Tapas

How a night of tapas works

1. salir de tapas Go out Usually in the early evening, before dinner, with friends. In Spain this is a social custom, not a meal.
2. la barra Stand at the bar People usually eat standing at the counter. Order a drink — una caña is a small draught beer — and a tapa.
3. la tapa Eat one or two A tapa is a small plate that comes with a drink: ham, cheese, a slice of tortilla, squid.
4. el bar siguiente Move on Nobody stays long in a single bar. After one or two tapas the group goes to the next one.
5. tapear Repeat The whole thing is called ir de tapeo, or tapear, a verb made from the noun.

• Going out for tapas is a very social custom; people usually eat standing at the bar and do not stay long in one place.
• A tapa is a small plate taken with a drink. Where the word comes from is not known: one story says a piece of bread covered the glass against the flies (tapa also means lid), but nobody really knows.
• Before dinner, many people have something in a bar with friends: una caña y una tapa.

En España, salir de tapas es una costumbre muy social.

In Spain, going out for tapas is a very social custom.

Una tapa es un plato pequeño que se toma con una bebida.

A tapa is a small plate that is eaten with a drink.

Se toman una o dos tapas y se va al bar siguiente.

You have one or two tapas and go on to the next bar.

Una caña y una tapa, por favor.

A small beer and a tapa, please.

Not the same everywhere

• In Granada many bars give a free tapa with every drink.
• In the Basque Country tapas are called pintxos and come on a cocktail stick; at the end the waiter counts the sticks to work out the bill.
• In León, too, the tapa still comes free with the drink.

En Granada, muchos bares ponen una tapa gratis con cada bebida.

In Granada, many bars give a free tapa with every drink.

En el País Vasco se llaman pintxos y llevan un palillo.

In the Basque Country they are called pintxos and they have a cocktail stick.

Al final, el camarero cuenta los palillos para saber cuánto pagas.

At the end, the waiter counts the sticks to know how much you pay.

The classic tapa: tortilla de patatas

A slice of tortilla de patatas is the classic tapa. Four things make it: potatoes, eggs, oil and — this is the great national argument — onion or no onion. The potatoes are fried slowly in plenty of olive oil, mixed with beaten egg, and turned in the pan with a plate; it can be runny inside or well done, and is eaten hot or cold, at home or at the bar. In a bread roll it is many Spaniards' breakfast.

Note the word: in Spain a tortilla is a potato omelette. In Mexico it is a corn flatbread, and the omelette is tortilla de huevo.

• The tortilla de patatas needs only potatoes, eggs, onion and oil; the onion is optional and a serious debate in Spain.
• A piece of tortilla is a classic tapa; in a bread roll it is the breakfast of many Spaniards.
• In Spain a tortilla is a potato omelette; in Mexico it is a corn flatbread.

Un trozo de tortilla es una tapa clásica.

A piece of tortilla is a classic tapa.

La cebolla es opcional, y es un gran debate en España.

The onion is optional, and it is a big debate in Spain.

Se come caliente o fría, en casa o en el bar.

It is eaten hot or cold, at home or at the bar.