Name: 10 UNSPOKEN RULES for Ordering in Tapas Bars in Spain
Uploaded: 2026-02-14T15:09:43.000Z
Duration: 13 min 1 s
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Ordering food in a busy Spanish tapas bar can be both stressful and intimidating, especially if you don't really speak the language.

How will I understand the often confusing terms on the menu?

And what are the unwritten rules that only the locals know about holding their own in a busy tapas bar?

In this video, I'm going to give you the 10 unwritten rules that only the locals know about ordering food and about holding your own in busy Spanish tapas bars.

So you can feel a little less like a fish out of water and a little more like a seasoned tapas insider.

Tapas bars that are called tapas bars are tourist traps.

in pretty much all bars in Spain, they serve food, and

So, in short, Spaniards don't need to be told that a bar is a tapas bar, because all bars are tapas bars.

Because, look, if you see a tapas bar that has the word tapas in its name, it's probably a tourist trap.

It's literally got the word tapa or tapas three times in the five words in its name.

My recommendation is to stick to tapas bars that aren't called tapas bars, and

you're going to have a more authentic experience and probably better food.

You know how I said that the places we eat tapas in in Spain are called bars?

Well, I'm afraid it's not quite that simple.

In fact, the places we go out to eat in in Spain have a lot of different names.

So you've got the humble bar, which is a place you can walk in and grab a cup of coffee, a drink, or a.

It might have a dining room out the back where you can sit down for a meal.

But really, the bar in Spain is all things to all people.

And then you've got cafeterias, which are kind of like bars, but

they open earlier, usually for breakfast, and

And then you've got cerveterias, which is a tapas bar that back in the day was more focused on beer.

But these days, there's not much difference.

In here, you can get wine and food and anything else.

And then there are tavernas, which are like rustic restaurants where you can sit down and get a hearty meal.

And then there are mesones, which are kind of like tabernas.

And then you've got restaurantes, which are a little more formal than tabernas and possibly have a bit more of a white tablecloth vibe.

And restaurantes also likely refers to more modern restaurants.

And then you've got places called Casa Paco, Casa Pepe, Casa Pipi, which just means Pipi's house.

And in short, this is going to be some sort of rustic restaurant or bar where, you know, you can order some food.

Look, I know it's confusing and don't sweat the difference too much.

The key thing is when you walk into a tapas bar or taverna or restaurant, you need to know how to read the room, how to look around you, see what kind of space it is and know what your options are.

And that's what I'm going to show you next.

So when you walk into a tapas bar, you've got to be a kind of detective.

You're looking around and you're looking for clues for what the viad pier is and what kind of food they're going to serve.

So, so here at Casa Tiriaco, it's a perfect example.

I walk in and I see this wide kind of bar room area.

I can sit at one of the small tables or one of the benches.

In short, when I look around, I know this is a place where I can grab a cup of coffee, grab a drink, or grab some shared plates, some tapas to have an informal meal.

And then many tapas bars will have out the back what's called a comedor or a dining room.

Now this is a place where you can sit down and have a more structured meal.

Now, it might be a fixed price, three course lunch, a menu del dia, or it might still be sharing plates and, you know, each person then maybe having as their main course their own little plate.

So not tapas, the menu might be the same as the tapas bar out front, or it might be a little bit different.

And here in Casa Tiriaco, they even have a more formal dining room for, you know, long lunches, important dinners and things like that.

And I would say this is more of a restaurante vibe, the kind of thing where you're going to get cloth tablecloths And a little bit more finery.

Now, if you're eating here, you're possibly going to share your entrees with the group.

And then it's more likely that each person is going to have their own dish as the main.

So kind of start with tapas and then move on to something a little more not tapas.

But I'm going to focus most of this video in the informal tapas bar area out front.

Because to be honest, that's where most of the unwritten rules are that only the locals know.

You walk into a tapas bar and it's busy, like really busy, like standing room only.

Everyone's like that because these places get like this.

That means walk up to the bar, squeeze between the people, and

when you can get your hand on the bar, that means you've got real estate.

And then as people leave, you expand into the space, creating enough space for you and your group.

And if there's no room to get real estate, literally the bar is slammed.

Then a pro move is to see who's about to finish their drinks and pay and get up close behind them, as close as you can without being weird.

And once they pay and move off, you grab your spot and you grab it like your trip to Spain depends on it, because quite frankly, it does.

Okay, so you've got real estate, or maybe you got lucky and got a barrel.

Next up, you're probably going to want to order a drink.

You could ask for a terveza or copa del vino.

And if you don't want to drink alcohol, that's no problem.

It's really common to ask for a sparkling water agua de agua con gas.

Or you could ask for a cero cero, which is a zero alcohol beer.

And by law, if you ask for tap water, the Baro restaurant has to give it to you.

So as you settle in with your drink, you're probably getting a little hungry and you want to find a menu so you can find out what food is on offer.

You're going to have to hunt for the menu because in these informal tapas bar spaces, often the waiter's not going to come up to you and hand you a menu, so you're going to be looking around for one.

There might be one on your barrel, if you're lucky, or on a table nearby or over on the bar, or you might have to ask your neighbor for it.

And you'll often see chalkboards like these ones that also have dishes and drinks on them.