Free Tapas?

In many parts of the country (most famously in Granada), the tapas are free when you buy a drink such as a beer, wine or even a soda. Place your beverage order and a small tapa magically appears before you eyes.

However, don’t expect any small skillets or free tapas in Barcelona. While there are plenty of excellent eateries serving up small plates of Mediterranean nosh, they will cost you a few euros. Luckily, they are still very cheap, and prices hover around €3 and up for them. Nearly all restaurants serving Spanish-style food in Barcelona will have tapas on the menu, and some bars and restaurants only serve tapas.

Razor clams, pimientos de Padrón and olives are typical tapas you’ll find in Barcelona. Photo: Jeremy Keith

Defining exactly what a “tapa” is always causes great debate in Spain. But you can think of them as small portions or appetizers. In the north of Spain, especially in the Basque Country, tapas are called pintxos and are often served on tiny slices of bread. In Andalusia tapas can also be served as larger portions that are called raciones. In Barcelona you can find a wide range of all types of tapas, especially of the seafood variety, so it’s a great place to explore the culture of tapas from all regions of the country.

Related: Favorite outdoor bars serving tapas in Barcelona

On your next trip to Barcelona keep these tips in mind when searching out an afternoon or evening snack:

Pintxos and a beer in Barcelona. Photo: Regina W. Bryan

When to eat tapas

Locals start with appetizers before lunch around noon (especially on the weekends), and from midday onwards, tapas can be found around the city. Usually this pre-lunch snack is called having a “vermut,” which means having a drink (often alcoholic or vermouth on ice) and something small, such as potato chips, olives, a few white sardines, and maybe a bit of cheese.

Later on in the day you’ll find tapas available almost everywhere. It’s a wonderful and smart Spanish tradition to have abundant trays of tapas displayed along bars around 6 PM in the evening, when it is still too early for dinner (which starts typically at 9 or 10 PM), but your stomach is starting to rumble. This is the time of day I frequently end up ordering a tapa while washing it down with a glass of wine or a beer.

There are also many restaurants that make whole meals of tapas, and in fact it makes good sense to go for a dinner of several tapas, because people eat so late in Spain. Trust us, ordering a few mini-dishes instead of a plate of heavy pasta or rice is easier on the stomach at 11 PM. While it is common to have tapas for dinner, few locals would order only tapas for lunch, which is the largest meal of the day.

A spicy potato croquette at La Cova Fumada in Barceloneta. Photo: Craig Nelson

Recommended tapas

This can depend on your taste buds, but many visitors will want to nibble on a bit of acorn-fed Spanish ham and embotits (embotits = charcuterie and cured meats). Embotits are a Catalan specialty, so make sure to ask for the locally-made varieties.

Similarly, you cannot go wrong with a tray of Catalan and Spanish cheeses, which are strong, rich and often served with dried fruit.

Also, I recommend ordering any seafood dish that’s on the menu. Barcelona is on the Mediterranean Sea, and most local cooks know their way around a fresh clam and a prawn. Opt for a tapa of grilled razor clams drizzled with olive oil or a plate of shrimp smothered in a garlic and white wine sauce.

Whatever you decide to sample, make sure to also get “pa amb tomàquet,” which is nothing more than bread with olive oil, tomato, and garlic, but is an essential dish in any Barcelona tapas spread.

Tapas prices

Tapas in Barcelona can add up fast, so expect to spend at least €20 a person if you’re making a formal dinner out of it. To save a little money, those on a budget can eat a few tapas as an afternoon snack, and then have a more traditional meal with a filling main course for dinner.

Related: Barcelona cheap eats under €6.

Where to eat tapas

Try out any bar or restaurant that calls to you, but try to avoid restaurants serving tapas on the lower portion of La Rambla (the excessively touristy bit). In addition, use common sense when perusing the many tapas on display at a hole-in-the-wall bar. Does the ensaladilla rusa (potato salad with tuna) look like it’s been unrefrigerated for ten hours? Do the cod fritters look overly greasy? Then they probably are, and you would be wise to move on. Choose a place with fresh tapas and a nice ambiance.

Here are a few of our favorites spots to order tapas:

El Vaso de Oro
Seafood tapas and a good selection of craft beer.
Street address: C/ de Balboa 6 (La Barceloneta)
Metro Stop: Barceloneta
Telephone: (+34) 933-193-098
Website

Betlem Miscelánea Gastronómica
Creative, Mediterranean tapas and long wine list.
Street address: C/ de Girona 70 (L’Eixample Dreta)
Telephone: (+34) 932-655-105
Metro Stop: Girona
Website

Casa Mariol Wine Bar
Small, local bar serving cold snacks, vermouth and wine.
Street address: C/ del Rosselló 442 (Sagrada Família)
Metro Stop: Sagrada Família
Telephone: (+ 34) 934-367-628
Website

La Cova Fumada
Old-school hang out famous for La Bomba, a spicy potato croquette.
Street address: Baluard, 56 (Barceloneta)
Metro Stop: Barceloneta
Telephone: (+ 34) 932-214-061

Final note: My husband and I wrote a guidebook on food in Barcelona, and we offer many additional listings for restaurants serving tapas at Eat-Guides.com.

The post Barcelona Tapas Guide: What, where, and when to eat tapas appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

When friends came from the United States to visit last fall, I was reminded of many small differences between the USA and Spain. Funny little contrasts that I lost years ago came to light again. Here are a few of them that you may have noticed if you’ve come to Barcelona, or that you might come across on a visit to my adopted city.

Where’s the light?

Where is the light switch?

You’re in the bathroom at a bar or restaurant feeling around along the walls in the dark. Where the h*ll is the light switch!? You can’t find it. That’s because it’s outside. That is, it’s not in the bathroom, but on the wall outside the bathroom. This means that you could be in the bathroom and someone could, theoretically, come along and turn the light off while you’re in there. That’s not going to happen. In any case, if you can’t find the lights, look outside. This is true in many homes and in some guest houses. In my apartment, for example, the bathroom light switch is in the living room. I have no idea why this is. If anyone knows, I’d love you to enlighten me. My visitors spent a lot of time looking for the lights all over Barcelona.

Tipping is not mandatory

My guests were from the USA, so they felt the need to tip at bars, restaurants and in cabs. Do what you feel comfortable with, but I tell you now what I told them: you don’t need to tip. I know. It’s hard to take in. It took me three years to stop tipping. Sometimes I still tip a little something, but certainly not 15% or 20%. Remember that in Spain we have universal health care, and people are paid a fair wage for their work, so it’s not really the same situation as in other countries.

Let’s eat! Typical lunch advertisement.

One, two, three….it’s time for lunch

Three course lunches needed some explanation when my friends came to town. When you get a prix fixe lunch you’ll need to choose one starter, one main course and then the dessert. Usually you’ll be able to choose from four starters, four main courses and a series of desserts. This both delighted and overwhelmed my guests. You also get to select wine or some other beverage, and for the most part my friends went with the wine! More than once during their 10 days here they turned to me and said, “Is there more food coming?! I’m already stuffed…” To which I replied, “Yes, that was just the appetizer and first course!”

Eat, walk, eat

By day nine one visitor turned to me and said, “My days in Barcelona are like this: I eat, then I walk around the Gothic Quarter to see something, then I eat some more. Then I nap. Then it’s time for dinner and wine!” It was then that I knew he was on ‘Barcelona-time’.

Two kisses: Spanish greetings explained

I’m used to kissing people, for the most part (though there are certain situations that always throw me off). When you greet a friend in Spain, or meet a potential friend for the first time, you kiss them.

It works like this:

-Women kiss women

-Men kiss women

-Men shake other men’s hands, unless were dealing with family, and then the rules change a little

-Everyone kisses children

-When in doubt, follow the Spaniard’s lead

I forgot to tell my visitors about this kissing rule. I’m sure they knew about it to some extent, but perhaps didn’t expect to get kissed. After a couple of awkward meetings (Oregonians hugging and Spaniards trying to kiss them—Oregonians are known for being huggers), I broke down the two kisses for them. Note that you’re not actually putting your lips on the person’s face, it’s more like cheek to cheek.

These are just a few cultural contrasts my friends made me think of during their stay. Every time someone pops over from the United States, they help me see my surroundings in a new light, giving me a refreshed viewpoint on my day to day life in Barcelona. If you have any more observations from Barcelona living, feel free to add them in the comments.

The post Living like a local: Eating, walking, kissing and (not) tipping in Barcelona appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.