Olla de Blat at La Capella Restaurant
Housed in a beautifully converted 18th-century chapel inside Altea's old town, La Capella is the place to try olla de blat — the hearty, slow-cooked wheat-and-legume stew that is the true soul food of the Marina Baixa comarca and almost impossible to find well-executed outside the region.
The Dish You Must Order
Olla de blat is a centuries-old Moorish-influenced stew of soaked wheat berries, dried broad beans, chickpeas, pork ribs, black pudding and seasonal vegetables, simmered for hours until the broth turns a deep, tawny amber. It is rich, earthy and deeply satisfying — nothing like the tourist paella served on the seafront.
La Capella's version is prepared the traditional way, using wheat sourced from inland Valencian farms and locally cured meats. The restaurant serves it as a generous single-course meal on Friday and Saturday lunchtimes, following the local custom of making it a weekly ritual rather than a daily menu item.
The Setting and the Rest of the Menu
The dining room retains the chapel's original stone arches and vaulted ceiling, with candlelit tables set on terracotta floors — an atmosphere that feels more like dining in a private home than a restaurant. In summer, a small terrace opens onto a cobbled lane.
Beyond the olla, the menu leans into Valencian coastal cooking: grilled red prawns from Dénia, salt-cod with honey and pine nuts (a classic Alicantine combination) and a rotating selection of local wines from the Alicante DO and Marina Alta appellations.
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