Tapas culture
Tapas is very much part of the culture in Andalucía, but it can be a bit confusing, even if you live here. That’s because tapas doesn’t mean quite the same thing everywhere.
Granada, Jaén and Almería provinces
In the eastern provinces of Granada, Jaén and Almería, you typically get a “free” tapa with every drink. Of course, you tend to pay a bit more for the drink, but overall going out generally works out a bit cheaper than in other parts of Andalucía or Spain.
Some bars have a list of tapas to choose from (“tapas a elegir”), while others just serve the day’s tapas in a fixed order. If you have any special dietary requirements, let them know – they can often adapt the tapa, or they’ll serve you a different one.
Even between these three provinces, there are subtle differences. For example, in Almería you tend to pay a bit more for your drink than in Granada, but you get a bigger tapa with it. But it also varies a lot between bars – some serve a bigger tapa, generally made of cheaper ingredients, while others serve smaller but fancier tapas.
You’ll only get a “free” tapa with certain types of drinks: wine, beer, soft drinks and water. On the other hand, you won’t get one with a tea or coffee, milkshake, or mixed alcoholic drink. And, of course, you’ll only get a tapa if the kitchen is open – particularly in touristy areas, many bars stay open all day, but that doesn’t necessarily mean their kitchen is open.
If you order a few rounds of drinks in a place that serves big tapas, or aren’t too hungry, you can normally get away without ordering any additional food, but tapas bars do also serve raciones (larger plates) or media raciones (half raciones). In some bars, you can also order a tapa extra – an extra tapa without a drink.
Some free tapas are offered in restaurants as well as tapas bars. Even in quite posh restaurants, you’ll often get a free tapa with your first drink. But once you’ve ordered something off the main menu they don’t usually keep bringing tapas, even if you order another drink.
Rest of Andalucía
In the other provinces, you normally pay for your tapas. In that case, you should get a bigger portion or a more elaborate dish than the free tapas, but it will still be smaller than a media ración. Not all dishes come in all three sizes – you can normally get a ración of almost anything on the menu, but not necessarily a media ración or a tapa. The price ratio between the three sizes varies a lot – sometimes a media ración only costs a little more than half the price of a ración, but quite often they’re almost equally expensive, even if they’re much smaller.
Questions and answers
Tapas is the plural of tapa.
It depends! In the provinces of Granada, Almería and Jaén, you will almost always get a free tapa with your drink if you order a wine, beer, soft drink or water – provided that the kitchen is open. In other provinces, or if you order another kind of drink like a tea or coffee, you won’t get a free tapa.
In Granada, Almería and Jaén, most locals will just have the free tapas – particularly in the evening. But if you’re hungry, and you won’t be having more than a couple of drinks you can always order a ración or media ración. In some bars, you can also order a tapa extra – an extra tapa without a drink.
If there are tables set for dining, these are usually reserved for people who will be ordering food off the menu – raciones or media raciones. If you only plan to have tapas, you should probably sit or stand at the bar, or find a table without a tablecloth/place settings – these are often high tables with bar stools.
