In this guide
💡 The Short Version: In most Granada bars a free tapa comes with each drink, the City’s tourism site says. You pay for the drink. The City names three models: a different selection every day, served in sequence; a fixed list to choose from; and the same tapas every time. Start on Calle Navas or round Calle Elvira. Los Diamantes on Calle Navas takes no reservations and shuts from 16:00 to 20:00; Bodegas Castañeda gives the free tapa at the bar. The bars named most often are on best tapas in Granada. Or book a tour: the Walking Food Tour with a Full Mealad is from €71 and the Tapas Crawlad from €69 (GetYourGuide).
How it works
The City of Granada’s tourism site calls Granada the capital of tapas and says that in most places a free tapa is served with each drink (turismo.granada.org). It describes three ways a bar does it:
| Model | What happens |
|---|---|
| A changing selection | The bar offers a different selection of tapas each day and serves them in sequence: first, second, and so on |
| A list to choose from | A fixed list, usually with a choice of two tapas if more than one person goes |
| The same every time | The bar always offers the same tapas |
Order a drink and the tapa arrives with it. In the first model each round brings the next tapa in the sequence. In the second, ask for the list: La Riviera and Bar Poë are two bars where you choose from a menu, according to Will Fly for Food. Seek Spain says the tapas at Bodegas Castañeda rotate daily.
A beer and its tapa on a bar counter: dried octopus in the Motril style. Photo: Arkangel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The rules that change what you get
- Stand at Bodegas Castañeda. On Calle Almireceros, at the corner of Calle Elvira, TourMe’s guide says standing at the bar brings the free tapa and sitting at a table switches you to the paid menu. Ask before you sit anywhere else.
- Expect to queue and to stand. Los Diamantes takes no reservations at its Plaza Nueva, Bib-Rambla and Navas bars, and Will Fly for Food found it the busiest bar of its Granada crawl.
- Mind the afternoon. Los Diamantes on Calle Navas serves from 12:30 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to 23:30, daily. Its Plaza Nueva and Bib-Rambla bars serve from 12:00 to 23:30. Los Manueles serves from 12:00 to 24:00 with the kitchen open throughout.
- Vegetarians should choose a bar with a list. Where the kitchen chooses, the tapa is often fish or ham, and Bar Poë’s menu includes vegetarian dishes, TourMe says.
- The cooked tapas go early. La Cosmopolilla, a blog by a Granada resident, advises being there by 13:00 for the cooked tapas such as migas, which run out.
Where to go
The City lists these tapas areas: Town Hall and Calle Navas; Plaza del Campillo, Mariana Pineda and San Matías; San Antón, Alhamar and Recogidas; Bib-Rambla and the Cathedral; the Albaicín, Calle Elvira and Paseo de los Tristes; the Realejo, Campo del Príncipe and the Alhambra; the bullring; the Science Park, Jardín de la Reina and Cruz de Lagos; Zaidín, Vergeles and the Palacio de Deportes; Gran Capitán; La Chana; the Genil riverbank, the Conference Centre and Paseo del Salón; and Plaza de Gracia and Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. The City adds that people from Granada enjoy tapas all over the city and do not limit themselves to the tourist areas.
For a first evening the centre is enough:
- Calle Navas, by the Town Hall, for the fried fish at Los Diamantes.
- Calle Elvira and the streets round it, for Bodegas Castañeda’s vermouth from the barrel.
- The Realejo, for the wine at Taberna La Tana, in Placeta del Agua.
The Town Hall on Plaza del Carmen, beside Calle Navas. Photo: José Antonio Fernández, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Best tapas in Granada counts how many of 52 publishers name each bar and gives the address and the one thing to know for each.
A tour or on your own
Because the tapa is free with the drink, a tapas tour does not sell you the food. It sells the guide, the order of the bars and a table where the walk would otherwise be a queue. Granada tapas tours compares the three with the most reviews, from €69.
Plan the rest
Where to eat in Granada covers the restaurants, the Michelin star and the dishes to order. Three days in Granada fits tapas into the plan, and where to stay in Granada compares the areas, including the centre where most of these bars are.
Common questions
Are tapas really free in Granada?
In most bars. The City of Granada's tourism site says a free tapa is served with each drink in most places. You pay for the drink, and the tapa comes with it.
Can I choose my tapa in Granada?
In some bars. The City names three models: bars that serve a different selection every day in sequence, bars with a fixed list to choose from, usually two tapas if more than one person goes, and bars that always serve the same tapas. La Riviera and Bar Poë are two bars that let you choose from a menu.
Do I get a free tapa with a soft drink?
The City says a tapa comes with each drink. TourMe's guide says a soft drink brings one too.
Where are the free tapas in Granada?
All over the city. The City lists tapas areas from Calle Navas by the Town Hall and the Albaicín streets round Calle Elvira to La Chana and Zaidín, and says people from Granada do not limit themselves to the tourist areas.
Do Granada bars close in the afternoon?
Some do. Los Diamantes on Calle Navas serves from 12:30 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to 23:30, while Los Manueles serves from 12:00 to 24:00 with the kitchen open throughout.
Can vegetarians eat the free tapas?
It depends on the bar. Where the kitchen chooses, the tapa is often fish or ham. Bar Poë, on Calle Verónica de la Magdalena, lets you choose from a menu that includes vegetarian dishes, according to TourMe's guide.
