I really like food, and after 10 years of living in Madrid, Spain, I still find new and yummy things to eat almost daily. I enjoy the sites, the parks and life in general in Spain, but the food over here is amazing, and going on a Tapas tour of Madrid is a really good way to get small samples of all the best tasting cultural foods of Spain.
Spanish food is celebrated the world over, everyone loves a good Paella or a Spanish omelet. but you can’t eat these in big quantities and have room left for much more. This is where a Madrid tapas tour comes in handy.
Sample the tastes of Madrid in bitesize pieces while you explore the city and some of the coolest neighborhoods at the same time. On a tapas tour you don’t stay in one place for too long. You have a drink, sample a few of the favorite Tapas and move on to the next one. The walking between bars also really helps to make some room in the meantime.
In this article, I want to give you some more information about Tapas tours in Madrid, what they are, what you should expect from a good Tapas tour and some of the best options to choose from. I’ll also give you some tips along the way and answer some frequently asked questions.
If you are in a rush, and can’t read the whole article, here are the top picks:
Best Madrid Tapas Tour Overall – Madrid Tapas and Wine Tasting Tour
Best Tapas + Flamenco Tour – Evening Tapas and Flamenco Tour
Best Tapas Cooking Class – Tapas Cooking Class in Madrid
What is a Tapas Tour in Madrid?
A tapas tour is a guided food tour where you are taken to a number of bars and restaurants around the center of Madrid known for having some of the best Tapas. The tour will usually last a few hours as the guide also gives you information about landmarks and the bars you are visiting along the way.
Some tapas tours in Madrid are just that. You meet up, walk to the first bar and carry on from there until you have completed the bars listed on the tour. You have a drink and a few tapas at each one, socialize with the group a little an hear some facts from a local tour guide. Then you have Tapas tours that include a little more.
There are Madrid Tapas & Wine tours, Taps tours that also include a flamenco show, Tapas cooking classes, Walking tours that include a Tapas tour. As you can see, we really do love Tapas in Spain and pretty much incorporate it with everything else we do.
If you just want to add a short activity to your day, and enjoy some good food and drinks for a couple hours then a regular Madrid Tapas tour is great. If you can spare the time, then try one of the tours that offer a little more.
Is Tapas Free With a drink?
Tapas is absolutely free when you buy a drink in almost any bar in Madrid. You may think you are paying extra, but whatever the price of the beer, vermouth, or even a glass of coke, you will always get a little snack with it. In some other places in Spain you may have to pay for tapas, but here in Madrid, and in places like Andalucía, the tapas is completely free.
Where to find the best Tapas in Madrid?
There are some establishments that are very well known around the city for having really good Tapas like La Casa del Abuelo, El Sur, Casa Lucas, but there are amazing tapas all over Madrid. Not all Tapas are equal of course, and you can go in to almost any bar and get a tapas with your drink, but for the best tapas in Madrid, you want to take advice and know what to look for.
In my experience, you find the best Tapas bars by word of mouth and using your own experiences. There can be a random bar tucked away somewhere that has been making the best tortilla for 50 years, and you would never know if not told or you stumble upon in by chance.
If you are out and about walking, bars that have a classical look to them with the typical white marble counter and an old guy standing behind the bar is a good signal. Take a peak inside, and if its busy, or if you look on the counter and there are plates piled up with tapas ready to go, it means the bar is popular and they are making fresh tapas continuously.
If you look at the tapas on the bar and the bread looks dry, the toppings are shriveled up then you probably don’t want to eat there. The same goes for the newer more modern bars, look for a busy bar with fresh tapas, I just prefer the classical bar myself. If in doubt though, just ask a local and mostly everyone has a few options for their best tapas bars.
Types of Tapas and regional variations in Madrid
Depending on where in Spain you are, the types of tapas will be different. If you are near the coast you are more likely to get more seafood, and if you are in the countryside you will get more meats, sausages and vegetable tapas. These are some of the most well known Tapas served in Madrid:
- Patatas bravas – fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce
- Croquetas – fried balls of ham or cheese
- Boquerones – marinated white anchovies
- Pulpo a la gallega – octopus with paprika and olive oil
- Chorizo al vino – chorizo sausage cooked in red wine
- Huevos rotos – fried eggs with potatoes and ham
- Pimientos de Padrón – fried green peppers
- Tortilla de patatas – a potato and onion omelet
- Calamares a la romana – fried squid
- Gambas al ajillo – garlic shrimp
So when you are on a Madrid Tapas tour, you can ask the waiter to check if they have any of these variations and they will bring you that as your tapas. Now we have covered what tapas are, let me give you my top picks for the best Tapas tours in Madrid.
The Best Tapas Tours In Madrid, Spain
1- Madrid Tapas and Wine Tasting Tour
This Madrid Taps tour won the award for the best Madrid Tapas tour in 2022 and for good reason. The tour lasts for around 3 hour, where you will visit bars with some of the best Tapas on offer and also learn about the local history and food culture from the accompanying guide.
The tour is really cool, because you are not rushed around a bunch of bars, and spend up to 40 minutes in each one, giving you enough time to enjoy your food and drink. You also get to socialize with a lot of like minded people who are also out to have some fun like you.
The meeting point to start the tour is at Plaza Santa Ana, and the tour leaves on time so do your best to be there a few minutes early. It’s actually cool to speak to the guide a little before everyone gets there and break the ice. Once everyone is there, you set off to enjoy the highest rated Tapas tour of Madrid.
Something really great about this tour is you do not always go to the same bars. There are so many good Tapas Bars in the area, and the guide is very well informed about them all and will mix it up depending on the group, time of the year and what the group is like as a whole.
You will mostly be around the Barrio de las Letras neighborhood, and will visit up to 4 bars spending 30-40 minutes in each one. The guide will choose a mixture of bars, some specializing in wine, some with more beer or sherry, but what they all have in common is amazing choices of Tapas.
The groups are usually around 15 people so not a big crowd, and after the first bar and a little small talk, you fall in with the people that you get on with and the rest of the night is just a lot of fun. The guide is also continuously giving you information about the bars and streets you are visiting keeping the tour interesting.
Many people carry the night on after the tour so its a good way to make some new friends whilst in Madrid too. When deciding on what Madrid Tapas tour to pick, this one is right up there with the best and you should definitely consider it.
What Is Included:
- Local Guide
- Wine/Beer/Sherry Tasting
- Visit up to 4 bars
- Duration appx 3 hours
2- Madrid Local Tapas & Wine tour with Drinks & Views from a Rooftop
Tapas in Madrid are great, having a nice cool drink in the summer even better, add to that a roof top bar and you have a pretty good afternoon planned out. As well as visiting a few of the best Tapas bars in Madrid, you also get to see and learn about a few of the famous local landmarks on the tour.
You will meet up at Plaza de San Miguel, 7, 28005 Madrid in front of the famous Mercado de San Miguel. The tour starts with a little chat and getting to know the guide while you sample some of the best cured ham in Madrid.
From here you move on to the La Latina neighborhood for some wine tasting and the guide will usually pick a bar that has some amazing Iberian ham croquets. From here you will visit Plaza Mayor, loop back around to the Mercado San Miguel stopping at a couple more bars for appx 30 mins each.
You will hear all about the areas you are walking through, and the bars you are visiting, but the gem is the last bar you visit. To end the tour, you will visit one of the many rooftop bars with an amazing view over the skyline and make a toast to the great evening you just had.
What Is Included:
- Bilingual Professional Local Guide
- 4 stops of Tapas accompanied by wine, beer or soft drinks. (5 stops in the 11:30 AM tour)
- Visit up to 4 bars
- A cocktail on a rooftop terrace in Madrid – 06:00PM tour
3- Madrid Tapas Night Walking Tour
This is quite the tour lasting around four hours, its a great way to get some sightseeing in, learn about the local area and have a drink and fill your belly all at the same time. Sounds like a perfect afternoon to me, and it is because its something I do quite regularly. It’s a great way to meet some new people as well.
You will meet at Opera, and start the tour at a traditional Asturian bar where you can try your hand out at pouring cider into a glass whilst holding the bottle above your head. You will probably get a few drops on your shoe, but it all adds to the experience. Asturias has some of the tastiest food in Spain and the tapas at these kinds of bars are amazing.
You will move on to a ham tasting after your first bar to try out some of the best cured ham and learn all about the history and traditions behind it. Then its on to up to another three bars specially chosen by your guide and you will sample many types of wine, beers and more importantly taste the best Tapas on offer in Madrid.
It is quite a long tour, and after a couple of drinks you really do settle in and start enjoying the new company. Shorter tours can leave you feeling a little underwhelmed, but tours that last 3 or more hours are great to build a little chemistry and have a great night out with a new group.
What Is Included:
- A Guided visit to 4 bars/restaurants
- English speaking tour guide
- tour lasts 4 hours
4- Evening Tapas and Flamenco Tour
You can’t come to Madrid without watching a Flamenco show, and you have to try out all the Best Tapas in Madrid, but you can also do both at the same time. This is a really neat way to spend your evening.
You walk around the town for a bit, learn about the sites, stop off at a few bars and try some of the best Tapas you can find here in Madrid. Then to finish it off you get to see something deeply rooted in Spanish culture, a real flamenco show.
The tour starts off in Plaza de san Miguel and you will take a walk through the center of Madrid visiting Mercado de San Miguel and Mercado de la Cebada, Madrid most well known food markets. Inside these markets there are endless and without a doubt some of the best Tapas in Madrid.
After the Markets, you head over to Huertas Street and the guide will pick the best bar depending on the time of the and season of the year. This actually makes a difference, so it it good to have a local guide with you.
The evening ends, or begins depending if you want to carry it on, with an authentic flamenco show. It is not the same flamenco show every night, it will vary again depending on the groups size, time of the day and other factors, but the choice is made to make sure you have a great time.
The tour ends with a loop back around to starting point at Plaza de san Miguel.
What Is Included:
- English speaking guide
- Visit to two food markets
- Walk through the center + bars & tapas
- Admission to a flamenco show
5- Tapas Cooking Class in Madrid
For the more adventurous, you can take a tapas cooking class to take some of the culture back home with you. It’s a great way to learn the basics of some of the most famous Spanish dishes and it’s a lot of fun.
I went on this tour with my eldest daughter, and we had such a great time. The groups are small so you get one on one time with the chef, and you get to create up to 10 different tapas dishes that you then get to enjoy with a few drinks.
Some of the tapas you will make are:
- Salmorejo – Traditional cold tomato soup
- Spanish Omeletete
- Squid sandwich
- Violet candies
- Garlic cod fish
- Vegeterian Dishes
- If you have any particular dietary needs or preferences, mention this at booking and they will adjust the menu for you.
You really don’t have to have any experience cooking, the class is very relaxed and goes step by step with all fresh ingredients. It last around 3.5 hours, but it really does go by quick with all the laughs. If you really like to get involved in the culture, and like Spanish food, you should definitely give this one a go.
What Is Included:
- 3.5 hour tapas cooking class
- Small groups
- Free drinks included
- All ingredients included
- Keep a souvenir apron
6- Old Town Madrid and Tapas Tour
For the more adventurous, you can take a tapas cooking class to take some of the culture back home with you. It’s a great way to learn the basics of some of the most famous Spanish dishes and it’s a lot of fun.
I went on this tour with my eldest daughter, and we had such a great time. The groups are small so you get one on one time with the chef, and you get to create up to 10 different tapas dishes that you then get to enjoy with a few drinks.
You really don’t have to have any experience cooking, the class is very relaxed and goes step by step with all fresh ingredients. It last around 3.5 hours, but it really does go by quick with all the laughs. If you really like to get involved in the culture, and like Spanish food, you should definitely give this one a go.
What Is Included:
- 3.5 hour tapas cooking class
- Small groups
- Free drinks included
- All ingredients included
- Keep a souvenir apron
Frequently asked questions about Madrid Tapas tours
I have done my best to give you some information to make the best choice when booking a tapas tour in Madrid, but if you are still a little on the fence, I have included some of the most frequently asked questions. If you have a question that you don’t see here, then you can always message me via the contact page or drop a line in the comments and I will be happy to answer for you.
What is a tapas tour, and how does it work?
A tapas tour is a guided tour of Madrid’s best tapas bars picked by a local guide. You will sample a number of different Tapas and visit up to 5 bars on any given tour.
How much does a tapas tour in Madrid cost?
This will depend on the Tapas tour you book, if there is a meal included, maybe a flamenco show is included, but you can expect to pay anywhere from €40 – €100 euros depending on the package chosen.
What should I wear on a tapas tour in Madrid?
You tend to walk quite a bit on a tapas tour, and if you are here in a warmer season you want to wear something light and comfortable, and definitely a pair of comfortable shoes. I eat quite a lot myself, so I like to wear something with a little give at the waist too if you know what I mean.
Can dietary restrictions be accommodated on a tapas tour, are there vegetarian tapas tours?
Most of the tour operators are more than happy to cater for specific dietary needs. Although this may not be in the control of the operator and more the bars you visit, people are so nice over here, that when you visit the bar your tour guide will simply ask the staff to prepare tapas to suit your needs.
What is the best time to go on a tapas tour in Madrid?
I would say it’s best to go in the evening. Bars get busier in the evenings in Madrid, and the more people there are, the fresher the Tapas will be. You also want to have a fun environment and not be sitting in an empty bar to really feel the culture, so aim for an evening slot when booking a tapas tour in Madrid.
In Conclusion
A tapas tour in Madrid is not just about eating a few bites and enjoying the food, but more about immersing yourself in Spanish culture. Tapas is not something reserved for tourists, it’s the daily life of a local pretty much. You socialize with the locals, learn about the history of the city and the food culture, and have a great night out.
If you don’t go for one of the picks from the list, use them as a guide to finding a good tapas tour. If you simply want to walk around and try a few tapas without joining a tour, remember to check that the tapas look freshly prepared before ordering a drink, I wouldn’t want you to have a bad experience. Drop a comment and let me know hoe it went, would love to hear your experiences.
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