How to read a Spanish menu

How a Spanish menu is laid out

A Spanish restaurant menu (la carta) usually runs entrantes (starters, often to share), primeros (first courses), segundos (mains, split into carnes and pescados) and postres (desserts). Learning how to read a Spanish menu also means knowing the bar format, where the same dish may come in three sizes:

• Tapa: a small plate, a few bites for one person. In some cities, Granada and León among them, a small tapa traditionally comes free with each drink.
• Media ración: half a sharing plate.
• Ración: a full plate meant for the table to share.
• Pintxo (Basque) or pincho: a bite-sized snack, often on bread and held with a stick. In Basque bars you may help yourself from the counter and pay by counting sticks or plates.

At weekday lunch, look for the menú del día: a fixed price for a first course, a second course and dessert (or coffee), usually with bread and often a drink. It's served at lunch only, mostly Monday to Friday, and is far cheaper than the same food from the carta. If the board says "bebida no incluida", the drink is extra.

Prices shown to consumers in Spain include IVA (VAT). Some places charge more for a seat on the terrace ("suplemento terraza"), and bars can price the same drink differently at the bar and at a table.

Meal times run late. Lunch, the main meal, is from about 13:30 to 16:00, and dinner rarely starts before 20:30 or 21:00. Between those times many kitchens close, but bars keep serving tapas.

Words you'll see on every menu

Spanish is spelled as it sounds. "J" and "g" before e or i are a throaty h (jamón is ha-MON), "ll" is like y, and "ñ" is ny.

Cooking methods

Meat, seafood and key ingredients

Allergy and diet watch-outs

Spanish cooking uses few ingredients, but pork, seafood stock and nuts turn up where you don't expect them.

Lard. In Spain manteca usually means lard, not butter (mantequilla). It's traditional in pastries such as polvorones and mantecados, in the ensaimada from Mallorca, and in some bean dishes. That breaks vegetarian and halal diets.

Ham and chorizo. Jamón, chorizo and bacon season many vegetable and bean dishes: green beans with ham, lentils with chorizo, and salmorejo topped with chopped ham and egg. "Vegetables" on a menu does not mean vegetarian; ask "¿lleva carne o jamón?".

Seafood stock. Paella, arroz negro and fideuà are often cooked in fish or seafood stock, even when the toppings are chicken or vegetables. Squid ink colours black rice. See fish, crustaceans and molluscs.

Egg. Tortilla is egg and potato. Alioli in restaurants is usually mayonnaise-based, so it contains egg, and bravas sauce is often served with it. Ensaladilla rusa (potato salad) has mayonnaise and often tuna. See eggs.

Nuts. Romesco sauce from Catalonia is made with almonds and often hazelnuts. Ajoblanco is a cold almond soup. Turrón, mazapán and tarta de Santiago are almond-based, and almonds thicken some stews and sauces (en salsa de almendras). See tree nuts.

Lupin. Altramuces (pickled lupin beans) are a bar snack in parts of Spain, especially the south. Lupin can cross-react with peanut. See lupin.

Gluten. Gazpacho is often thickened with bread and salmorejo always is. Croquetas are made with a flour-based béchamel and breadcrumbs, and anything rebozado or empanado is coated in flour or crumbs. In bars, chips, calamares and croquetas often share the same frying oil, a cross-contact risk for coeliac (celiac) diners. See gluten.

Milk. Croquetas, flan and many desserts contain milk, and cheese boards are common starters. See milk.

Wine and sulphites. Wine and sherry go into many sauces and stews, and vermouth is a common aperitif. See sulphites.

Spanish rules (Real Decreto 126/2015) require restaurants to tell you about the 14 regulated allergens, either in writing on the menu or verbally, in which case a written or electronic record must exist and a visible sign should say where to ask.

Useful phrases

Adjectives about yourself change with gender: a man says alérgico, celíaco, vegetariano and a woman says alérgica, celíaca, vegetariana. "Lleva" (does it carry) is the everyday way to ask what's in a dish. In Latin America peanuts are usually maní, not cacahuetes.

Ordering and paying

Tipping isn't expected in Spain, and menu prices already include IVA. Most people leave small change or round up; in a smarter restaurant a little more for good service is a kind extra, not a rule.

Some restaurants bring bread, olives or a small starter you didn't order and add it to the bill. If you don't want it, say so when it arrives.

To get attention, catch the waiter's eye or say "¡perdone!". The bill comes when you ask for it. In bars it's normal to order and eat at the counter and pay at the end, and the staff often keep track of what you've had. Groups commonly split the total evenly (pagar a escote). Cards are widely accepted, including for small amounts.

Tap water (agua del grifo) is drinkable across most of Spain, and since 2022 bars and restaurants must offer customers non-bottled water free of charge if asked, though many people order bottled water.

Dishes to know

• Paella: Valencian rice dish cooked in a wide pan, with chicken and rabbit or with seafood.
• Tortilla española: thick omelette of egg, potato and often onion, served in slices.
• Patatas bravas: fried potatoes with a spicy paprika sauce, often with alioli.
• Croquetas: fried croquettes of béchamel with ham, chicken or salt cod, breaded.
• Gazpacho: cold blended soup of tomato, pepper, cucumber, garlic and olive oil, often with bread.
• Pulpo a la gallega: boiled octopus with paprika, olive oil and salt, often on potatoes.
• Gambas al ajillo: prawns sizzled in olive oil with garlic and chilli.
• Salmorejo: thick cold tomato and bread soup topped with egg and ham.
• Jamón ibérico: cured ham from Iberian pigs, sliced thin and served on its own.

Questions

What is the difference between a tapa and a ración?

A tapa is a small plate, often a few bites for one person. A ración is a full sharing plate of the same dish, and a media ración is half of that. Many bars list all three sizes with different prices.

What is the menú del día in Spain?

It's a fixed-price weekday lunch with a choice of first course, second course and dessert, usually with bread and often a drink. It's served at lunchtime only, typically from about 13:30, and costs much less than ordering the same food from the carta.

Do you tip in Spain?

Tipping is not expected in Spanish bars and restaurants and prices already include IVA (VAT). Leaving small change or rounding up for good service is common, and a little more in smarter restaurants is a kind extra, not a rule.

What time do Spanish restaurants serve dinner?

In most of Spain dinner service starts around 20:30 to 21:00 and runs late, and lunch is the main meal from about 13:30 or 14:00. Kitchens often close in the late afternoon, though bars keep serving tapas.

What does manteca mean on a Spanish menu?

In Spain manteca usually means lard (pork fat), while butter is mantequilla. Lard is traditional in pastries such as polvorones, mantecados and ensaimadas, which matters for vegetarian and halal diets.

Sources

1. European Commission: Food information to consumers legislation
2. BOE: Real Decreto 126/2015 (food information for unpackaged food)
3. BOE: Ley 7/2022 de residuos (free non-bottled water in bars and restaurants, art. 18.3)
4. Wikipedia: Menú del día

Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.