Spanish Tapas Bars: spend a night of tasty delights in the bars of Spain
The Spanish are not only famous for taking ample breaks in the middle of the day to have siesta time, but they earn the need to have an afternoon nap because of the other thing they are world famous for, namely staying up late at night to party. It is traditional in Spain to eat a late dinner. And we are not talking about an hour or two into the evening. Perhaps because the climate is hot and the air sometimes begins to cool down close to midnight, it is common for Spaniards to sit down to their evening meal - and often a multi course feast is what it constitutes - as late as 10 or 11 o’clock in the night. For that reason, the bars offer plenty of food, and they have learned that because people like to hop from one bar to another, the food should be simple, like finger food and appetizers. Thus the popularity of the “tapas menu” which is a menu of small - often bite sized - but delicious and various offerings, which is usually served on the same bar where you go to order your cocktails. It is not unusual to walk to the bar and see platters with as many as fifteen or twenty different menu items for sale. You just grab what you like, pay for it, and enjoy it with a drink, before moving on to the next bar, where other similar menu items are spread out and waiting for you. For someone who likes to sample lots of different and exciting flavors in one night, it is the perfect way to make a big meal out of lots and lots of bite-sized “tapas” dishes.