Logroño, the under-rated capital of La Rioja, is a medium-sized city of 150,000 denizens that happens to have a fantastic dining scene. Sure, you can eat very well at a handful of the city’s best sit-down restaurants, including La Chispa Adecuada, Juan Carlos Ferrando, Tondeluna, and Michelin-starred spots Ikaro and Ajonegro, where you can have a meal of elevated Riojan fare and it won’t max out your credit card.
Or you could just visit one street. Welcome to Calle del Laurel, a narrow lane in Logroño’s historical center that is about the length of a football field. And if you love food, particularly the food of northern Spain, then you’ll want to make sure you arrive hungry.
Here you’ll find a pedestrianized lane flanked by diminutive bars serving up flavor-popping tapas, or pinchos, as they’re called here, along with glasses of Rioja, all priced affordably enough that you can make a night of popping into bars, eating a small plate of something, drinking a glass of Rioja, and then doing it all over again and again and again, as you work your way down the street.
Some of the pinchos bars make an array of delicious small plates, many of which are displayed on the counter top, and some just make (or are known for) one particular superlative pincho.
So, when you’re in Logroño, and hopefully you’re in the mood for a pinchos crawl, point yourself to Calle del Laurel. Here are the best pinchos that you should be reserving stomach space for. Starting on the eastern end of Calle de Laurel and then moving westward until you reach the end of the street.
Where to Eat on Calle Laurel in Logroño
Bar Donosti
What to eat: Foie a la plancha.
Named after the town of San Sebastian in Basque Country—Donostia is the Basque name for the city—Bar Donosti has a line-up of excellent pinchos to feast on. If you’re only going to eat one here and move on, make it the grilled foie gras, which arrives on toast and is dapped with a jam made from lavender petals.
Bar Sebas
What to eat: Tortilla de patatas.
Not all tortillas de patatas in Spain are created equal. In northern cities like Logroño, you could argue the tortillas they make here are superior. That’s because they leave the eggs (that are mixed with potatoes and, often the case, caramelized onions) a tad runny—or mocosa, to use the local parlance. Bar Sebas is a tortilla-making institution. As is the proclivity in La Rioja, a slice of runny tortilla here comes with a dollop of chili sauce, just to add a little kick.
Bar Jubera
What to eat: Patatas bravas.
Located across the lane from Bar El Muro is Jubera, a spot that has been operated for generations by one family. They serve one thing here and they do it very well: patatas bravas: fried cubed potatoes with an aioli and a slightly spicy sauce slathered over the top. Jubera is slightly half way through Laurel and is the ideal spot to consume some patatas bravas to soak up some of that wine you’ve drunk so far.
Blanco y Negro
What to eat: Matrimonio.
Since the late 19th century, Bar Blanco y Negro has been serving up excellent pinchos and locally produced wine. The pinchos offerings are varied but locals know to come here for the matrimonio—a warm crispy bun is the “bed” for this lovely couple: salted, white anchovies and green peppers. A marriage made in deliciousness.
Bar Cid
What to eat: Setas.
You come to Bar Cid for one thing: grilled setas, or mushrooms, which are doused with a secret sauce. A pincho of setas comes on a soft baguette slice with a toothpick poked through it.
Bar El Perchas
What to eat: Orejita picante.
El Perchas has a menu of exactly two items: an orejita rebozada (a battered little pig ear sandwich) and an orejita picante (a spicy little pig ear sandwich). They’re both good, but the spicy variety is more like a stewed pigs ear with a kick to it. It’s more tender than its battered brethren.
Bar Soriano
What to eat: Grilled mushrooms.
Located around the corner from Calle Laurel on Travesía del Laurel, a sort of Calle Laurel tributary lane, Bar Soriano is one of the most classic pinchos bars in Logroño and a local favorite.
They make one thing here: grilled mushroom caps, stacked on top of each other and doused in a garlicky sauce. On the bottom is a baguette slice that soaks up all the sauce and is a delicious last bite to this mushroom pincho. On the wall, there’s a sign that reads, “In Paris, the Eiffel Tower; In Rome, the Vatican; And in Logroño, the mushrooms of Soriano.”
Bar Lorenzo
What to eat: Tío Agus.
Bar Lorenzo, located a bit further down Travesía del Laurel, specializes in grilled skewered meat. But the thing to get here is the Tío Agus: grilled sausage encased in a bread bun and doused with tangy salsa verde.
Bar El Muro
What to eat: Ferrero Rocher de morcilla.
It’s not a coincidence that the Bar El Muro, literally “Bar The Wall,” opened in 1989, right around the time the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. The bar is loaded with lots of pincho deliciousness, but they also serve a very fun, unique dish: Ferrero Rocher de morcilla. Imagine: instead of chocolate, this is a tennis-ball-sized chunk of tasty morcilla (aka blood sausage) encased with pieces of peanuts. And it’s delicious.
David Farley is a West Village-based food and travel writer whose work appears regularly in the New York Times, National Geographic, BBC, and Food & Wine, among other publications. He’s the author of three books, including “An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church’s Strangest Relic in Italy’s Oddest Town,” which was made into a documentary by the National Geographic Channel. You can find Farley’s online homes here and here.