Eating in Spain is often a very pleasurable and good value experience. However, the way things are done in Spain are quite unique; there are two ways of eating out in the country. Firstly, you can go to normal restaurants and enjoy almost any sort of cuisine you want in most of the larger towns and cities, or you can try the tapas. Tapas are a great accessory to drinking wine or beer, in which you get a series of small but often delicious snacks in succession.
If you have the chance one of the best places to dine is one of the Tenerife restaurants on the island of Tenerife.
Spanish breakfasts are not often anything to write home about, but more sophisticated or touristy places are likely to offer a wider selection. Typically, however, you will end up with toast, butter, jam, fried eggs or Spanish omelette.
If you like to experiment a bit and try a wide variety of local specialities, your best bet is usually a tapas bar, or many other types of bars, where you can often see the various dishes and snacks on display. Tapas range from all sorts of things such as calamari (squid), other fish dishes, escargots, Serrano ham and various selections of other meats and cheeses.
For a full dinner, you are often best off going for the ‘menú del día’ which simply means ‘menu of the day’. If you’re not a fussy eater, this can be the best way to experience the local cuisine, as you get a preset meal often consisting of three courses. It also tends to be the cheapest way to get a decent amount of food in the evening.
The Spanish typically eat quite late, around nine in the evening or later, and many restaurants also serve quite late, though you should not have a problem in more touristy areas.
The diet in Spain is highly centred on meat, and seafood is also of high quality and in great abundance, though you can find vegetarian options in many places these days. Tipping is quite popular in Spain, though only if it is deserved, in which case, five to ten percent is sufficient.
