A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Granada
- Granada Information
- Eating & drinking in Granada
- Night life in Granada
- Getting around in Granada
- Things to do in Granada
- Where to stay in Granada
- Granada street map
The good news for budget travelers is that dining in Granada is absolutely dominated by tapas, and its bars are some of the best in Andalucia. The great news is that – incredible as it may sound – these small, delicious dishes often come free with a drink!
This complementary snack might be little more than a slither of ‘manchego’ cheese, or a slice of delicious ‘jamon serrano’ (cut from the legs that swing inches from ones nose above the bar) or perhaps a little plate of olives and crisps – it varies from place to place.
‘Papas a lo Pobre’ - a greasy plate of potatoes and assorted culinary odds and ends - is another common offering, as is a small plate of stew or ‘morcilla’, ‘chorizo’ and ‘salchichon’ (a selection of sausages).
Many of the city’s tapas bars are no more than hole-in-the-wall dispensaries of food and drink. Scruffy and noisy, they almost invariably serve up great tapas and wonderful ‘finos’ or ‘manzanillas’ (sherries) and, particularly, the sweet, locally-produced ‘vino de la costa’.
It should also be remembered that you don’t have to just settle for the free dishes served up with your drink. Additional portions can be ordered in ‘tapa’ (smallest), ‘media racion’ (medium) and ‘racion’ (large) and are priced accordingly.
A great start to the evening, after a hard day’s hiking around the city, is a cup of herbal tea on the Calle Caldería, Granada’s engaging (but not authentic) street of Moorish tearooms and rug shops.
Nearby, the most obvious place to start a tapas binge is the bustling Calle Elvira, the city’s main nightlife drag. Few of the many bars that line it, though, are any good. More atmospheric bars places can be found by exploring the narrow streets and small squares of the Albayzin.
There’s a rash of great little places on the Campo del Principe, which runs parallel to Calle Molinos, and throughout the Realejo. Cheaper bars cluster around Plaza de la Trinidad and in the university quarter around Plaza de la Universidad.
Half the fun of a tapas crawl, though, is finding a really special little out-of-the-way place. Granada can be a perplexing place to get around, and stumbling upon one of the many real finds, generally tucked away down a narrow alleyway, is definitely satisfying.