5 Tips For Going To Restaurants In Barcelona To Enjoy A Traditional Tapas Experience
It’s almost impossible to visit the city without noticing the tempting spectacle of tapas offered in any bar in Barcelona. It’s not necessary to be a bar, this tapas experience is also offered in any restaurant in Barcelona. It’s nearly impossible to resist the temptation to try at least one “tapa” to accompany a good wine or just to stimulate the appetite.
You can find delicious tapas en Barcelona in the majority of bars and restaurants here, but to really get the most out of doing “tapeo”, you need to allow yourself enough time. Let’s help you get the most out of the tapeo experience with the following five top tips.
1. The Spanish people will traditionally do tapear in groups. Tapas are much more enjoyable when shared with friends whilst enjoying good conversation, far more than eating them alone without a doubt. You’ll see that this is usual in the bars and restaurants offering tapas in Barcelona, and in the Basque country, this way of doing tapear is a religion.
2. Traditionally with tapeo, no more than two tapas are taken in the same establishment. An inherent condition of the tapeo is walking from one place to another to taste different tapas in different places.
3. Another core part of doing tapeo is to try and get the combination of tapas and drinks just right. Fish tapas will go nicely with white wine, red wines will go nicely with meat tapas and if you just want something to go with a beer, vegetable tapas, especially potato ones, are ideal. Getting the right combinations of tapas and drinks can be a bit of a scientific process but the best way to learn how to do it is to try. ¿Who said science is boring?
4. An enjoyable social occasion. The tapeo experience is an exercise of relaxation to share with friends. It’s not a time for deep and meaningful discussions or time for talking about your problems. And tapeo is not a time for arguing for sure. It must be said that here in Barcelona, soccer will often feature in the conversations of groups doing tapear. More so if the group contains any Real Madrid fans! By the way do you know a joke? Tapear is the ideal moment to share it.
5. Set aside sufficient time. Usually, tapear is done a couple of hours before lunch or better, in the evenings in the run up to evening dinner. You’ll probably find weekends are a better bet for going out for tapas but don’t go overboard! If we have too many tapas we’ll lose the appetite and we won’t be able to eat main meals.
Oscar Gomez is the owner of Pasa Tapas Restaurante Barcelona, he has a passion for tapas and is proud to offer a selection of the finest hot and cold tapas dishes available in the city.
