It was finally time to leave Madrid and do something fun outside of the city. We decided to visit Toledo as it is one of the closest destinations only 30 minutes away by the train from central Madrid. Toledo is a gorgeous little town and it works so well as a day trip! Did we eat well though?

Bar Ludeña, plaza Magdalena, 10, 45001

Our first stop off of the train was Bar Ludeña as it was lunch time already! It took us a while to find this restaurant since Google Maps had the right address but not the right pin location on the map. Bar Ludeña is a tiny unpretentious eatery serving some local staples alongside the all time favourite tapas. They have a small bar area and a “bigger” dining room inside but we chose to sit on the little crooked patio since this was the first truly beautiful spring day (yep, we proceeded to get a horrible sunburn while there).

We spent quite a long while just sitting on the patio waiting for the service to come to us but it took me waving a hand a little bit to ger their attention. We have ordered a glass of Rioja and tinto de verano. The wine was not bad but I did not particularly like this iteration of tinto de verano as I found it very mellow. While we were sipping on our drinks the sun was beating down on us quite heavily. It was very nice being able to sit outside in the sun but I wished those umbrellas were actually employed for the purpose they were built and not only for the show.

When we finally managed to order some food, the first thing I wanted was a Toledan specialty called carcamusa (€9). It is pieces of pork stewed in tomato sauce with seasonal vegetables. This stew was truly very yummy and we used an entire basket of bread to sop up all of that delicious sauce. Even though these dishes are completely unrelated, tasting this brought me back to childhood again as it reminded me of how my family cooked ¨poor-man’s goulash¨ (also no relation to proper Hungarian goulash). But the taste! The taste was exactly it. So good. I 100% recommend this dish to anyone visiting Toledo.

Matas is a big fan of blood pudding and I am always on a lookout to find another iteration. This time we ordered picadillo de morcilla (€6.50) or minced black pudding. The taste was rich, the consistency was super sloppy (that’s a plus, you do not want it dry) and again we had to use another basket of bread to finish the plate clean.

Even if the service at Bar Ludeña was slow, I can highly recommend grabbing a bite to eat here. Do check the opening hours on Google though as they close by 16:00 on most days, Sunday included!

Cerveceria el Trébol, calle de Santa Fe, 1, 45001

After walking around the city (it took us 2:30 hours to walk an 8 km loop) we needed to find a place to chill for a while so we ended up on the patio of Cerveceria el Trébol. They have a really lovely outside area all for themselves nestled at a cul-de-sac and since it was very busy around the time we came, we had to wait a little while to be seated (we could have been seated inside immediately). We we parched, so we immediately ordered a round of drinks. Their iteration of tinto de verano (€3) was truly outstanding. It came with a lemon foam on top and was super refreshing. I would stop at el Trébol just to have this drink again.

We had another 5 km expedition planned for later in the afternoon so we decided to have a few snacks before we left. The house specialty is something called bomba Trébol (€3.90). It is a deep fried potato filled with roasted peppers and topped with a good dollop of creamy sauce. It was not healthy but dang it was good.

We have also ordered a croqueton de gambas (€3.40) or a huge prawn croquette. It was served with a few broken off fried basil pieces and I had to ask myself why? So unnecessary and it added absolutely nothing to the dish. Which in itself was not that great. Even if the croquette was gooey and had a good consistency, the seafood-y prawn taste was way too overpowering and neither one of us liked it.

Come to Cerveceria el Trébol to relax on their patio, have a glass or two of tinto de verano and maybe if you feel like it venture into the food territory but that is totally optional.

Barrio, calle del Barrio Rey, 5, 45001

At this point in our day we were quite tired and we wanted to squeeze in a small dinner before our 21:30 train back to Madrid. We came to Barrio because of their promise of inventive tapas and cocktails yet when we went in around 19:30 we were greeted by “the kitchen is closed until 21:00”. Since we did not feel very hungry anyway, we elected to stay and have a few drinks which they were still serving. If the speed of their service can be called that…

Only a few tables were occupied, so the place clearly was not busy and it is doubly inexplicable why the service was as slow as it was. And by slow I mean completely non-existent. In one and a half hours there we managed to ordered and get two cocktails. I had to go up to the bar for the second round because no one ever came. And even then it took the bartender good 15 minutes to make our drinks. Oh well. We were in no hurry. Siesta and all that.

The cocktails were actually decent! My first drink was made with tequila and had a good sweet and sour balance, and the cocktail Matas got was so refreshing, I chose it as my second drink. The cocktails were around €8.50 or €9 each, not a bad price for a relatively upscale place in a tourist centre. The snacks were actually a good enough size to feed us too, so we chose to not have dinner that night and have another round of drinks instead.

People ventured into Barrio all the time but 90% of them left after being told there was no food service. On the other hand, the place across the street was brimming with people eating, however, I would not want to find myself at a place that has cocina del mundo, basically, anything from hamburgers and pizzas to steaks and kebabs, and at this point I was surprised they did not serve sushi as well.

Overall, the food service can be a little bit iffy in Toledo. I sure am glad I had a few places marked beforehand and was not wandering around being mad at the world because I cannot get any decent food and a few drinks in me pronto.

What to do in Toledo for a day

Toledo is quite a small town and one full day is sufficient enough to walk around taking it all in. In total, we spent around 10 hours and we did not feel rushed having had time for all: a meal, a drink, a walk around the city and even a walk outside the city’s walls!

We spent more than three hours just wandering around and it was as rewarding as it was tiring. Toledo is all built on a hill, so there is a lot of going up and down and up and down. At one spot at the base of the city we saw an escalator and we took an opportunity. I am so glad we did not miss it, otherwise we would have had to go all the way up on our own two tired feet. Nuh-uh.

We chose to walk to Mirador del Valle vista (it is on the opposite slope of the river Tagus located outside of the city) and it was a lot of uphill walking under the scorching sun. On our way up we passed an archeological site called Cerro del Bú and it is a perfect spot for taking some cutesy artsy pictures. It would also be a perfect spot for a sunset picnic. You would need to come to your picnic armed with a heavy duty parasol and enough water to hydrate an elephant as there is absolutely no shade there but the views are truly beautiful.

While enjoying the views on our walk up the hill to the vista point, we noticed a little boat going back and forth between this side of the river and the old town. After doing a little research we learned that you can take this boat ride for free! Not only it saved us time and effort going all the way back from where we came from (that would have been close to another 2.5 km under the scorching sun at that), it was something interesting and different to do.

The boat leaves from the foot of Cerro del Bú, so it was perfect as it gave us an opportunity to visit the vista, climb Cerro del Bú and take the trail all the way down to where the boat leaves.

Our trip to Toledo was super fun and it surpassed all our expectations. Highly recommend. And do not be like us. Check the forecast and for God’s sake, take A HAT, SUNSCREEN and WATER with you.