GlynI had found La Juana before this trip and wanted to try it, and I was fairly sure my wife would like it. I was right. We went once, and then we went back, which on a nine-night trip with an Old Town full of bars to choose from is about the highest praise I can give anywhere.
Where it is
La Juana is a little bar at 6 Calle del Rosario, just off the walking street, in the Old Town. It is small: a counter, a coffee machine, a fridge of wine and a handful of tables outside on the pavement. You will know it by the lit sign, and by its neighbour: Bar Los Pinchos Morunos, which I have written about before and whose sign says it has been there since 1968. It was closed while we were there this time.
A taste of Soria
The tagline on the sign is “Soria en cada bocado”, Soria in every mouthful. Soria is a province of Castilla y León, inland in the north of Spain, a long way from the Costa Blanca in every sense. It is famous above all for one thing: torrezno, pork belly fried until the skin puffs up and shatters when you bite it.
La Juana keeps a tower of it on the counter, under glass, next to the coffee machine. You cannot pretend you have not seen it. I suspect that is the point.
The menu is small. It is also, in my view, gold.
What we ate
Almitas de torrezno de Soria, €10. “Almitas” means, roughly, “little souls”, which is a fairly poetic name for what arrives. Think of the crispiest streaky bacon you have ever had, then fry it again. It comes piled high in a wire basket, with a basket of bread on the side. My wife loved it. So did I.
Torrezno de Soria, €7. This is what we went back for: the full belly-pork version, cut into chunks with the crackling on, again with bread. Again, amazing. If you only order one thing, order this.
The rest of the menu
The sharing menu, the raciones, keeps to the same region, and it has English translations printed under every dish, so you are not ordering blind:
- Iberian ham (jamón ibérico de cebo), Soria cold cuts, €19 each
- Soria cheese platter, Malvasía pâté platter, €21 each
- Croquettes by the half-dozen: torrezno €14; Iberian ham, boletus mushroom or oxtail €12
For two, I would start with the almitas and a portion of torrezno and see how you feel. That is €17 between two.
If you do not eat pork, be warned: on that menu, the cheese platter and the mushroom croquettes are about the extent of your options. This is a pork bar, and it is not apologising for it.
The welcome
Our waiter spoke very little English. It did not matter in the slightest; the translated menu did the work. And with our drinks he brought out a small plate of cut meats, unasked and free. That sort of thing tells you more about a bar than any review, this one included.
Would I go back?
We already did. Highly recommended, particularly if you think you have had crispy pork before. You probably have not had it like this.
This is one of the reviews from our late September trip. The full write-up is here.
