One of the Riojan capital’s most casual hangouts, Bar Soriano serves up amazingly cheap glasses of house crianza wine and just one kind of tapas: mushrooms fried in butter and garlic, stuffed with a prawn and served on crispy bread. Snack and sip your vino standing up, whether propping up the bar that’s big enough for about 15 people, or around the high tables on the pavement. The staff happily make recommendations, so just ask if you seek the perfect mushroom-wine marriage.

Next door, Bar Soriano specialises in setas - wild mushrooms cooked in garlicky butter then skewered with a shrimp. Opposite, La Aldea is a shellfish paradise - razor clams (navajas) cooked to sweet perfection, juicy clams (almejas) washed down with a copa of bone-dry Barbadillo. Halfway along Calle Laurel, the wood-beamed La Tasca del Pato offers white asparagus grilled with a wrap of Riojan cheese, and txangurrito - a fishcake of crab and shellfish with a rich béchamel.

This popular bar has a list of around 40 different pintxos, including bombitas (potatoes stuffed with mushrooms) and toast topped with roast eggplant and…

Calle and Travesía del Laurel are famed throughout Rioja for an unequalled variety of excellent small bites contained within an area not much larger than a couple of tennis courts: Bar Soriano is the place for mushrooms with garlic and tiny shrimp; nearby Pata Negra serves acorn-fed wild Ibérico ham; Bar Simpatía has its famous cojonudos such as quail eggs, spicy chorizo, and peppers; Jubera comes close to perfection with potatoes in spicy red pepper sauce (patatas bravas); El Achuri does pickled garlic; Donosti offers lamb intestines tightly wound up and fried to a crisp (embuchados); Sierra la Hez has a little window that opens directly onto the street through which emerge the olive-pepper-anchovy-on-a-toothpick inventions called Gildas (the Basque invention is popular all over Spain); and La Rueda has a booming bar downstairs serving tapas, while upstairs is a dining room overlooking the street with an excellent wine list that accompanies simple fare ranging from eggs scrambled with young garlic to patatas a la Riojana. (For more info on the tapas circuit and a map showing most of these tapas bars, check out the Web site www.callelaurel.net.)

And then there’s Bar Soriano, which – I guess- makes only one tapa and has become rather famous for it: three cremini mushrooms dripping with garlic butter and a small shrimp in the center of each, mounted with a toothpick on a slice of baguette. A pain in the ass to eat, since it’s impossible to do so without removing each mushroom with your bare hands, there’s not much in terms of flavor to make it worth the challenge anyway. It’s just kind of rubbery, burning your mouth if you bite too soon and the limp shrimps have quite clearly been defrosted after a long time in the freezer.

We recommend the garlic mushrooms at Soriano, Travesia de Laurel, and don’t miss Torrecilla, Calle Laurel 15, where everything is made to order and which showcases its foie fresca and its sirloin strips (calconcillos). We're also big fans of the “lollipop of Iberian sirloin with mushroom sauce” at Letras de Laurel, Calle Laurel, 22. Attracting a slightly more mature crowd, Calle San Juan is a street equally packed with bars offering delicious pintxos.

In Logroño, as in other parts of the country, it’s common to move around and enjoy drinks and tapas in multiple bars and restaurants within one sitting, which has led to establishments specialising in a specific sort of tapas to differentiate themselves. From juicy mushrooms dripping with herbs and butter at Bar Soriano to tender, delicious tortilla de patatas at El Canalla, there’s a very good reason to keep moving and tasting.

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.

Bar Soriano, a few steps away, served the same dish, but it seemed everyone that day was going to Bar Angel, and we were not disappointed – except for our inability to open our mouths wide enough to take a bite. Eventually, with garlicky mushroom juice running down our grinning faces, we figured it out. Finally, after several napkins, and a glass of white Rioja, we were ready for our next stop.

They serve just one type of pintxo – a mushroom and shrimp pintxo made with loads of butter and garlic. When I was posting pictures of our trip on Instagram, a couple of locals reached out and asked us if we were making a side trip to Logroño. They specifically suggested we try these mushroom pintxos because in their words, “Logroño has really mastered it.” They weren’t kidding.

Uno de los locales más populares de la Calle Laurel, donde la espera siempre vale la pena. Este sitio es famoso por ofrecer un único pintxo, el famoso «champi», que consiste en champiñones a la plancha con gambas. Con apenas una barra, tanto el interior como el exterior de este pequeño local se abarrota de gente, atraída tanto por su sabor como por su precio.

Bar Soriano is a good place to start with their famous champiñón a la plancha con gamba (grilled mushroom with prawn). The wine list at the time of visiting (October, 2018) had a selection of wine by the glass (the size would have been about half the volume of a standard Australian glass) from 0.80-1.50€. Not exactly fine wine, but no complaints here.

El Soriano está también especializado en champiñones a la plancha. “Para muchos es el mejor pincho de champiñones de la ciudad, nosotros somos habituales”. El bar se abrió en 1972 y se especializa en este pincho: tres champiñones preparados a la plancha en el momento e insertados en un palillo sobre un trozo de pan, con su propio juguillo.

¿Por qué no empezar con uno de los grandes clásicos de Logroño?. Sólo necesito ver las fotos para recordar el aroma que desprende la enorme plancha en la que, noche tras noche, se cocinan cientos de champiñones desde 1972. Es el plato estrella del Bar Soriano y de algún otro clásico de la zona, como el Bar Ángel (calle Albornoz nº1).

One of the most famous pinchos on Calle Laurel is the stacked grilled mushrooms. There are two places that serve this, which is unusual because usually there isn’t much competition between bars. Bar Soriano was absolutely packed and was one of the only places where we had to wait for about 5 minutes to be served.

Keep heading down Calle del Laurel and take a right onto Travesía del Laurel, appropriately named, the crossing of Laurel. A few bars down on the right you’ll see a crowd of people outside a small bar called Soriano. This spot is probably the most popular and so it’s always packed.

At Bar la Casita, octopus-and-shrimp-paprika kebabs are a huge draw, while Bar Soriano is famous for its grilled garlicky mushrooms that are stacked on a small piece of bread, the eating of which requires some technical skills to avoid having it all land on the floor.

With discreet lighting and comfortable seating, is the prefect place in which to unwind after a day visiting nearby Bodegas or a busy day in the office. A wide selection of beverages, including an impressive local wine list, and snacks are available daily.

When it comes to tapas in Calle del Laurel, Bar Soriano has been a local favourite for over 40 years. Like many tapas bars, they specialise in one dish, stacked mushrooms and garlic bread topped with shrimp. Trust me; you’ll want to order more than one.

You’ll see most people ordering at the small window out front. Their delicious specialty is Champiñón con gamba a la plancha: grilled mushroom caps stacked on a piece of bread and topped with a grilled prawn, all held together with a toothpick.

Prácticamente en la puerta de al lado se encuentra el Bar Soriano, especializado en un pincho de champiñones a la plancha coronado por una gamba, también a la plancha, un bocado delicioso por un precio maravilloso, unos 2,5€ la tirada.

You know a place is good when they do just one thing—and still have a line out the door. Soriano is a shrine to one dish: Pinchos de Champiñones a la Plancha. Three butter-soaked mushrooms stacked on bread with a single shrimp on top.

This is a gourmet town for local Spanish people, and you can enjoy bars at a more reasonable price than in San Sebastian. Laurel Street is famous, but it is very crowded with locals. The most famous of these is this bar.

Some of the best tapas bars in Logroño are Bar Soriano, Bar El Cid and Bodeguilla Los Rotos. Don’t stick to just one place though, instead, go bar hopping and try a couple of different dishes.

Some iconic places include “El Rincón de Pepe”, known for its grilled shrimp, and “Bar Soriano”, famous for its garlic mushrooms. Explore different options and discover your own favorites.

Its tapa is simple yet irresistible: grilled mushrooms served on bread, generously topped with garlic. A combination that has been popular for decades. Ver esta publicación en Instagram

El clásico ‘champi’ del Ángel y del Soriano consta de tres champiñones montados sobre una rodaja de pan, quitando la gamba que lo corona para convertir este mítico pincho en vegano.

I was astonished to find later that Bar Soriano – which is so close to Bar Charly that it shares the same address – offers the exact same mushroom and prawn menu!

Bar Soriano only serves mushrooms stuffed with prawns and seasoned with garlic sauce.. They are made to perfection and go extremely well with a glass of Verdejo.

Bar Soriano – If there’s one pincho you get, it should be this one. Simple, flavorful, and delicious. Bar Soriano is the best pincho in Logroño.

Head to Bar Soriano and order the famous El Champi for yet another tower of mushrooms and garlic on bread with a single shrimp to crown it.

Soriano and Bar Ángel (Laurel, 12) are known for their grilled mushroom pintxo and both have their own fan base.