Tapas & raciones: A great eating tradition,

While most people have heard of tapas, and they’re available in most Spanish bars, it’s not always clear to everyone how to go about finding and ordering them. Part of the problem is that the word tapas usually doesn’t appear on menus or billboards, and that many bars don’t adhere to the real tradition of tapas. The word tapas comes from the Spanish verb ‘tapar’ (which means to cover). A tapa was meant as a free snack to be placed on top of a drink to keep flies and other what-nots out. While many bars in Madrid provide a tapa with a glass of beer or wine (which in some cases is delicious and in others hardly worth eating), it’s by no means the norm. More typically, going out for tapas implies ordering a plate of food called a ración, if it is to be shared among a few people, or a perhaps a canapé, which is something on a small piece of bread. Also common in tapas bars are bocadillos (or bocatas) which are sandwiches made with a bread roll or baguette.

Just about any manner of Spanish food comes in the form of tapas, and as such it’s a very good way to go about trying the huge variety of Spanish dishes. Don’t worry if you don’t understand the menu, most tapas bars have their goods on display at the bar so you can simply point at what looks appealing to you.

If you haven’t already done so, you may wish to consult our list of translations of Spanish foods, or the list of untranslatable words and expressions, used rather liberally throughout the following.