Tapas are one of the most popular dishes in Spain. They aren’t really a single food, rather they are a type of small dish that you eat with your meal or combine to make a meal.
(While not even close to all of them) these are the best tapas to try when traveling to Spain.
If this makes you hungry…read more about the best foods to try in Spain (other than tapas).
If you’re interested this wiki page has an (almost) comprehensive tapa list!
Pan con tomate
Literally, bread with tomato. It’s served differently each place you go: toasted or not, with or without olive oil, with toppings like anchovies or plain. But always with garlic and tomatoes rubbed into the bread.
What is great about pan con tomate is that almost everyone loves it and it’s usually very cheap. Lincoln was starting a picky phase when we went but he would always eat this.
Try it at lots of different places because you might like it more at some places than others. Plus it goes with everything and you can eat it with any other tapas you order.
Jamón
It is one of the tapas that can be either cheap or expensive at different places, or even at the same place (depending on the quality)!
Jamón is almost a religion in Spain. This is not your Hillshire farms ham or Canadian bacon. The really good stuff is jamón serrano, it is very thinly sliced pieces of fatty cured pork (similar to prosciutto) that almost melts in your mouth. The Spanish take jamón seriously and you should try a few different price points of it to see the difference. There really is nothing like it in the US.
It’s salty, it’s meaty, it’s delicate and fatty and really really good.
(Quick note that the really REALLY good stuff is from a different pig and called jamón ibérico. They are fed a special acorn that creates a special flavor and they are really expensive to eat!)
You can order the jamón on its own, like a charcuterie plate, or in a sandwich. Which is very popular with the locals.
Bocadillo de jamón (or ham sandwich) is a bagette filled with jamón and sometimes cheese. You will find them for cheap everywhere. From little booths, to bakeries, to bars, everyone makes a bocadillo de jamón. It’s a great on-the-go food to get.
(I might be hated for saying this, but I didn’t like the jamón serrano in a sandwich. I preferred it on its own and a less fatty ham in my sandwiches. *holds up arms in front of face defensively*)
Tortilla Española
Salchichas (sausages)
The Spanish are a meat loving people and I love them for it.
I don’t mean that like the guy that orders the meat-lover pizza with a crust made of bacon kind of way. But they really love quality meats.
Try the sausages when you can, it is a great food in Barcelona. In sandwiches, on charcuterie boards, or just by themselves. They are delicious, filling, and can be really cheap.
Patatas bravas
This was one of my favorite foods in Barcelona! But I am a total sucker for fries covered in yummy sauces. Medium-sized bits of potato, fried and covered with a hot sauce. Many restaurants each do it slightly differently with different sauces, but in general I found that the hot sauce was not very spicy (compared to what I think of with hot sauces).
In Barcelona, my favorite patatas bravas were at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Bo de B. It is the BEST cheap eat in Barcelona. It’s a tiny little place with super fresh food and always a long line of locals at the door. They cover their patatas with homemade hot sauce, tzatziki, balsamic and pesto. It’s a delicious Frankenstein of sauces. Read more about Bo de B in the post about Barcelona for cheap.
Manchego cheese
This classic Spanish cheese is an iconic dish. Like jamón, you will see a big variance in price based on the quality of the cheese you get.
It’s firmer than mozzarella but softer than parmesan, very creamy, and a little sweet and tangy. We found that we really did like the higher quality manchego (about 10€ a plate) more than the cheaper ones.
This is another great thing to buy in the mercat, and the vendors will even let you try the cheese before you buy it! I loved buying little cones of the off-cuts of meat and cheese as we walked around for only 1€! (Read more about this in Barcelona for cheap)
Olives
Coming from the US, I was used to seeing three types of olives. The black ones that tasted like the can they come in and I would put on each finger as a kids. Green ones, that are sometimes stuffed with garlic or jalapeños. And kalamatas, skinnier brown ones we ate with Greek food and almost always still have a pit.
In Spain, there are a million and one different olives. One of the coolest things about the mercats in Barcelona, is seeing all the olives you can buy.
And you should try them! I recommend trying them at the mercat (read more at Barcelona for cheap) because the vendors will usually let you try the olives before you buy them so you know that you’ll get some you love to take home.
Some you will love, some you won’t. But they are an adventure in trying!
Padrón peppers
Anthony Bourdain said that Spain is one of his top food destination in the world! Tapas are a great way to try lots of new foods in flavors while visiting Spain (without feeling like you over ate every day!)
What the best tapas you tried? (I know I didn't get them all!)
