Blog
Restaurant stories, chef interviews and Spanish food education.
- Patatas Bravas: How to Order Them and Spot a Good Plate
Bravas sauce styles, bravas vs alioli vs both, portion sizes, and what a good plate looks like.
- Spain's Food Festivals: La Tomatina, Calçotadas, Haro's Wine Battle and the Octopus Fair
Four Spanish festivals built around food and drink: when they happen, what goes on, and where to eat the dishes behind them outside Spain.
- Calamares and Pla Muk: How Spain and Thailand Cook Squid
Fried rings, baby squid in ink and black rice in Spain; grilled, garlic-fried and lime-steamed squid in Thailand. Where the two kitchens meet and split.
- Txakoli: A Guide to the Basque Country's Sharp, Spritzy White Wine
What txakoli is, its three Basque DOs, the Hondarrabi Zuri grape, why it's poured from a height, and where our listed restaurants serve it.
- Spanish Restaurants in Ireland: Dublin and Galway Guide
Six Spanish restaurants in our Irish listings: three Port House bars and two tapas rooms in Dublin, plus Cava Bodega in Galway.
- Crianza, reserva, gran reserva: what Spanish wine ageing terms mean
The ageing words on a Spanish wine label are legal terms with minimum times in oak and bottle. Here is what joven, crianza, reserva and gran reserva mean.
- Spanish restaurants in Washington, DC: a neighbourhood guide
All nine Washington, DC listings by neighbourhood, from Jaleo in Penn Quarter and three counters at 919 19th St NW to Xiquet in Glover Park.
- Con o sin cebolla: the Spanish tortilla argument
Onion or no onion, set or runny, warm or cold: the arguments Spaniards have about tortilla de patatas, and where to order one outside Spain.
- Gambas and goong: how Spain and Thailand cook prawns
Gambas al ajillo and goong ob woon sen are both traditional clay-pot dishes. How Spain and Thailand treat the same shellfish, and where to order Spanish prawns.
- A Spanish weekend in Beijing: Sanlitun and Shunyi
Two days, four Spanish listings: a Catalan table in Taikoo Li, bocatas and blood sausage on Sanlitun Road, Carmen's stage, then callos in Shunyi.
- Spanish restaurants in Chicago: a neighbourhood guide
All eight Chicago listings by neighbourhood, from the Ba-Ba-Reeba pair and Mercat a la Planxa to Little Madrid in Andersonville and Porto in West Town.
- Olive oil and coconut milk: the fats behind Spanish and Thai cooking
Spanish kitchens run on olive oil; many Thai curries run on coconut milk. How each fat is made, graded and used, and where to taste Spanish oil abroad.
- Lokanta Proeflokaal: Spanish cooking in Rotterdam since 2003
Lokanta has served Spanish food on Rotterdam's Waterloostraat since 2003, working almost entirely with products from Spain, from wine and olive oil to cheese.
- A Spanish weekend in Amsterdam: pintxos in the Jordaan, txuleton on Spuistraat
Two days, four Amsterdam listings: northern Spanish pintxos at La Oliva, a Basque grill at Sagardi, a park-side lunch at Patio and Iberian cooking at Hasta La Vista.
- Hispania Brussels: a Spanish brasserie on the Grand Sablon
Hispania Brussels opened on the Grand Sablon in 2016 with a tapas-led brasserie menu, a gourmet shop and sister restaurants in London and Vietnam.
- Spanish cheese beyond manchego
Cabrales, Idiazabal, Mahon, Tetilla and Torta del Casar. What each one is, what to drink with it, and how to order a cheese board in a Spanish restaurant abroad.
- Why your Spanish menu isn't all in Spanish
Pintxo, txakoli, polbo a feira, pa amb tomaquet. A short guide to the Catalan, Basque and Galician words that turn up on Spanish menus abroad, and how to say them.
- Jamon and moo krob: two countries that built a kitchen on pork
Spain cures pork with salt, air and years. Thailand ferments it, grills it or crisps it within days. Same animal, two completely different answers.
- A Spanish weekend in Sao Paulo: Pinheiros, Oscar Freire and Ipiranga
Two days across ten Spanish kitchens in Sao Paulo, from a Basque pintxo bar in Pinheiros to a paella house that has been open since 1990.
- Casa Paella: a Valencian rice house on a New Zealand peninsula
Twelve rices, the Sueca recipe and a chef with a Valencian title, served out of a country park on Banks Peninsula near Christchurch.
- Sangria or tinto de verano? What Spain actually drinks in summer
Sangria is the one everyone abroad orders. Tinto de verano is the one Spaniards drink. Here is the difference, plus the law that decides who can even use the word.
- Beyond paella: the Spanish rice dishes worth ordering instead
Arroz a banda, arroz negro, arroz caldoso, arroz al horno and fideua. What each one is, how to spot a kitchen that can cook them, and how to order.
- Spanish restaurants in Tokyo: a guide by ward
Sixteen Spanish restaurants in Tokyo, sorted by ward, plus the three restaurant clusters that between them account for thirteen of them.
- A Spanish weekend in Milan: pintxos, jamon and Andalusian tapas
Two days of Spanish eating in Milan, from a Basque pintxo counter near Sempione to two Andalusian tapas rooms on opposite sides of the city.
- Andanza: the Bermondsey bookmakers that became a pintxo bar
A betting shop on a Bermondsey back street became a Spanish bar in the middle of the 2020 lockdown. It is still there, and everything in the glass is still Spanish.
- Anchoas and Nam Pla: What Spain and Thailand Do With Anchovies
Spain eats its anchovies whole, cured or marinated. Thailand turns them into fish sauce. Often the same fish, salt and time, with two very different results.
- Al-Andalus on Your Plate: The Arabic Legacy in Spanish Food
Rice, saffron, sugar, aubergines and almonds: nearly eight centuries of Muslim rule left their mark on Spanish cooking, starting with the words on the menu.
- Ajo and Kratiam: Garlic in Spanish and Thai Cooking
Spain and Thailand both cook with a lot of garlic, but they treat it differently. A guide to ajillo, allioli and sopa de ajo for diners who know kratiam jiao.
- A Spanish Weekend in Miami: From Calle Ocho to Brickell
Two days of Spanish food in Miami using six venues from our directory: a Spanish bakery, an Asturian-named tapas pioneer, Calle Ocho classics and Basque grilling in Brickell.
- Spanish Restaurants in Hong Kong: A Neighbourhood Guide to All 12 Listings
Every Spanish restaurant in our Hong Kong directory, grouped by neighbourhood: Ship Street pintxos, Central tapas bars, Sai Ying Pun gin and a harbour-view counter.
- Encasa, Sydney: Four Decades of Tapas and Paella on Pitt Street
Encasa started life as Casa Juanita and calls itself Sydney's longest-standing Spanish restaurant. Here's what the listing tells us, plus four more Sydney tables.
- Spanish Cider: Sidra, the High Pour and the Basque Cider House
Spain's cider comes from Asturias and the Basque Country. It is dry, still and poured from a height. Here is how to drink it and where to find it abroad.
- The Spanish Mercado: How Food Markets Shape the Way Spain Eats
Covered food markets sit at the centre of Spanish cooking and shopping. Here is how they work, and the restaurants abroad that borrow the idea.
- Morriña, Poznań: A Galician Tavern Named After Homesickness
Morriña is a Galician taberna on Święty Marcin in Poznań, named for the homesickness Galicians abroad know well. Here is what its record tells us.
- Spanish Restaurants in Singapore: A Neighbourhood Guide
All 17 Spanish restaurants in our Singapore directory, grouped by neighbourhood, from Tanjong Pagar tapas bars to Joo Chiat home cooking.
- The Menú del Día: Spain's Set Lunch Explained
Two courses, bread, a drink and dessert or coffee at one price. How Spain's weekday set lunch works, where it came from, and how to order it.
- Bomba and Hom Mali: Why Paella Rice Isn't Thai Rice
Spain and Thailand both build meals around rice, but they want opposite things from the grain. A guide for Thai diners ordering paella.
- A Spanish Weekend in Warsaw: From Praga to Żoliborz
A two-day route through Warsaw's Spanish bars: a Valencian-minded café-tapas bar in Praga, a food hall counter, a Spanish wine bar and a tapas bar in Mokotów.
- Bulería: Spanish Tapas and Flamenco Rhythm at Bogotá's Parque de la 93
Bulería takes its name from a flamenco rhythm and its menu from the tapas bar. What the Bogotá restaurant serves, and three Spanish neighbours nearby.
- How to Read a Cava Label
Brut nature or brut? Reserva or de guarda? What the words on a bottle of cava tell you about sweetness, ageing and where it came from.
- La Hora del Vermut: How Spain Drinks Vermouth
Spanish vermouth is red, served on ice with an olive and a slice of orange, and drunk before lunch. Here is how to order it properly abroad.
- A Spanish Weekend in Mexico City: Vermut, Asador, Cantina
Two days across four Spanish rooms in CDMX, from a Madrid-style tavern in Hipódromo to a 73-year-old cantina in Doctores.
- Spanish Restaurants in Paris: A Guide by Arrondissement
Eleven Spanish places across Paris, from a Galician group's only foreign outpost to a Riojan chef in the 12th. Sorted by where they actually are.
- Txoko Jakarta and the Basque Clubs Behind the Name
A txoko is a Basque members-only cooking club where friends cook for friends. One restaurant in Senopati borrowed the idea for Jakarta.
- Xiquet: The One Restaurant in Washington Cooking Valencia
Most Spanish restaurants abroad cook a bit of every region. Xiquet, in Glover Park, cooks one: Valencia, over wood, across 22 courses.
- Why Spaniards Eat So Late: Spanish Meal Times Explained
Lunch at 2, dinner at 10, merienda in between. How the Spanish eating day works, where the clock comes in, and what it means at Spanish restaurants abroad.
- Pimentón and Prik: How Spain and Thailand Use the Same Chilli Differently
Spain and Thailand both got chillies from the Americas. One uses them for smoke and colour, the other for heat. A guide for diners who know both.
- A Weekend of Spanish Clubs and Galician Food in New York
Two days, four addresses: eat at New York's Spanish community clubs in Queens and Chelsea, then finish with Galician tapas in SoHo.
- Spanish Restaurants in Shanghai: A Neighbourhood Guide
Where to eat Spanish food in Shanghai, from Xintiandi tapas bars to Former French Concession bistros and a Pudong ham-and-churros café.
- Huevos de Oro: A Spanish Tavern in São Paulo's Pinheiros
A São Paulo tapas house that grew into a gastronomic bar: what Huevos de Oro serves, who runs the kitchen, and what to order.
