Spanish food: difference between tapas and pinchos

bigdariusz

Hello!

I am going for a couple of months to the north of spain and I am a such a foodie so I wanted to get some information.

I heard that in some parts of spain they have tapas, and in some other parts they don't have tapas but they have "pinchos"?? Does anyone know what the difference is? Do you have to pay for those or you get them for free with the drink?

Also, is there any guide on the internet about tapas in different spanish cities, in english??

A big thank you!

Batigol309

bigdariusz wrote: »

Hello!

I am going for a couple of months to the north of spain and I am a such a foodie so I wanted to get some information.

I heard that in some parts of spain they have tapas, and in some other parts they don't have tapas but they have "pinchos"?? Does anyone know what the difference is? Do you have to pay for those or you get them for free with the drink?

Also, is there any guide on the internet about tapas in different spanish cities, in english??

A big thank you!

As far as I know they would be same thing...Pinchos would be individual larger portions as opposed to a platter you might get tapas on. pinchos refers to the cocktail stick (thorn) in the top of the food..maybe some chorizo or manchego cheese etc. You help yourself then they calculate the bill by counting the amount of sticks or pinchos you have on your plate?

San Sebastien has unbelievable pinchos by the way!!

sudzs

I've only ever been to the south of Spain and never heard of pinchos! But I have heard of the cocktail stick thing, of keeping them and counting them up to pay for what you've had.

I've found that in a lot of places if you sit down and order a drink, a free tapas will come with it. but then I would usually order something to eat and that's the end of the free tapas. But then again, we found an ordinary bar and with each beer we got a free tapas between us. Really good stuff too.

Don't be tempted (like me!) to order 5 or 6 tapas at a time, you'll be overwhelmed with flavours! 2 or 3 between 2 people is manageable and by the time you're onto your next beer you'll be ready for another tasty bite.

Hope you have a great time, enjoy!

CJhaughey

Pintxos is the Basque name for Tapas.
I found no difference between Tapas and Pintxos in size, but thats my experience.

sergio7

I am from the north of Spain, so this is an easy one ;-)

We use the term "tapa" for a small portion of food. When a group of friends go out for tapas, they normally order different ones and they share them. In many cities, when you order a drink you get small tapas for free. Well, in cities like Granada or Salamanca, they are not small at all, and the quality is very good.

In the north, we don't really use the word "tapa" that much, we use the word "pincho", and they are a little bit different. They normally are more elaborate, and you have to pay for those, I'm afraid in the north you don't get anything for free with your dring, but pinchos are really nice. The word "pincho" means "spike" and they are called this way because the food normally comes on a slice of bread and it is hold with a toothpick.

The best pinchos are in San Sebastian, but in other cities they are also great. Here you have a couple of guides:

Pinchos in San Sebastian
Pinchos in Pamplona