Walk into a Spanish bar almost anywhere and certain objects keep turning up: painted tiles, legs of ham hanging over the counter, a glass jug with a long spout, an old soda siphon, a wine barrel used as a table. Each one has a history in Spanish bars, shops or homes, and knowing what they are makes the room easier to read.
Azulejos: the painted tiles
Azulejos are glazed ceramic tiles, often painted in blue, yellow and green patterns. They are common in southern Spain, on walls, bar fronts and street signs, and Seville's Triana district has a long history of ceramic workshops.
Several restaurants in our directory use them. Pata Negra Asador in Budapest (Paulay Ede utca 39, which its record places near the Opera House) lists Andalusian tiles among its details. Sevilla Mía in Milan has traditional Sevillian ceramic tiles and Córdoba-style pottery, and its logo is based on Andalusian tiles.
Hams on hooks
Whole legs of ham hanging from the ceiling are a familiar sight in many Spanish bars and ham shops. They may be stock waiting to be carved or simply display. A leg in use usually sits on a stand called a jamonero and is often sliced by hand. Our piece on the cortador de jamón explains how.
At Pata Negra Asador in Budapest, the record mentions jamones serranos hanging from the ceiling next to the Andalusian tiles.
The porrón and the siphon
A porrón is a glass wine jug with a long, narrow spout, traditional in Catalonia. You lift it and pour a thin stream of wine into your mouth without the glass touching your lips, so it can be passed round a table. A sifón is a soda siphon. In Madrid, vermouth is often served with a splash of soda from one. Our vermouth guide covers that ritual.
Pintxø in Milan uses both. Its record lists porrones, vintage siphons, traditional ceramics, artwork by Spanish artists, typographic prints from Madrid and a collection of Tapas magazines, with decoration inspired by the bars of northern Spain.
Barrels, shops and patios
Wine barrels used as standing tables come from the bodega, the wine cellar or wine shop. Older Spanish taverns commonly sold wine from the barrel. Ultramarinos Martínez in Budapest has wine barrels turned into tables and décor that recalls Andalusian taverns.
Its name is a word worth knowing. Ultramarinos was the old Spanish name for a grocery, from the goods that came from overseas (ultramar), such as coffee and cocoa. Ultramarinos Martínez combines a bar, a gourmet shop and a tapas kitchen in one room.
The Andalusian patio is another model. In Córdoba, the courtyards of private houses, filled with potted flowers, are the subject of the yearly Fiesta de los Patios. Casa España by Alioli in Bucharest built its dining room to capture an Andalusian patio, with palm trees, traditional ceramics and Spanish tableware.
Bullring and flamenco references
Some bars take their décor from the bullring and from flamenco. Capote y Olé in Rijeka, Croatia, uses a bullfighter's cape and burladeros, the wooden barriers in a bullring, as part of its décor, with flamenco music playing through the day. Our piece on flamenco and food looks at the music side.
What décor does not tell you
Tiles and hams tell you what kind of Spanish bar a restaurant wants to evoke. They do not tell you whether the kitchen is good. For that, look at the menu and the way dishes are cooked. Our signs of an authentic Spanish restaurant gives you things to check that no decorator can fake.
