5 things to eat and drink in Oviedo

Oviedo’s selection as Spain’s Capital of Gastronomy 2024 is little surprise given its agriculture, seafood and dairy farming. Here’s our pick of Oviedo’s must-try dishes

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1. Cheese

With its many dairy farms, Asturias is dubbed ‘the land of 40 cheeses’ – although there are many more varieties to be found in its markets – with popular options such as afuega’l pitu (pictured), cabrales and gamonéu.

2. Main meals

Forget tiny tapas – with farming folk to feed and chillier temperatures to contend with, Asturias excels in rich, warming stews and hearty dishes such as pote asturiano (bean stew with cabbage and potato), cachopo (a breaded veal fillet stuffed with cheese and ham, pictured), pitu de caleya (traditional free-range chicken) – and of course the region’s most famous dish, fabada.

3. Seafood

Seafood is equally varied, with catches coming from the fishing fleets of Asturias and neighbouring Galicia, both with access to the bountiful Bay of Biscay, where cooler waters contribute to plentiful stocks of fish and shellfish.

A dizzying variety including lobster, crab, razor clams, tuna, scallops and more make a base for seafood dishes such as fabes con almejas (a clam and bean stew, pictured), mejillones picantes (paprika-spiked mussels) and chipirones afogaos (squid fried with garlic).

4. Pasteleria delights

Bakery windows are stuffed with tempting treats such as casadiellas (walnut-stuffed dumplings, pictured), carbayones (glazed almond cream-filled pastries) and frixuelos (sweet crepes), popular during the annual carnival.

5. Cider

To drink, it has to be natural cider – Asturias is one of the world’s largest producers and the sidrerías (cider bars) of Oviedo’s Calle Gascona are a great place to watch a skilful escanciador practising the art of pouring from a great height to create a natural effervescence.