Exploring Tapas Throughout Spain

Tapas are fun bites of food served throughout Spain in bars and restaurants. We love them, but enjoying the tapas experience isn’t always as easy as one might think.

Spain is a large and diverse country with 17 distinct regions. Tapas bars work differently and serve different food depending on the region, the city and the kind of bar it is. A tapas crawl in Andalusia is not the same as one in the Basque Country.

Spanish Tapas ... Mussels

In Andalucía, for instance, servers usually come to the table, take and bring your order. The tapas bars in the town of Granada offer a free tapa with every drink, but not in Seville, which is also located in Andalusia. With its long coastline, Andalusia serves up wonderful seafood tapas such as pescaíto frito (fried fish) and espetos (grilled sardines). Sherry is a good drink to accompany tapas in Andalucía, especially in Seville and nearby Jerez, which is known for its sherry production.

Enjoying pintxos, as tapas are called in the Basque Country, is a bit of a mixed bag. Each bar has a unique way of dishing out its tasty morsels. It is said that the Basque Country is home to the best tapas (and food) in Spain, especially the town of San Sebastián, perhaps known as Europe’s top foodie destination.

In San Sebastián, the art of the crawl from one bar to another is on full display late in the evening. Each pintxos bar seems to have its own specialty and its own ordering system. Some bars take your order at the counter and it is every man (or woman) for themselves to get someone’s attention. Others hand out a plate and ask that the plate be shown to them after you have selected your pintxos, that way they know what you have taken and how much to charge. Problem is; many of these bars have patrons sitting on stools right in front of the food. Trying to carefully grab a pintxo between people without getting glowered at or, worse, yelled at can be a challenge.

Self-Service Pintxos/Tapas

Still others have a service bar making it easy to simply point to what you want. They fill your plate, you take a seat and somehow, even if you’ve gone back for more, they know exactly what you have had.

The easiest bars for tourists to maneuver are completely self service. These pintxos are usually served on a piece of bread held together with a toothpick and are displayed on trays on a counter. Patrons simply select what they want and when ready to leave, the toothpicks are counted and they are charged accordingly.

Popular Basque Country pintxos are the gilda (an anchovy, an olive and a guindilla pepper skewered together) and the mejillones tigre (tiger mussels). A favorite drink is txakolí, a semi-sparkling white wine that is produced exclusively in the Basque Country.

In Barcelona, part of Catalonia, food is influenced by the sea and surrounding regions. Because of a strong Basque influence there are a number of pintxos bars, similar to the kind I last mentioned, that put out trays of self-service food with toothpicks. Others are like the ones in Andalusia, restaurant style where you choose from a menu or chalk board and a server takes and brings your order. There are no free tapas here, but the food is excellent and of a high quality.

Enjoying Tapas Outdoors

As in other regions of Spain, if you choose to eat outside, up to 20% extra will be added to the bill. As tapas are reasonable, if it is a pleasant day or there is a nice view or enjoyable atmosphere, it is worth the extra charge.

A favorite Catalan tapa is the simplest, pan con tomate, bread with tomato. Homemade crusty bread is rubbed with fresh tomatoes to create a delicious low-cost tapa that goes with everything. Cava, Spain’s answer to champagne, is a popular accompaniment to tapas in Catalonia as it is the country’s leading producer of the crisp sparkling wine.

This is just a sampling of a few regions within Spain, but it shows how diverse the food and selection process can be.

I was particularly looking forward to the San Sebastián pintxos, having read about the culinary joys of the town for years. I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Trying to go with the flow was, at times, a bit difficult. We found many places we wanted to try closed with no signage indicating their schedule. On the days they were open, they were so crowded that it was hard to maneuver about. Bars with customers sitting in front of the food platters were also frustrating, as it was tricky to politely reach between people without upsetting someone.

We tried a wide variety of places and dishes, but the pintxos truly didn’t seem that much more of a gourmet experience than anywhere else in Spain. To me the pleasure of dining out is the whole package. Fighting crowds, being glowered at, and having to stand in a crowded corner to eat takes away from the pleasure of a delectable bite of food. I liked San Sebastián, don't get me wrong, it is a lovely town perfectly situated on the water with a pretty, expansive beach; but I enjoyed our tapas experience in other towns - Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Ronda, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Marbella and Madrid - as much, if not more … but that’s just me.

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Even if your travels don’t take you to Spain, more and more tapas-style restaurants are popping up in various cities and towns across the US. Along the same line, wine bars have become ubiquitous and popular. They offer small plates of food as well as cheese and charcuterie boards.

Host a Tapas Gathering at Home

It's simple to host your own tapas or hors d’oeuvre gathering; you don’t even have to make anything if you don’t want to. A local supermarket deli section offers a large selection of potential tapas ingredients. Buy some Serrano ham or other cured meat, some manchego or other Spanish cheese, a variety of olives (preferably Spanish if you can find some), nuts, dried fruit, pickled vegetables, and arrange on platters with crackers, baguette slices, jams and honey.

It is also easy to introduce some seafood by purchasing cans of boneless, skinless sardines and mackerel (‘Season’ is a good brand). All you need to do is open the can, add a small fork and serve with sliced bread. Open some bottles of Rioja and you are all set.

Of course for those willing to do a little cooking, the choices are endless and some are as easy as sautéing shrimp in oil and garlic or slicing and sautéing some chorizo sausage.

No matter how you experience tapas, the most important thing is to relax and enjoy them with family and friends. ¡Salud!

As an FYI, here is a list of some common tapas terms. To view, simply click on 'Read more' below.

Common Tapas Terms

A la parrilla – barbecued

A la plancha – grilled

Aceitunas – olives

Ajo blanco – chilled garlic and almond puree

Almendras – fried almonds

Al ajillo – with garlic

Albóndigas – spiced meatballs with sauce

Almejas, a la marinera – clams, in paprika sauce

Anchoa – anchovy – fresh, pickled, cured and salazón (salted)

Arroz con Leche – rice pudding

Atún – tuna

Bacalao – salt cod prepared in many cuts, including kokotxas (cheeks)

Banderilla – mini skewer (often olives, fish and pickled vegetables)

Bocadillo – baguette sandwich

Bombas – fried meat and potato ball

Bonito del norte – a pale–fleshed tuna, popular fresh and preserved

Boquerones, en vinagre – fresh anchovies, marinated in olive oil, vinegar and garlic

Boquerones fritos – deep fried anchovies

Brocheta – food served on a stick

Cabrillas – big snails served in tomato sauce

Calamares fritos – fried squid

Callos – tripe stew

Canapé – tiny open-faced sandwich

Caracoles – small tree snails available May to September

Carrilleras – cheeks, usually beef or pork

Cazón en adobo – salty marinated white fish

Champiñones – mushrooms

Charcuteria – cured meats

Chiperones, puntillitas – fried whole baby squid

Chorizo – cured spicy sausage

Chuleta – chop

Con, jamón /queso/mixto – with, ham/cheese/both

Conjeo – rabbit

Corazones – hearts, as in corazones de pollo (chicken hearts)

Chipirón – baby squid or cuttlefish

Croquetas – croquettes, béchamel base with ham or chicken breaded and fried

Empanadas – turnovers filled with meat or seafood

Empanadilla – small turnover

Ensaladilla rusa – Russian salad, made with potato, egg, tuna, peas, carrots and mayonnaise

Espetos – grilled sardines

Espinacas, con garbanzos – spinach, with garbanzo beans

Espuma – foam or mousse

Flan – crème caramel

Flauta – sandwich on a thin baguette

Frito – fried

Fruta del Tiempo – fruit in season

Fuet – Catalan salami-lkie sausage

Gambas – large prawn

Gambas a la plancha, al ajillo – grilled prawns, with garlic

Gambas pil-pil – prawns in garlic and chili

Gatzetako antxoak – salted anchovies, a common component of pintxos

Gazpacho – cold tomato soup

Gilda – pintxo of plump green olive skewered with salty anchovy and hot guindilla pepper

Guindilla – slender green pepper grown in the basque region

Guiso – stew

Helados – ice cream

Idiazábal – local sheep’s cheese

Jamón – cured ham

Jamón Iberico – best quality ham from Iberian pigs

Jamón Serrano – dried cured ham

Judías verdes – green beans

Kafe itzotzagaz – sweetened espresso served with ice

Legatz kokotxak pil-pil – hake cheeks cooked with garlic and olive oil

Lomo – cured pork loin

Mejillones – mussels

Merluza – hake

Montadito – mini bocadillo (small baguette sandwich)

Morcilla – blood sausage

Morro – pig snout

Paella – saffron rice stew with seafood and meat

Pan – bread

Pantxineta – puff pastry filled with a thick custard and topped with almonds

Patates al ajillo – sautéed potatoes with oil, garlic and herbs

Patates braves – fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce

Patxaran – a local liqueur flavoured with sloes and aniseed

Pescaditos fritos – assortment of fried fish

Picos – little bread sticks

Pimiento, relleno – pepper, stuffed

Pimentón de la Vera – smoked paprika

Pimientos de Padrón – fried small green peppers

Pinchos morunos – skewer of spicy lamb or pork

Pisto – mixed sautéed vegetables

Pollo, alioli – chicken, with garlic olive oil

Pulga, pulguita or pepito – small closed baguette sandwich

Pulpo – octopus

Puntillitas – fried baby squid

Queso – cheese

Queso manchego – Spanish sheep-milk cheese

Rabas – squid tentacles

Rabo de toro – oxtail stew

Raciónes – larger meal-size portions

Revuelto, de setas – scrambled eggs, with wild mushrooms

Salchichón – salami-like sausage

Sandwich – American style sandwich

Sardinas – fresh sardines

Sesos – lamb brains

Setas – wild mushrooms

Surtido de – assortment of

Tabla serrana – plate of cured meat and cheese

Talo – pancake made from cornflour and cooked on a griddle

Tocino – bacon

Tortilla Española – potato omelet

Tortilla de jamón/queso – potato omelet with ham/cheese

Tortillitas de camarones – shrimp fritters

Tostada – toasted or grilled bread with filling

Txistorra – basque take on the chorizo sausage

Variado de fritos – mix of various fried fish

Common Spanish Beverage Terms

Afrutado – fruity

Aqua con/sin gas – bottled water with/without fizz

Blanco de la casa – white house wine

Caña – small glass of draft beer

Cava – Spain's sparkling wine

Cerveza – beer

Dulce – sweet

Refresco – soft drink

Rioja – best known of the spanish wines (usually red but can be white or rosé); better quality: crianza (old), reserva (older) gran reserva (oldest)

Rosada de la Casa – rosé house wine

¡Salud! – cheers!

Sangria – a mix of red wine, brandy and fruit (mostly for tourists)

Seco – dry

Sherry – fortified wine produced in southern Spain

Tinto de la casa – red house wine

Tinto verano – red wine with a light lemonade

Txakoli – a semi-sparkling white wine produced in the Basque Country and poured from shoulder height or above

Un tinto – a glass of house red wine

Un vaso de aqua del grifo – a glass of tap water

Una jarra de agua – a jug of tap water

Vaso or copa – a glass

Vermu – vermouth

Vino de mesa – house wine