good deal at $15€ per person. This includes wine or mineral water, bread and dessert. The selection for the fixed price menu was good and the portions were big. We had Carcamusa, paella, prawns, venison stew. It was all very good. The service is excellent. Our waiter was the only waiter managing all the tables and he moved super fast multi-tasking from seating the customers, setting the table, cleaning the table, bring out food and settling out bill. Super fast like some character in the Marvel series. Don't know this guy does it but he is the first waiter I have seen managing 8+ tables and multi-tasking and getting the food to the customers so fast. Rating: 1 - Poor, 2 - OK, 3 - Good, 4 - Very Good, 5 - Excellent read more

I would give 0 star if I could because we did not even get to try their food. We went there because they have good reviews. When we walked in, the bartender greeted us but the waiter took a look at us and said 'Completo' and walked away without any explanation or an apology. I could not believe what I heard because they have two good sized dining rooms and there were only two tables taken. Until now, I am wondering why we were refused. Is it because we are not white??? read more

One day, I decided to explore Toledo, which is an old historical city in Castilla La Mancha and 30 minutes by train from Madrid. One of the fun parts of visiting the old city of Toledo is getting lost and just exploring the small streets. While I walked through the streets, I stumbled upon this place. I wanted to eat some lunch, and decided to walk in. I had no idea what I wanted to get but I saw a few people eating a dish that I was not familiar with. I then asked the server in Spanish: "¿Que es esto?" (What is it?) He answered my question. I had no idea exactly what he said, but I think he said "tortilla". I think he was implying "tortilla de patatas", which is known in English as the Spanish omelette. This is a thick egg omelette with potatoes. A dark-skinned man and his family were eating this dish, saying something happily to me in Spanish, and motioned their hands, implying that I should eat this dish. They looked like they were tourists from Central or South America. I then pointed to the Spanish omelette and said, "Quiero, por favor." (I want, please) I would eventually eat some more Spanish omelettes when I came back to the USA, but this Spanish omelette was different. What makes this dish different was that it was doused with a reddish sauce with some sort of meat and peas. It was a tasty and filling dish. I was given half of a baguette as well, and it was crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside. It also tasted really good with that sauce on the Spanish omelette. After eating that dish, I was fairly full, and had plenty of energy for the rest of the afternoon. It was also fairly inexpensive, as I spent less than €5 on this dish and a glass bottle of Coke. What made this place memorable to me was that this was the first time I actually ate a Spanish omelette. Overall, I think this is a decent choice to get tapas, particularly a Spanish omelette in the old and charming city of Toledo. When I left, the dark-skinned man and his family and asked me a question in Spanish. I think he asked me if I liked the dish. I just said, "Sí, muy bien, gracias." (Yes, really good, thanks) He smiled and we parted. From that experience, I learned about one of the most popular dishes in Spain and at the same time, it was one of the many occasions I had to speak a language I have never studied, but slowly starting to learn. read more

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There was a line out the door when my husband and I happened upon this restaurant. usually a good sign! The pheasant was delicious - with shot in it! - and generous portions, service very good. Wonderful cozy atmosphere. Thank you for a lovely lunch! read more

I came here to grab lunch on my visit to Toledo. We sat at the bar. The tapas here are more like an entre. If you order a drink you get a small piece of ham with bread. Food: Mushroom, came with scrambled eggs, ham, and shrimp. This was a big dish despite being on the appetizers list. This dish was not good. It was too greasy with a lot of oil. Prawns - shrimp with shell and lemon slice. This was better than the Mushroom. This place is okay. I may have been spoiled by tapas in serville and Malaga. read more

Ludeña - Mushroom with ham shrimp in scrambled eggs. I don't like the dish. It was too greasy. - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

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Just a review on the dining experience and one dish. Service was fast and brisk, I ordered the house speciality which was the pork in a stew type. It was quite overly salty, and I like salty tastes, and the meat wasn't tender at all. I am a big fan of traditional simple dishes but this was a little bit of a let down. I am sure the bar experience and being outdoors is nice and along with the decent service it is holding me back from giving this a two. However maybe I just had a bad batch, it tasted like it was prepared many a couple of days ago and was being reheated for the weekend crowd in which yes there was many as it was a full house on Saturday. Other dishes looked nice so maybe it was just my luck. read more

Ludeña - Traditional pork dish - not my cup of tea tho I do love pork - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

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The owner Maria was very accommodating. The food was great the carcamusa was really good reminds me of a dish back home we call Menudo

A very typical tapas bar where you can stand at the counter and eat tapas and drink inexpensive vino de la casa. Although there is also a restaurant, we love to eat at the counter and talk to the bartender (in Splanglish :-(). There is a very large menu, but we were advised by our landlord to order their traditional dish called Carcamusa, which is a delicious stew of pork with a tomato based gravy. My Spanish mother-in-law used to make this for me all the time and she used to tell me it was a dish that was very simple and easy to make. I loved the way it was prepared by my mother-in-law and also at Ludena! It was so hearty and served with a loaf of crusty bread, that we were full and could not order anything else! We will have to try the perdiz, and the codorniz tomorrow. read more

Awesome place! You should definitely order the pork guisantes (they call it Carcamusa). It's a stew with pork and peas. It was super duper good and we ended up getting a second order. For some reason we also ordered salchichas but it was totally unnecessary because the pork guisantes was more than enough, so I would not recommend that. Enjoyed the queso manchego as well, found it went well with the stew. read more

We arrived immediately after it opened and the five tables were already filled, good sign! We chose to sit at the bar where service was quick and efficient. Delicious food! read more

The best Spanish restaurant in Toledo. Well maybe not the best but I'm from Toledo myself so I'm going to have high standards, but tapas are really good and free when you have drinks. Prices are good too so if you come to visit the town where I was born come by this restaurant / bar read more

A tiny place on a street corner all the way in the center of the old Toledo city within the city walls. It has a small bar area where you should be sitting if you want to enjoy cheap drinks with free tapas or opt for the small outside patio, either way it's tight and crammed with limited seating. They only take cash, so be prepared. This is a local spot as all the locals would claim. Not many tourists know about it nor do they seem to care to promote it to the tourists. We certainly got looks when we were there for dinner, but the server was nice enough to try to explain their specialty dishes and recommendations to us. We started at the bar then waited for the outside table, in hindsight we would've just stayed at the bar because they charged extra per dish (3-5 Euros more) for sitting outside. The server never mentioned this to us when we asked to sit outside. I guess this is why we kept being told not to tip when dining in Spain, they built in the service fee into the prices per dish. Plus everyone smokes outside. In general, if you are bothered by smoke, choose to sit inside restaurants and bars everywhere in Spain. Almost everyone at the bar and outside patio orders their famous local dish called 'Carcamusa': http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcamusa, a traditional Toledo tapas dish. It's like a red meat sauce stew dish filled with pork, peas, carrots and onions. I've seen other dishes like the Spanish potato omelette that looks like a quiche that is crossed over with mac and cheese (called 'Tortillas' in Spain, not to be confused with the typical flour or corn tortilla sheets we eat in the US), drenched in this same sauce served to bar patrons in this establishment. We had the Carcamusa at another restaurant for lunch and agreed that Ludeña does it better. read more

Very disappointed as they had a table for us but the waiter didn't show up for 30 minutes despite our multiple attempts to get his attention. Food may be good, we will never know, as we had to leave the place for lack of service. read more

best food in toledo, fully recommended for localmpeople great price great location and the carcamusas (hous speciality) is delicious read more

Ludeña - Spanish Near Me - Toledo, TO

Good meal while in Toledo, small plates lots of good Spanish food. good place to grab a drink. Staff was friendly.

A fine bar with good prices! Typical of your bars in this area! But hey its cheap, and if you drink enough they give you lots of free tapas. read more

Bar menu has English on the back. We ordered the special, garlic mushrooms, and fried chorizo. Everything was super good. I'd definitely come back to try more food. read more

Very tasty traditional carcamusa. The pork is tender and the sauce flavorful. Our airbnb host recommended it, glad she did!

We had our best meal so far on this trip. We recommend the house special, setas mushrooms and gazpacho. Well priced, good portions and very enjoyable. read more

Fantastic! Great service, authentic Spanish dishes and a wonderful atmosphere. Perfect for a lunch break during your El Greco pilgrimage!

It was closed Wednesday, April 26, 2017between 8:15pm and 10pm. Other restaurants on the plaza were open.

With an empty restaurant the person at the bar said they did not have available tables for us in a very rude way. Do they really hate tourism in a city as Toledo? Wrong place to have a restaurant!! But we try the one in front called sancho y Panza and couldn't be better. Great Gambas, and a delicious grilled octopus!!!! read more