Restaurante El Corregidor, Manzanares
On the main square of Manzanares, a market town at the heart of La Mancha wine country, El Corregidor has been serving the definitive pisto manchego since 1973 — a slow-cooked ratatouille of local tomatoes, courgette, pepper and onion that tastes of pure Manchegan summer. This is the dish the region invented and this kitchen does it better than almost anyone.
What to Order
Start with the pisto topped with a fried egg and served in a terracotta cazuela with thick slices of toasted sourdough — this alone is worth the detour. Follow it with migas manchegas, breadcrumbs pan-fried with garlic, chorizo and grapes, a shepherd's breakfast that has become the region's most comforting tapa.
For a main, the roasted lamb (cordero asado) is sourced from farms in the nearby Montes de Toledo and arrives falling off the bone with a crust of rosemary and garlic. The house wine is a robust Valdepeñas Tempranillo from the DO just 30 km south.
The Setting and Wine Region
The dining room occupies a converted 18th-century posada with exposed stone walls, terracotta floors and a central courtyard shaded by a centuries-old grapevine. Tables are covered in checked cloth and the service is unhurried in the best possible way.
Manzanares sits within the Valdepeñas DO, Spain's sunniest wine region. After lunch, the Bodegas Real winery on the edge of town offers cellar tours and tastings of their Gran Reserva Tempranillo for €8 per person, bookable on their website.
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