With the summer heat, sometimes we need a break on long highway trips. Restaurants located in strategic locations along the highway are in demand to the point that El País has published a search engine with the best places to eat while traveling by car. Two of them, La Torre and Alto del León, we have them in Madrid. Another five are on the A3, on the way to the Mediterráneo coast: a classic destination for Madrileños and Manchegans during the summer vacations. Among these five we find Juanito (km. 209, N-301), a restaurant near La Roda, in Albacete .
At first glance, Juanito does not attract much attention, but it has a well-kept secret that may be of interest (and much) to tourists who go on a trip to the Valencian Community: a menu full of typical dishes of Castilla-La Mancha with an irresistible look, ideal to recharge your batteries during your trip to the Valencian Community: a menu full of typical dishes from Castilla-La Mancha with an irresistible appearance, ideal to recharge batteries during the trip.
Juanito: more than just a place to pass through
Since 1982, the family restaurant founded by Juan Fraile García has been full of travelers in high season. Juanito offers its diners the best of the Zone’s gastronomy. Jonathan Fraile, grandson of the founder, assures Madrid Secreto that for him “it is fundamental to maintain the essence of the business, which is in the traditional food of La Mancha”.
According to the digital newspaper El Español, the place’s specialties include pickled partridge, marinated daggerboard loin, roast shoulder of lamb and ratatouille. Although the favorite of passing diners is the veal pepito. For dessert, you cannot miss the miguelitos de La Roda, very albaceteños cakes, made of puff pastry and filled with pastry cream.
In Juanito you can, in addition to taste the delicacies of La Mancha, enjoy services such as its cafeteria, known for the sandwiches and portions served there, or its store of products made in Castilla-La Mancha. It also has rooms designed for large banquets (from business lunches to wedding parties), a patio for events and a wine cellar that boasts excellent appellations of origin. Of course, there is ample parking and several toilets that can be used at any time.
The venue has a capacity, counting all its rooms, for 1,500 people. Fraile tells us that “the influx does not usually vary” and that “in high season the place is at its best”, so in summer it is easy to find the place full.
Open every day of the year
Jonathan Fraile proudly runs the family restaurant. “From the start of summer through the winter off-season, we are open from 8:00 am until 11:00 pm. When there is less traffic we close in the afternoon, but Juanito does not rest any day of the year”, explains Fraile.