I am going to say something controversial, something that anyone who I have ever showed around Logroño would slap me through their computer screen, if they could.
I am so sick of pintxos!
Yet, that doesn’t stop me from going out on the town to eat. I will blame only my astonishing laziness for preventing me from cooking. When I am complaining about being back on the road and no longer able to cook, someone please remind me that when I had the opportunity to cook, I was forever lazy and eating out?
So last Friday night, due to my bordem, we decided to mix it up. I said to C, “Fine, we can go for pintxos… but we are going to eat only on Calle San Juan.”
Most people who have been to Logroño know about Calle Laurel. This small street, along with the surrounding streets, are where Logroño’s main concentration of pintxo bars are found. We live five seconds walk from this area so therefore we often default to eating on the streets Calle Laurel, simply because it’s close to home.
Calle San Juan is three minutes walk from Calle Laurel, across the street, past the Mercado San Abastas – Logroño’s produce market, over the main road that crosses through the casco antiguo and back into the pedestrian streets, where Calle San Juan is tucked away.
Whilst Calle San Juan is much quieter during the week, come the weekend when the bucks parties and Spanish tourists have descended upon Logroño, the locals find shelter around the corner on this quieter strip of pintxo bars. The crowds are (sometimes) less, the prices are (slightly) cheaper, and the pintxos? Well, the pintxos are just as deserving of same attention that Calle Laurel’s bars receive.
1 / La Segunda Taberna
This was the first time I ever went to La Segunda Taberna and a week later I am still slightly puzzled as to how I never ended up eating there before. Granted, I had walked past it. Its mushroom cartoon signs and kitsch mushroom figurines had caught my eye, and I had put it on my mental “to do“ list.
When they say they do mushrooms, they DO mushrooms. Mushrooms of all shapes and sizes are served up on bread or as raciones (large plates). I didn’t know which one to pick so I just went in for a media ración (half plate) of the surtido especial (special mix). Why not try a bit of everything!
Sure, it wasn’t cheap compared to the pintxos (this plate cost 9 euros) but it certainly gave me a good taste of what La Segunda Taberna had to offer.
2 / Tastavín
If I could please be allowed to say something cheesy right now I am going to say: Tastavín serves up heaven on a plate.
Well, if heaven came in the form of atún rojo (red tuna) this is it. This was not a new pintxo for me, I have been coming to Tastavín for awhile now. I sometimes break the one pintxo rule and eat two, because if I only had one I would never try anything else. I’m addicted to their atún. Not that the other pintxos aren’t worth a look in – they absolutely are – but their atún rojo is just so damn good, I keep coming back for more.
The has to be one of the best value places in town. There are a good selection of wines by the glass, ranging from 80 cents to 2 euros (and at 2 euros, we are talking a premium pour!) The pintxos are all unique, tasty and priced 2 euros a piece. Can it get any better than that?!
3 / Viníssimo
This was another new pintxo bar for me. Viníssimo has a long list of montadidos (pieces of bread topped with a range of toppings). I went for the goats cheese with orange jam, whilst C settled for a bizarre combination of kangaroo, avocado and mushroom.
Kangaroo is not common feature on menus in Spain. In fact, I thought he was joking when he told me he that his pintxo contained our furry friend. But the kangaroo seemed to please – as did my goats cheese, the bar was buzzing, the food was good value. We will be back again soon, kangaroo or otherwise.
4 / A Tu Gusto
This bar sells pintxos on steroids. The pintxos are just BIG. But size isn’t everything, so lucky the pintxos here are tasty too.
The main fare here (though not limited to) is seafood, from prawns to pulpo (octopus), there is a selection. As tempting as the seafood was, I settled for a vegetarian option – vegetable crepe with white asparagus, leek, and artichoke.
I must admit, I was put off by this bars bright, open atmosphere, it feels a little bit out of place in this narrow street with bars fighting for space. But the variety of experimental pintxos made up for being thrown under the spotlights.
5 / Bar Samaray
Bar Samaray was not new to me this particular night, but is a fairly recent addition to my ruta de pintxo (pintxo route).
A small local haunt, pintxos up on the bar, its cramped brick interior and 1970’s flower power curtain separating the bar and the kitchen, gives Bar Samaray a proper local feel.
Most of the pintxos here are a variety of toppings on bread, the only thing in common being the speciality – huevos de codorniz (quails egg).
I only ever have the same pintxo here – a quail egg, prawn and artichoke battered, fried and served on a skewer. They have kept their pintxos traditional and they do it well. No fancy airs here, this is the real deal.
Have you been to Logroño and tried the pintxos on Calle San Agustin? Which was your favourite?
Whispering Gums says
Nope, but I like the fact that you have different favourites at different restaurants. Sometimes I think I’m boring because I only eat some things but I’ve recently realised that’s not true. We eat at a lot of places and I eat a lot of different things, but here I eat this, and there I eat that, and so on.