Tondeluna, the modern tavern
We know the worlds of Logroño or rather little worlds: that of crafts applied to the 21st century, that of haute cuisine tapas, that of proud geeks... But, be careful, as usual, the classic here is nothing else that something modern that remains and what is modern without hipsterism always has the vocation of being an instant classic. Everything is more than meets the eye in the only Spanish city with heated street benches.
**SLEEP Classic: Hotel Calle Mayor **. Yes, it is the most recent of the hotels in Logroño. The classic air comes from its facade of a Golden Age mansion, from its restored interiors (stairs, columns, beams, wrought iron elements), from the location next to the Cathedral and Laurel Street and from an attentive and proactive service, that never goes out of style . In everything else, especially in the rooms, apply a minimalist taste: white and warm woods, for what else. It's only been open a few months and already has that instant classic aura I was talking about.
Modern ** : Check in Rioja Hostel **. It may never have crossed your mind to rent an entire hostel for a getaway, but this isn't just any hostel. A common bedroom with high ceilings crossed by beams, with a architectural intervention between minimalism and industrial vibe ; bunk beds with mattresses as comfortable as those in a hotel; individual bathrooms in an elegant dark tone and with flattering mirrors; leather armchairs and a rustic and picturesque communal table in which to strengthen fraternal ties. In the warmer months it welcomes pilgrims to Santiago who get a preview of the plenary indulgence as soon as they walk through the door. The rest of the year, it is rented to groups.
The Check In Rioja Hostel, a 'must' for pilgrims
TO EAT Classic: Laurel Street. I don't really know what the implications of this are, but it is said that famous people like Johnny Depp, Marichalar or Lola Flores They have passed through Laurel Street. The difficult thing is to go to Logroño and not pass. They, like anyone else, have guaranteed human warmth there while they take a mushroom skewer from the Angel or anything from La Anjana. So much heat (and songs and dances and kisses to strangers), that almost the best thing is to go to Laurel well and abundantly accompanied and in the spirit of a bachelor party. But, be careful, don't go with a real farewell party, since most of the places have signs that prohibit entry to those in bullfighter costumes and rag criadillas on their heads. If you want a quieter tapas, do what the people of Logroño do and go to the San Juan street . Some say that the pinchos here are better and cheaper and others that they are just cheaper.
Modern: tondeluna . A Francis Paniego they have just given him the National Prize for Gastronomy from the Royal Spanish Academy of Gastronomy. Before that, he dared to give battle to Logroño's endless supply of pinchos with a modern design gastro bar for its simplicity and warmth, with a single diaphanous space with six tables and chefs in sight. His menu includes a good selection of wines. He is very successful with simple preparations (which are almost all of them), like his wonderful grandmother's croquettes. He is not so successful with some apparently more sophisticated ones, such as the wrinkled bravas potatoes that he borrows from Sergi Arola, and nothing would happen if he returned them.
Calle Laurel, the indispensable street for wine and tapas in Logroño
TO BUY: Classic: ** Rioja Boots **. Upon entering the boat shop, one of the few remaining in Spain, you find yourself Félix Barbero -fourth generation of boatmen- always bundled by cutting the skin of the Canarian goat or calf from Santo Domingo de la Calzada in a curve, shearing the skins, sewing or placing the pitch or the latex filling. The instructions for use are simple: convince yourself that a boot is a gastronomic tool that is as essential as it is beautiful and pleasant to the touch ; pay the minimum of 17 euros that costs an object so handcrafted that you yourself are going to see it being born; go to the festivities of San Mateo de Logroño; fill it with zurracapote; elbow up. If the boots do not convince you at all, you can always take things to eat, which is probably why you have come to La Rioja.
Among the finest options and with products from La Rioja, try ** De Torre Gourmet **, a traditional high-altitude shop with a careful gastronomic selection that includes Alfaro Russians and Fuji apples of height cultivated in Igea by Señorío de Rioja; the catering and delicatessen shop of ** Marisol Arriaga **, which offers the only brunch in Logroño in its adjoining restaurant; Y Habemus Rioja , a gastronomic showroom with its own products such as a peculiar wine salt.
Modern : Hands what do I want you for . The store where Logroño's moderns shop It has everything: a selection of trending books (such as those from the Logroño publisher Pepitas de Calabaza), wine labels such as fliers, and precious decorative objects from indie brands such as Wuoof or Cuatro Tuercas. The four partners put themselves behind the counter as well as in the sofa and work areas where they coordinate photography or crochet workshops and launch projects related to graphic design or window dressing.
Habemus Rioja, the gastronomic showroom
Hands, what do I want you for: the store 'where the moderns buy'
LEAVE Classic: Modern Cafe. Logroño could be summed up in that what could well be its most classic gambling den is called Moderno. The (less and less) typical place where the tables are called watchmen and where you meet someone for a coffee and you start to see everything in sepia. Its most Martian rite takes place on Friday and Saturday nights, when its nineteenth-century station clock strikes twelve, the lights go down and **the entire parish sings from high to low the unclassifiable song "Bird Fiber"**.
Modern: ** Rock & Bizarre **. For the next bridge, the days December 7 and 8 , this festival organized by the association Fast Fun Bizarre and that is based on an unsurpassed combination of motorcycles and rock and roll . The performance of Teté Delgado and the Cyclones , a country biker route or two arm wrestling championships and drinking beer are some of the main dishes.
HAVE FUN **Classic: Dodo arts & crafts **. To show that not everything fun is fattening or sinful, in this small shop and workshop they teach you how to get as dirty as you want with clay, knit, create miniatures and a lot of other crafts for children and adults. What was a small family business dedicated to DIY was reborn in the spring of 2012 as a store of cucadas like the "infeltrados" , felt dolls that jibarize people and characters (they can even make you a portrait) and a academy where they teach you to bring crafts to the 21st century . It is located in the 100 stores, the commercial and pedestrian area around Avenida Juan XXIII and Calle Calvo Sotelo and also sells very peculiar children's books, elements for daring dollhouses and everything you need to make it yourself at home.
Modern: ** Frikoño **. The Logroño Geek Week has held four editions, the last one last May, with the declared objectives of amplifying geek pride and “breaking your ass”. During the event there were costume parties, a pornoterrorismo session and some 'ohhh cleanses' with disciplines such as the boot lift, the cobbled ten meters with a flat on the head or a total crouching fight. The organizers announced that there was not going to be a fifth edition because in 2012 the world would end. If, for whatever reason, by January 1st you see that that forecast was too optimistic, go booking and do not miss a parade more than imperial soldiers in the center of Logroño.
The Dodo Arts & Crafts Shop and Workshop: Crafting and Buying
AND FOR DESSERT Classic: ** Via V **. The most classic confectionery in Logroño - which everyone here knows as Vienna - is also the most modern: a pioneer workshop in Europe that only works with original couvertures (as Paco Torreblanca or Oriol Balaguer do). It joins traditional knowledge with a technology that allows, for example, beating the heart of the product before freezing it. Sell to Michelin stars and it also has some little tables for you to sit down and eat some of its star chocolates right there. Like oil (Caricia Olium), tempranillo (wine truffle) or rose petal whose flavors are transformed in the mouth when broken. The selection of your cava includes brandy truffles (with palo cortado), gin (with Gin Mare and Beefeater 24), vodka, orujo, mojito and lots more. Its owners, the Rodrigálvarez family, have what is called in Logroño "stone" , that is, they do not rest until they have the perfect product on their exhibitors. fans of the good.
Modern : Della Sera Ice Cream Parlor (Gates, 28) . Fernando Sáenz does with ice cream what spring does with cherry trees. For example, with your fig shadow , which can be tried in Tondeluna outside the summer season, he gets a fig ice cream in which there is no fig, only a maceration with fig leaves. or with his wine ice cream , which he now makes with the sweet autumn grapes (Graciano cluster) that he has personally collected in the Rioja vineyards. He and his wife are those types of artisans who carefully choose the Levantine orchard where they go to order the lemons for their lemon cream ice cream with Alfaro oil. And that they would be bored if they didn't invent new flavors every year: from zurracapote to chocobarrica , which adds the aroma of the barrels that contained great Rioja wines to a smooth chocolate.
Paxia restaurant lounge