Mesón de la Virreina
Sitting directly on Plaza Mayor since 1972, La Virreina is the definitive address for Chinchón's two great culinary calling cards: sopa de ajo castellana and the town's own artisan anís liqueur. The kitchen is unfussy and honest, the terrace unmatchable.
What to order
Start with the sopa de ajo — a terracotta crock of slow-cooked garlic broth thickened with day-old bread and finished with a poached egg. It is warming, earthy and absolutely nothing like the timid versions you find in Madrid.
Follow it with cordero asado al horno de leña, wood-roasted lamb from the Chinchón hills, carved at the table. The skin crackles; the meat falls apart. Finish with a shot of Chinchón Dulce anís, made just down the road at the Destilería Chinchón.
The setting and the ritual
A table on the first-floor gallery puts you level with the swallows that dart across the plaza at dusk. The wooden beams, terracotta tiles and hand-painted azulejos inside have barely changed since the restaurant opened.
Service is old-school Castilian — unhurried and proud. Do not rush. Order a second anís, watch the light change on the balconies opposite, and understand why people drive 45 km from Madrid just for lunch here.
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