Walk into a bar in Madrid or Seville and the menu board often has two or three price columns next to each dish. Those columns are portion sizes: tapa, media ración and ración. Abroad, the word "tapas" tends to cover all of them, which is why ordering can go wrong. Here is how the sizes work.
The three sizes
- Tapa: a small portion, a few bites for one person. In some Spanish cities, Granada and León being the best known, a small tapa comes free with each drink.
- Media ración: half a ración. Enough for two people to taste, priced below the full plate.
- Ración: a full plate meant for sharing. A ración of croquetas or calamares can feed two or three people as one dish among several.
In the Basque Country you'll also see pintxos: single bites, often on bread or held with a stick, usually ordered one at a time at the bar.
How menus show it
Spanish menus often abbreviate the sizes as T, ½ and R, or write "tapa", "1/2" and "ración" as column headings. A blank cell means that size isn't served for that dish. Cheese and ham boards, grilled fish and big salads often come only as raciones. Small fried things like croquetas are more likely to come in all three.
If the menu doesn't say, ask: "¿Se puede pedir media?" (Can I order a half?). In a bar that does halves, that's a normal question.
How much to order
- For two people, start with two or three medias raciones. You get more variety than with one ración, and you can add more later.
- Order in rounds. Spanish bars are used to people adding plates as they go, and the food arrives when it is ready rather than as courses.
- A ración for one person is a lot of a single dish. If you're on your own, tapas or a media ración make more sense.
- Outside Spain, check what "tapa" means on that menu. Many restaurants abroad serve their tapas as small sharing plates closer to a media ración.
Where to try it
These restaurants in our directory describe tapas-and-raciones menus in their own listings:
- Casita Miró (Waiheke Island, New Zealand) says its menu is built around shared dining, with "tapas" and "raciones (large plates)".
- Tis Boven (Oostburg, Netherlands) skips traditional courses and asks you to build your meal from its raciones.
- Sevilla Mía (Milan) serves its dishes in "Tapas or Racion" formats, with pinchos at aperitivo time.
- Movida Original (Melbourne, on Hosier Lane) is where chef Frank Camorra and his team say they introduced Melbourne to Spanish tapas and raciones.
