Spanish Food & Drink: What to Eat and Drink

Spanish food is regional, social and built around sharing. From the tapas crawl to the long Sunday paella, eating is the country's favourite pastime — and with a late timetable, free tapas in the south and the cheap menu del dia, it's a pleasure that's easy on the wallet.

Tapas and the menu del dia

The tapas crawl — moving bar to bar over small plates and drinks — is central to Spanish life, though it works differently by region. In Granada and much of Andalusia a tapa still comes free with every drink; elsewhere you order and pay for raciones (larger plates) to share. At lunch, look for the menu del dia, a multi-course set meal with bread and a drink at a fixed, low price — the best-value way to eat well in Spain. Remember the timetable: lunch runs from about 2pm, dinner rarely before 9pm.

Paella and rice

Paella is from Valencia, and the authentic version is not the seafood cliche: traditional Valencian paella uses chicken, rabbit, green and butter beans and sometimes snails, cooked with bomba rice and saffron over a wide flat pan, prized for the crisp toasted layer (socarrat) on the bottom. Seafood and mixed versions are coastal variants, and arroz a banda and fideua (a noodle paella) are close cousins. Eat it at lunch, ideally by the sea.

Regional specialities

Spain is really a patchwork of cuisines. The south gives you cold soups — gazpacho and the thicker salmorejo — and fried fish (pescaito frito). The Basque Country and Navarre serve pintxos, elaborate bar snacks skewered on bread, with San Sebastian a world food capital. Galicia is all about seafood and octopus (pulpo a la gallega); Asturias its bean-and-pork fabada and cider; Catalonia its pa amb tomaquet and, in winter, charred calcots. Cured jamon iberico, tortilla espanola (potato omelette) and croquetas turn up everywhere.

Wine, cava and sherry

Spain is one of the world's great wine countries. The reds of Rioja and Ribera del Duero lead the way, with Priorat, Galician Albarino whites and Catalan cava (the traditional-method sparkling) close behind. In Andalusia, the fortified sherries of Jerez — from bone-dry fino and manzanilla to nutty oloroso — are a revelation alongside tapas, and a jug of summer sangria or tinto de verano is the easygoing crowd-pleaser.

Sweet things and coffee

For something sweet, churros dipped in thick hot chocolate are the classic breakfast or late-night treat, while turron (almond nougat) appears at Christmas and flan and crema catalana round off many a meal. Coffee is taken short and strong — a cafe solo or cortado.

Quick recommendation

Do at least one proper tapas crawl (free in Granada), eat paella by the coast in Valencia, and try the regional star wherever you are — pintxos in the Basque Country, sherry in Andalusia, seafood in Galicia. Seek out the menu del dia for lunch and embrace the late dinner.