If you have ever travelled to Spain, you might have seen food advertised as tapas and pintxos and wondered what the difference is between these delicious-looking dishes; after all, both are small and often served as finger food or informal snacks to be enjoyed with a cold drink at the end of a long day. Let’s take a look at the differences between these two delightful dishes.
What are tapas?
Tapas are delicious small dishes of savoury food served across Spain. Around three to four tapas dishes will be equivalent to a main meal. Many people in Spain group together tapas as an informal and social dinner, usually with a drink, in a bar or restaurant. In the UK, you might be lucky enough to order tapas equivalents for your office lunch catering from a company such as Crumbs Delivered.
What are pintxos?
Pintxos are smaller snacks that are usually held in place by a cocktail stick or loaded onto a small piece of bread. They are usually found in the Basque region, where they are a speciality and often feature cured meats and hams, cheeses, marinated vegetables, fish, and olives. Their name, which is also spelt as ‘pinchos’ away from the Basque region, translates as ‘spikes’, referring to the cocktail sticks that hold them in place.
The service of pintxos and tapas
Pintxos are also served in a different way to tapas in that they are usually only found in bars. Tapas tend to be ordered a la carte, whereas pintxos are served on a table in the style of a buffet. Pintxos are also always paid for, whereas tapas are often served on the house in bars for customers who are buying drinks. The service staff will know how much to charge customers for pintxos because they keep the cocktail sticks. These are counted at the end to determine the price.
If you travel to the northern region of Spain, look out for these delicious pintxos finger foods in the bars you visit and enjoy an authentic culinary treat.
