Spanish menus use the word menú for two very different things. The menú del día is the weekday set lunch, commonly a first and second course plus dessert or coffee, often with bread and a drink, at a fixed low price. The menú degustación is the tasting menu: a long sequence of small courses the kitchen has designed as a whole. If a Spanish restaurant abroad offers one, this is what to expect.
How a tasting menu is structured
The kitchen sets the order and the number of courses. You choose the menu, not the dishes. Most follow a similar arc:
- Aperitivos or snacks: a few one-bite starters, often served before any bread.
- Savoury courses: small plates that usually move from lighter to richer, with seafood before meat.
- Prepostre: a pre-dessert, something light to reset the palate.
- Postre and, at some places, small sweets with coffee.
Portions are small because there are many of them. A long menu can take two to three hours or more, so it is not the meal to book before a show.
Maridaje, allergies and the whole table
Maridaje is the wine pairing. It is usually priced separately from the food, and it is fine to skip it and order a bottle or a few glasses instead. Some restaurants also offer a non-alcoholic pairing; ask.
Because the courses are planned in advance, tell the restaurant about allergies and foods you do not eat when you book, not when you sit down. Small kitchens may not be able to change a dish on the night.
Many restaurants ask the whole table to take the same menu, since the kitchen sends each course to everyone at once. Some tasting-menu restaurants take a deposit or a card guarantee for bookings. Read the booking terms before you confirm.
Tasting menu or à la carte?
Some of the restaurants below offer both. A tasting menu shows what the chef wants to cook. À la carte, or a round of tapas and raciones, lets you order what you already know you like and control the bill. If you are new to a cuisine, the tasting menu covers more ground; if you are with a group that wants to share, à la carte is usually easier.
Where to try a Spanish tasting menu
Each line below comes from the restaurant's own record in our directory. Menus change, so check current details before booking.
- Xiquet by Danny Lledo, Washington, DC: a tasting menu of 22 compositions based on the traditional cooking of Valencia, cooked over a wood fire. Its record lists evening hours, 17:00 to 22:00, Tuesday to Sunday.
- SOPA Restaurant, Bangkok: tasting menus of 9 to 12 courses built on Spanish ingredients, with only seven tables a night, under chef Capper Sopa.
- R. Aire, Hampton Bays, New York: a six-course tasting menu or à la carte tapas and paella, from chef Alex Bujoreanu, inside The Hampton Maid.
- Porto, Chicago: a seasonal tasting menu and à la carte dishes from the Atlantic coast of Portugal and Galicia, served at the Chef's Island or in the Atrium.
- Singular Manila, Taguig: a contemporary Andalusian-inspired tasting menu by Marbella-born chef Fernando Alcalá.
