La Ventana, the Los Claveles café in Ibeas

The casual side of Los Claveles

La Ventana opened in 2008 next to the Los Claveles restaurant, on the Logroño road in Ibeas de Juarros, and the family calls it their "B side": a café for a coffee, a bite to share or a bocadillo (a filled baguette). It is in the same village as the CAYAC, the access centre where the guided visits to the archaeological sites start, so it suits a coffee before the 10:00 visit or a quick lunch on the way back from the Trinchera.

It is a bright place, with white-painted beams, a long bar and high tables. There is a terrace with a garden and, as at the restaurant, a small play park for children. In the evening the mood changes and the focus turns to cocktails.

What to order and what it costs

The snack menu, published as a PDF on their website with VAT included, is organised by section. Among the raciones (plates for sharing) there is jamón de recebo (€16), cured chorizo de matanza (€7), cured cheese, fried Burgos morcilla (blood sausage) and homemade ham croquettes (€8 each), and chicken or prawn gyozas. For nibbling there are bravas the Ventana way at €3.50, spicy mussels, tempura vegetables, battered king prawns, a cider-house scramble with free-range eggs and cod (€12), duck meatballs and a 550-gram barbecued rack of ribs (€18).

Salads run from €7 to €13, from Russian salad to crab-claw salad, and stone-baked pizzas cost €11.90. The classic bocadillos are the cheapest thing on the menu: French omelette at €4.50, bacon and cheese at €5, fried Burgos morcilla or pork loin at €6, chorizo at €7 and grain-fed ham at €8. One warning from the menu: the special bocadillos, burgers and sandwiches are served only on Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings. Bread is extra, at €0.50 a portion, and they also do takeaway.

With one dish to share and a bocadillo, the bill comes to under €20 a head. The menu marks the allergens in each dish.

When to go

The website does not publish the café's opening hours, and the Junta's official listing that gives the opening period is the restaurant's: all year except October. If you are counting on it for lunch, call 947 421 073.