Cornwall’s ever-growing foodie scene has fallen hard for the Spanish culture of tapas: Getting together and grazing on good food with friends, sharing an assortment of flavours from petite plates.
Thought to have originally been invented to encourage the stricken king, Alfonso X, to eat more, tapas enables you can pick your way through a variety of finger-licking dishes in a leisurely and convivial dining experience. Pairing the freshest Cornish ingredients with the art of tapas, a new wave of trendy tapas bars invites you eat the dishes in the order they arrive at the table, and pair them with world wines and classic cocktails that bring out their bold flavours.
Hungry? Here’s our top tapas bars in Cornwall. Buen provecho.
Leave the ocean behind you and stroll along Bude’s canal tow path to tuck into tapas at The Bank. This locals’ favourite brings the finest ingredients from North Cornwall to the table, packing authentic Spanish tapas dishes with flavours from the surrounding coast and countryside, as well as traditional ingredients imported from Spain. Expect chorizo and manchego alongside West Country mussels and mackerel, alongside Sangria and Spanish beers on tap.
The laidback Catalan-style La Casita brings the best of Spain and Cornwall together in a mix of small plates and Catalan classics. Take the coastal railway to Carbis Bay to graze on boquerones (anchovies) and almendas fritas (salty, smoked almonds) alongside cured meats, fishy bites and tangy cheeses, taste a bit of everything with a tapas board, and save room for sweet and sugary churros or Tarta de Santiago.
Just a five-minute skip from Downderry Beach in South East Cornwall, Bewshea’s is making quite a name for its small plates and convivial ambience, with a distinctly Spanish twist to its seasonally-changing menu. The tapas menu is packed with traditional dishes from albodingas and chorizo to gambas and croquettas, as well as a sprinkling of contemporary Pan Asian flavours, too. Don’t miss out on the great value Tapas Tuesday deals.
For the authentic atmosphere and gastronomy of Spain, graze on a delectable fusion of Cornish ingredients and Spanish flavours from land, sea and field at Bodega 18. Classic and contemporary dishes come to the table when they’re ready, in authentic Spanish style, alongside vintages from of the pioneers in the wine-making world. Trust us, whether you’re on date night or out with a group of friends, this is one of the best places to eat out in Cornwall.
Formerly the Old Grammar School, Boho 18 is tucked in a beautiful 400 year-old building behind Truro Cathedral. The naughty little brother of Bodega 18, this cocktail-cum-tapas bar serves fine wines and hand-crafted tipples, with a selection of small plates infused with flavours of the Med. From arancini to pork belly, koftas to calamari, it’s all perfectly plated and exquisitely flavoured, served under high ceilings in a chic, European style bar and restaurant.
If you thought tapas were trendy, wait until you tuck into the Basque-inspired equivalent of pintxos. Step off the beach and into San Sebastian at Counter Culture in Newquay, where the day’s selection of small plates are scrawled on a chalk board and lined-up behind the counter, and served in a buzzing ambience alongside world wines and classic cocktails.
When you open the door to Pintxo sherry and tapas bar, you immediately swap the maritime ambience of Fowey’s esplanade for the Basque vibes of San Sebastian. Celebrating Northern Spain’s culture, cuisine and sherry, here you can share hot and cold plates stuffed with traditional ingredients, from jamón ibérico and Cadiz white anchovies, to Pedro Ximenez sherry.
Falmouth has fast become one of the top foodie towns in Cornwall, flaunting an effortlessly cool social scene where good tastes and tipples are all part of a stroll along the waterside streets. Footsteps from the docks, Casa Tapa brings Spain’s gastronomy and Cornish ingredients together, in a buzzing ambience with Spanish beats in the background.
Gaze out to sea from a heated booth at the cool water’s edge at Porthmeor Café, where contemporary small plates reign the menu. It’s not strictly Spanish tapas, with lots of Cornish ingredients and world flavours brought together in creative dishes. However, it does emulate the breezy European beach lifestyle, as you step straight off the sand for a variety of delicious little dishes served by the waves.
From Cornwall’s towns to its seaside villages, there’s a tapas bar just waiting for you to slip into Spanish style. Don’t forget to tag us @cool.cornwall on your tapas tastings.
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Cornwall’s ever-growing foodie scene has fallen hard for the Spanish culture...
