Eat, drink, shop
For breakfast and coffee ASTERISCO CAFÉ-BAR
Avenida de Portugal 22, Logroño
At a safe distance from Logroño’s bar-crawl craziness, this friendly café-bar serves the city’s best espresso and cappuccino. Óscar Solorzano has won the Barista Championship of Rioja several years in a row and is also a talented latte artist. For solid fuel of the savoury kind, try the bar’s specialty, buen rollito, a gourmet rolled pasta starring mushrooms, chicken and pear.
For lunch
LA BODEGA DE RIVAS
Calle San Vicente 2, Rivas de Tereso +34 941 334 329 Since opening in 2013, this informal restaurant in the pretty Rioja Alta village of Rivas de Tereso has attracted a faithful local following for its market-fresh cuisine. In the cool, stone-clad interior of an old Riojan townhouse, chef Raúl Muñiz, who worked for 10 years at La Vieja Bodega (see below), serves flavoursome, beautifully presented dishes such as octopus roasted with garlic and cod cheek in pil-pil sauce, accompanied by some of the region’s finest wines. For such exalted fare, it’s great value.
For dinner
LA VIEJA BODEGA
Avenida de la Rioja 17, Casalarreina laviejabodega.es still the most reliable address in Rioja for a memorable meal. There’s a firm parallel between the setting – a large stone and brick 17th-century wine cellar jazzed up with discreet contemporary artworks – and head chef Félix Sarceda’s cuisine, which is rooted in local tradition but has equally subtle modern touches. The standout main dish is a share plate for two of cordero asado, tender lamb roasted to perfection in the woodfired oven.
For taking home
MANTAS EZCARAY
Calle González Gallarza 12, Ezcaray mantasezcaray.com This family-run business keeps Rioja’s wool-weaving and dyeing traditions alive. It specialises in vibrant blankets, scarves and cushions made from mohair, cashmere and sheep’s wool that is cleaned then hand-rinsed in the Oja River before being dried and combed with natural thistle brushes. Spanish department store El Corte Inglés is a major reseller of Mantas Ezcaray products but it can’t match the mothership’s range or prices.