Restaurante El Refugio

Restaurante El Refugio operates from within the Parque Regional de Sierra Espuña, a dramatic range of limestone mountains rising to over 1,500 metres in the centre of the Murcia region, approximately 40 km from the city. The restaurant occupies a stone-built shelter building inside the park and serves as the natural stopping point for hikers, day-trippers, and families who have spent the morning exploring the park's marked trails, pine forests, and viewpoints. The menu is built around the traditional cooking of the Murcian sierra — the mountain country between the fertile coastal plain and the high dry plateau of the interior. Conejo al ajillo (rabbit braised slowly with garlic, white wine, and rosemary) is the kitchen's most ordered dish: rabbit is still hunted in the Sierra Espuña area, and the preparation is simple enough to allow the quality of the meat to show. The sopa de ajo murciana — a warming garlic soup enriched with bread, paprika, egg, and occasionally serrano ham — is a standard opening for a post-hike lunch and hearty enough to serve as a meal in itself for those with modest appetites. The restaurant is rustic by design: stone walls, wooden furniture, and the smell of the pine forests through open windows in season. It operates only at weekends and on public holidays throughout the year, with limited hours (11:00–17:00). Given the park setting, it fills quickly on fine-weather Saturdays; arriving early or on a quieter Sunday morning gives a better experience. The Pozos de Nieve (historic snow storage pits used before refrigeration) are a short walk from the restaurant and are worth combining with a visit.