So, what is the difference between tapas in the UK and in Spain?
Essentially the same typical dishes are present. Readers will probably be familiar with tortilla de patatas, patatas bravas and gambas al ajillo and suchlike, but the concept is different in the two countries. In Spain, tapas are a sort of appetiser to be enjoyed with drinks (but not necessarily given free any more). The portions are very small and rarely would tapas be considered lunch or dinner, unless an afternoon’s bar hopping were to go on longer than expected! In the UK of course, eating tapas means going out for a meal, sitting down at a table and ordering many small dishes to share. I think this is mainly because their is no ’slot’ for Spanish style tapas in our daily schedules – we finish work and then eat! Therefore, of course, going out for tapas in the UK means going out for Spanish food, where you will find the same 20 or so dishes in every Spanish restaurant (often referred to as a ‘tapas bar’, although Spain-savvy readers will know that they are anything but).
