Moscovitas: Oviedo’s most famous sweet
Some sweets you eat and some sweets you remember. Moscovitas belong to the second kind: fine almond pastries coated in chocolate that have been sweetening Oviedo for almost a century and have become its most famous gastronomic souvenir. Their name is a registered trademark and their recipe a family secret now in its fourth generation.
What moscovitas are
Moscovitas are fine, crunchy pastries made with selected marcona almonds and cream, coated in top-quality chocolate… and one last secret ingredient the family won’t reveal. They are made completely by hand, following the original formula of the old master confectioners and with 100% natural ingredients.
The result is a delicate bite that combines the crunch of caramelized almond with chocolate. They say it’s impossible to eat just one, and those who try them usually come back for more.
A century of history: from Luarca to San Francisco street
The history of moscovitas is the history of Confitería Rialto and the Gayoso family. It all began with the great-grandfather of the current owner, who had a confectionery in Luarca. His son saw the opportunity in the capital and in 1926 moved the business to Oviedo, to the same premises at 12 San Francisco street where it still stands today.
The original name was «Gayoso», but in the turbulent war years it was changed to «Rialto», seeking a more neutral name. What didn’t change was the quality: four generations later, the Gayoso family is still at the helm of the family business.
In the beginning the place was more restaurant than confectionery, and little by little it leaned toward artisan pastry. Besides moscovitas, Rialto makes carbayones —the most typical Oviedo cake—, princesitas of marzipan and yolk, and a wide range of traditional pastries.
The expansion: from Oviedo to the world
What started as a neighborhood Oviedo confectionery is today a brand with national and international presence:
- Madrid: about 15 years ago the family opened a shop at 86 Núñez de Balboa street, in response to customers asking for moscovitas and carbayones in the capital.
- All of Spain: moscovitas are present in delicatessen and gourmet shops across the country.
- International: they are even sold in countries like the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
- Online shop: through their website they can be ordered with delivery across Europe.
All while keeping artisan production in the Oviedo workshop, without industrializing the recipe.
Where to try them
If you visit Oviedo, the stop is mandatory: the confectionery at 12 San Francisco street keeps its elegant classic-style salon, where Oviedo families have been having afternoon tea for nine decades. Moscovitas also take part every year in Oviedo Llambión, the city’s sweet route of confectioneries. The name is no coincidence: in Asturias, people with a sweet tooth are called llambiones.
And if you can’t come by, the online shop brings them home. Because there are travel memories that fit in a box… and this is one of them.
A personal note
Whoever writes these lines knows this sidewalk well: right across from Rialto, on the same San Francisco street, stood the Laser Internet Center, the cybercafé we launched in 1995 and where the first public webcam in Spain operated, pointed precisely at this street. Neighbors of the moscovitas for years. This special is also a small tribute to that era.
