Eating tapas in Granada

Your visit to Granada must include eating tapas. This is the custom of eating small and varied portions of delicious local dishes, with an aperitif in restaurants and bars. Tapas are usually served free of charge with an alcoholic drink like Alhambra beer or a glass of wine from the Designation of Origin of Granada. It is the waiter who chooses the tapas and serves it to customers with their drinks. In some bars you can choose the tapas you want from a list.

Going for tapas with friends is one of the most ingrained local traditions in Granada. The concept could not be better: go for a stroll through the city, soak up its history, and enjoy these delicious snacks in a typical bar or restaurant. These snacks include cheese, sausage or ham as well as typical local warm dishes such as Engañifa, Callos, Habas con jamón, Papas a lo pobre and Pescaíto frito.

This tradition is not only limited to Granada, you’ll be able to enjoy it everywhere in the province, allowing you to discover the specialties of each locality.

TAPAS AREAS

Granada has a number of areas that are especially good for tapas. The following are the ones we particularly recommend:

• Campo del Príncipe and Plaza del Realejo and around; this used to be the Jewish quarter in Moorish times.
• Plaza Nueva and the surrounding streets such as Calle Elvira, Calle Colcha and part of Calle Reyes Católicos – basically the heart of the city.
• The area around the cathedral, Plaza de la Romanilla and la Plaza de la Pescadería are also great places for eating tapas in Granada.
• Near the Ayuntamiento in Calle Navas, a pedestrian area where you will find many traditional bars and restaurants. This area is hugely popular and extends out towards Calle Rosario, Calle San Matías and Calle Varela.
•  When you walk through the Albaicín district you’ll need to keep up your strength. You’ll find some great places in the Plaza Larga, the Plaza San Miguel Bajo, the Plaza Aliatar and the Plaza San Nicolás.
• By the Río Genil, you’ll come across Calle Alhamar, the roads around it and the Calle San Antón.
• Around the Plaza de Toros there are many restaurants and tapas bars.
• A bit more out of town, we recommend the district of La Chana, which is very popular with students because the portions are particularly big. In the neighbourhood of Zaidín, near the Estadio de los Cármenes, you’ll also find some great places in Calle Torre Pedro Morales and in Calle Emperador Carlos V.

MAP OF RECOMMENDED TAPAS AREAS (PDF)