Spanish Tapas Guide

Spain’s tradition of tapas has captured the imaginations of people all over the world, so much so that Spanish restaurants in Britain often focus almost exclusively on tapas with just a few main dishes thrown in for good measure. It’s true that what started in Spain as small snacks and appetizers to while away a sociable evening between work and the traditional late dinner hour of 11, have become a small microcosm of Spanish cuisine, allowing people to have tasters of several different dishes and create a whole meal from them.

Tapas started out quite simply as perhaps a slice of ham or a handful of olives to eat with a glass of wine. The name tapas means cover, and popular history says that they evolved from the tradition of covering a glass of wine given to travelers outside an inn with a slice of bread or ham to keep the flies out. Another story has it that Castile’s King Alfonso X made it a law that taverns must serve food with wine to avoid drunkenness. What is also true is that the Moorish occupation of Spain brought many Middle Eastern culinary traditions with it, among them the use of mezze as appetizers.

A selection of tapas in a village bar in Spain can be quite simple, with just a few small bowls of olives, cheese and slices of ham or sausage, but in bigger cities such as Seville and Madrid, specialist tapas bars will serve a whole range of cooked dishes as well. You can sample the whole range of Spanish gastronomy, from the fine hams and sausage products to seafood, dishes of squid, prawns and clams. In the big cities you can bar hop, having a drink and plate of tapas in several different bars and sampling their various tapas specialities before eventually settling down to your evening meal at a restaurant.

This versatile way of eating has translated well to the British restaurant scene, where you can make up a whole meal of varied tapas dishes or choose one or two as a starter before choosing a main dish, perhaps of paella. Tapas suit themselves to long drawn out sociable evenings, where you select a few dishes and then order more as your appetite dictates, but they also work well when you are looking for a light evening meal with plenty of different flavours. Put together a selection that includes some bread and olives, ham and a few cooked dishes such as calamari or meatballs and a vegetable dish like patatas bravas. You will end up with a lightning gastronomical tour of the flavours of Spain, enjoyed in a relaxed and convivial atmosphere that is the secret ingredient of Spanish dining.