Free Tapas in Granada: How It Works and Where to Start Your Night

Yes, Granada, Spain, still gives you a free tapa with almost every drink: order a beer, a glass of wine or a soft drink in most bars and a small plate arrives with it, usually chosen by the kitchen. A beer costs around 2.60 to 3 € with the tapa included, or up to 3.50 € in tourist spots (Granada Direct, June 2026). Kitchens normally serve from 13:30 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to 22:00, which is exactly why locals tapear before going out. Here's how it works and where to do it before a night at the clubs.

How free tapas work

• One drink, one tapa. Beer, wine and soft drinks all count in most bars.
• The kitchen usually decides. Some bars hang a sign saying the tapa is a gift from the house and can't be chosen or swapped.
• Some bars have a tapa menu: you choose, but often only two or three kinds per table.
• Each new round brings a new tapa, often a different one.
• Vegetarian? Say it when you order the drink, not when the plate arrives.
• At peak times some tables are kept for people eating full meals, and the tapas go to the bar or the high stools.

What time to go

Most bars serve tapas from 13:30 to 16:00 and from 20:00 to 22:00, and a growing number in the centre keep the kitchen open until around midnight. If you sit down before 13:00 or 20:00, you'll often get olives or a bag of crisps for the same price, because the kitchen isn't open yet. For a night out, the sweet spot is 20:30 to 23:00: two or three bars, a tapa in each, and you've had dinner by the time the clubs open (around 23:00, filling up from 2:00 to 3:00, according to a 2026 student guide).

Calle Navas: the classic tapas street

Calle Navas runs from Plaza del Carmen towards Puerta Real and is the street everyone sends you to. Los Diamantes at number 28 is a small, old standing-room tavern where fried fish is king, open from 12:30 to 16:30 and 20:30 to midnight; a second, bigger Los Diamantes sits further down the street. Fogón de Galicia, at number 4, is known for generous portions and its house octopus. Just off Navas, Casa Salvador on Calle Duende is one of the cheaper traditional bars, and Ávila Tapas on Calle Verónica de la Virgen is famous for its roast ham (closed on Sundays).

Around the Cathedral and Plaza Nueva

Bodegas Castañeda, at Calle Almireceros 1-3, is a traditional bar from 1927 specialising in Iberian cured meats, wine and vermouth. Bar Casa Julio, on Calle Hermosa near Plaza Nueva, is a 1947 tavern known for very fresh fish. Walk up the Carrera del Darro and Bar Ras, at number 6, serves a beer with a tapa for about 2.20 € in a rustic room with flamenco on the speakers. This area is also where the Sacromonte flamenco nights start, so it pairs well with our flamenco guide.

Realejo

The Realejo, the old Jewish quarter south of the centre, is the other big tapas neighbourhood. Taberna La Tana is a serious wine bar with cold tapas such as Iberian ham, anchovies and ensaladilla, and Capitán Amargo has more than 80 beers, many of them craft, each served with a tapa like croquetas or chicken wings. From the Realejo you're also close to Planta Baja on Calle Horno de Abad, if your night is going to end at a gig.

From tapas to the club: a simple route

• 20:30: start on Calle Navas (Los Diamantes, Fogón de Galicia).
• 21:30: one more round near the Cathedral (Bodegas Castañeda) or in the Realejo.
• 23:00: a drink in a disco-pub, or a gig at Planta Baja or Aliatar.
• From midnight: Aliatar is at Recogidas 2, by Puerta Real; Taböa is on Plaza de Gracia; Granada 10 is on Cárcel Baja, next to the Cathedral.

What does it all cost? With beers at 2.60 to 3 € and club entry with a drink usually 8 to 15 € (student guide, March 2026), a full night with dinner included can stay surprisingly cheap. Our guide to how much a night out costs has the detailed prices by club.

Once you've eaten, message us on WhatsApp for the guest list or a table at the club where you want to finish the night.