Casa Manolo – Fabada and Sidra in Salas
No visit to Salas is complete without sitting down to a proper fabada asturiana, and Casa Manolo — a no-frills, big-hearted local restaurant near the town centre — is where locals send visitors who want the real thing. The bean stew arrives in a clay pot, steaming and fragrant with morcilla and chorizo.
What to Order and Why
Fabada asturiana is the dish that defines this region: large white fabes beans slow-cooked with a compango of cured meats — chorizo, morcilla and lacón. At Casa Manolo the beans are sourced locally and the compango is properly smoky and yielding, not the rubbery shortcut version you find in tourist traps.
Follow the fabada with a cachopo if you have the appetite — a massive breaded veal escalope stuffed with Asturian cheese and jamón, fried golden and served with roasted peppers. It is absurdly generous and absolutely delicious.
The Sidra Ritual
Asturian natural cider — sidra natural — is poured from a height at the table to aerate it, a theatrical flourish called the escanciado. At Casa Manolo the waiter will do it for you, but if you ask nicely they might let you try. The cider is dry, lightly fizzy and bracingly acidic — the perfect cut through rich bean stew.
Lunch is the main meal here, as it is across rural Asturias. Arrive between 13:30 and 15:00 for the full menú del día experience, which typically includes starter, main, dessert, bread and a bottle of sidra for a very reasonable fixed price.
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