Tapas restaurants offer a unique dining experience that revolves around sharing small, flavorful dishes in a warm, lively atmosphere. Originating from Spain, tapas have become a global trend, known for bringing people together over delicious food and drinks. Whether you’re enjoying a casual bite with friends or indulging in a full meal, a tapas bar or restaurant offers variety, creativity, and an opportunity to savor diverse flavors in one sitting. In this blog, we’ll explore what makes tapas restaurants distinct, the types of food and drinks you’ll find, and how they create a welcoming atmosphere that keeps guests coming back for more.
What Is a Tapas Restaurant?
What is Tapas Food?
Tapas food is a Spanish concept that directly translates to “lid.” Put simply, though, they’re shared appetizers that are often served with a cocktail and, importantly, are generally enjoyed family-style. In other words, a tapas restaurant is one built around sharing appetizers and enjoying tasty drinks!
How Tapas Bars Differ from Traditional Restaurants
While any restaurant can serve a bunch of appetizers and cocktails, tapas restaurants do them differently. First and foremost, they generally don’t focus on entrees, meaning tapas are the main (and sometimes only) game for them. Unlike traditional restaurants, though, tapas restaurants actually tend to do better the longer they keep guests around.
This is because they price out plates to encourage another order (or two) while still being delicious. By keeping the drinks flowing, they’re able to encourage guests to stay for an extended period of time and continue to spend while they do so. In contrast, most restaurants tend to want to turn over tables as quickly as possible to allow another table in.
Types of Tapas Restaurants
Tapas Bars vs. Full Service Tapas Restaurants
Now, there are two major approaches to the tapas restaurant model: bars and full service. The former generally focuses around drinks (often wine) and accompanies them with food. In fact, it’s not at all uncommon for many Spanish tapas bars to simply offer free food with each drink. Order one glass of wine and you’ll get a (small) plate of cheese, olives, and almonds.
After another glass, you may get deep fried calamari, pickled veggies, oysters, or some tasty cured meats. Following that, you figure you might as well ride it out and order a bottle for the table, so they bring out a large bowl of stew for everyone at the table — that’s a tapas bar. While you can often order food from them directly, they’re built around the concept of one glass of wine equaling one small plate.
In contrast, a full service tapas restaurant is a bit more focused on the food. While they’ll still offer plenty of drinks, they’ll give you the option to order tapas directly from a server. Depending on how the specific restaurant runs, you may have a large selection of options with which you can play a little game of mix and match, or you may get a more traditional menu.
Either way, a full service tapas restaurant will generally offer larger portions than bars. This is done to encourage people who may not want to drink to come in, while making it easy for those who do want a glass of wine to grab a snack, too.
Tapas Bar Menu
While a tapas restaurant will obviously have a good selection of appetizers and small plates, there’s quite a bit to choose from when building a menu. The Spanish love their tapas, and as such, there are quite a few styles to choose from.
What Food is Served at a Tapas Restaurant?
There are three main styles of food that are served at a tapas restaurant:
- Cosas de Picar: Cosas de Picar are finger foods. Thinly sliced cured meat, tasty cheese, olives, and nuts are all extremely common types of Cosas de Picar.
- Cazuelas: These dishes are often slow-cooked, offering rich and hearty flavors. Common examples include garlic shrimp (gambas al ajillo), Spanish meatballs (albóndigas), and chorizo simmered in wine or cider.
- Pintxos: These are bite-sized snacks often skewered with a toothpick, making them easy to eat with your hands. They’re typically served on a slice of bread and topped with a variety of ingredients, like grilled peppers, seafood, or jamón. These small, flavorful bites are perfect for sampling a range of tastes with minimal commitment to a full dish.
Keep in mind that not all tapas restaurant menu items will be “appetizers,” as we know them. It’s not uncommon for some tapas to be nothing more than a smaller portion of what we would consider a traditional appetizer. Paella, stew, and seafood are all common, though you can really let your imagination run wild when building a tapas menu.
Why, you ask? Easy! By design, a tapas restaurant is built to make it easy to try new things and share. You don’t have to dedicate your entire meal to trying something that you may or may not like, making it easier to branch out. Because of this, you’ll find that many tapas bars and restaurants are a great place to try new, creative ideas for your menu without too much risk.
What Beverages are Served at a Tapas Restaurant?
Now, drinking is a major part of any good tapas restaurant. As such, they tend to have incredibly well-stocked bars — often more well stocked than a traditional bar. Over the years, many tapas restaurants have evolved to develop full cocktail menus, great tap lists, and (of course) an extensive list of Spanish wines. Many establishments will go so far as to offer specific pairings with each drink.
Atmosphere and Decor of Tapas Bars
Tapas bars are, obviously, not all one and the same. However, they’re part of a rich Spanish tradition and, as such, there is a specific vibe that you should aim for when building a tapas restaurant.
The most important part of any tapas bar is the atmosphere; they’re meant to be lively, warm, and comfortable. More accurately, they’re meant to encourage drinking with friends in a comfortable environment. As such, it’s important to emphasize comfort in your bar. Get comfortable chairs or sofas for the lobby (no bar stools here), pillows for them, and start decorating!
Colorful mosaic, hardwood, and dim (but not dark) lights are key here, though you’ll find that many tapas restaurants and bars lean into the Spanish side of things a bit harder. Live music and dancing can be relatively common in many tapas bars and restaurants, as it encourages a livelier atmosphere.
Beyond that, one of the most common things that you’ll notice with tapas restaurants is that they tend to lean into the “garden” look. This means that they’ll often be adorned with a massive amount of greenery, flowers, and vines, both inside and out. Keeping the entryway guarded by gorgeous flowers and vines makes it feel more inviting, and once inside, it creates a homier feel. And, ultimately, a good tapas restaurant will feel like equal parts neighborhood bar and friend’s backyard; it’s welcoming, warm, and the drinks and food always flow.
Building and Lobby Design
While this isn’t something that many restaurateurs will think of right off the rip, the actual design of the building and space will carry some weight here. More accurately, the way that guests see your restaurant will impact how they feel as they enter.
Think about the flow of your restaurant. Is it easy for guests to bump into each other or talk over each other? If so, it’s time to space those tables out a bit more. When guests enter, is the entryway crowded or confined, or does it immediately open into the full restaurant? Allowing guests a bit of space to breathe once in a new environment will encourage the comfortable feeling we want.
In short, it’s important to think about how your space serves your guests. Most restaurants aim to have the most tables possible, often placing guests very close together. In contrast, a good tapas restaurant understands that space is important for creating the vibe that makes a great tapas restaurant so dang good.
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