11 Things You Must Eat in Spain

One of the best reasons to travel to Spain? The food! You might not be able to go right now but you can still start dreaming, and drooling, about the delicious delicacies you must eat in Spain.

When we travelled to Spain in February, eating was one of my main goals. I scheduled our trip around restaurants I wanted to try and brushed up on my knowledge of regional specialities. I spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos and highlighting places on Google Maps!

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Of course, the list below is not complete. Here are 11 foods you’ll want to eat in Spain – not the only foods you’ll want to eat in Spain. There are so many more Spanish dishes to enjoy and I can’t wait to go back and taste them all.

Travel Tip: Spanish food, like its culture, is very regional. Each region of Spain has its own delicacies and specialties, which is probably why you were getting funny looks asking for paella in Madrid! Stick to the local dishes to ensure you’re getting the tastiest, freshest and most authentic meal.

Must eat in Spain: Fideuà

Fideuà is a sister of paella, but instead of using rice, fideuà is made with pasta. Like paella, it is served in a big shallow pan, cooked in broth and loaded up with seafood. I tried fideuà in Barcelona, as it was as close as we got to fideuà’s birthplace, Valencia. And it was delicious! The short noodles had a great texture and the seafood was so tasty.

After you get your fill of fideua in Barcelona, check out one of these activities:

What to eat in Spain? Spanish seafood, of course!

Of course, you can’t hang out along Spain’s coast and not have any fresh seafood. I am a huge seafood lover and after living in landlocked Czech Republic for many months, I couldn’t wait until we landed in Spain and I could get some fresh seafood. In Barcelona we went to a restaurant that allowed us to pick out our own fresh seafood that was cooked to order. We feasted on mussels, calamari, clams, tuna and more!

Don’t miss paella on a trip to Spain

If you know any Spanish food, it’s probably paella. But Spaniards will laugh if they see you ordering paella up and down the country. In most places, paella is simply a tourist trap. But in Valencia, paella is the homegrown dish. Unfortunately, we didn’t go to Valencia on this trip so had to settle for a little taste of paella at a food market in Madrid.

If you can’t make it to Valencia, check out this paella cooking class in Barcelona! 

After eating at Madrid’s famous food markets, don’t miss one of these activities:

Who knew they had amazing burgers in Barcelona?

Okay, a burger is probably not what you thought you’d eat in Spain. But after our 10 day trip, we agreed that one of the best meals we had was at Anauco in Barcelona. We just stumbled into this place after a quick Google search when we were killing time before our visit to Sagrada Familia. And it turned out to be such a win! The burgers were delicious – thick, juicy and with lots of types and toppings. And they were ready so quickly!

One of my favourite Spanish foods: Patatas bravas

One of my favourite things to eat in Spain is patatas bravas. Patatas bravas is a typical tapas dish of fried potatoes covered in a white aioli and a red spicy sauce. The sauces will differ at every restaurant so it’s important to do as we did, and try as many as possible. We sampled this dish in Barcelona, Madrid and Seville eating it at sit down restaurants, tapas bars, food markets and walking down the street. My favourite iteration was from a restaurant in Barcelona but you really can’t go wrong with potatoes and sauce anytime!

Must visit in Spain: The food markets

One of the coolest places to eat in Spain are at the food markets. Food markets are everywhere in Spain, serving prepared foods and selling produce, and catering to locals and tourists. We did hit up two of the more touristy ones: Mercado de La Boqueria in Barcelona and Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid. But even paying the tourist prices, we had a great time and ate well. In Barcelona we had delicious fresh fruit, fried seafood and cups of ham and cheese. In Madrid we ate paella, tiny sandwiches and fancy ice cream.

Want to get hands on with your food market experience? Check out this food market tour and paella cooking class in Barcelona! 

Must eat in Madrid: Napolitana pastries

The best food I ate in Spain was, hands down, Napolitana Chocolate from La Mallorquina bakery in Madrid. I had heard of these on a YouTube video and ended up visiting the bakery at least three times during our stay in Madrid. The Napolitana pastry is like a croissant or a strudel, stuffed full of cream, chocolate or a fruit spread. The chocolate was my favourite – it was so rich and felt like biting into a chocolate bar. By the end of the trip, everyone was hooked and we picked up a box before getting on the train to Seville.

Try the churros on your trip to Spain

Of course, churros are something you have to eat in Spain! After doing my research, I learned there were two famous churro places in Madrid. We only ended up visiting one, San Gines, but it totally hit the spot. San Gines was packed when we arrived and served almost nothing but fresh churros and cups of chocolate to dip them in.

These churros aren’t the sugar-coated ones you see at Disney World. And even the cups of chocolate aren’t super sweet. But they were tasty, and I can see why many Spaniards have churros for breakfast.

Explore Madrid in style with a churros & chocolate segway tour! 

Eat like the locals and enjoy a menu del dia in Spain

This is less of a food item and more of a way of eating that you should try while in Spain. The menu del dia, or menu of the day, is an offer that many restaurants put on during lunch. It’s the best way to eat a lot of food for a small amount of money. The menu del dia typically comes with a few courses and a drink, and can cost $10-20. We enjoyed one in Seville; it was a great way to taste a bunch of new things without hurting our wallets. If you’re on a budget, definitely look out for these!

After enjoying some dishes in Seville, check out these activities:

Head to Northern Spain for pintxos

Pintxos or pinchos are northern Spain’s version of tapas. These are very popular in the Basque region and typically eaten at bars. Unfortunately we didn’t make it up to San Sebastian on this trip (but we wanted to as it’s one of Colin’s favourite places) so we didn’t get to enjoy local pintxos. But we did get a small sampling with some bite-size sandwiches from a Madrid food market.

If you’re heading to San Sebastian, check out this pintxos food tour!

We can’t forget about what to drink in Spain!

Okay, not exactly food, but a lot of the eating culture in Spain has to do with the drinking! And no, it’s not just sangria. Like the food, the drinks in Spain are also very regional. In Barcelona, order a cup of cava, a sparkling Spanish wine. In Madrid, go for vermut on tap, a fortfied wine that can be a little bitter and is typically served before eating to get you ready for your meal. And in Seville, sherry is the go-to drink, another fortified wine that’s nothing like what your grandma drinks.

Check out this cocktail making class in Barcelona – with tapas!

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Drooling yet? What’s the best thing you’ve eaten in Spain or what can you not wait to try?

 

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