Pintxos or pinchos are the Northern Basque region’s delicious bite-sized answer to Madrid and Andalucia’s larger shared tapas.
Classics include layers of cured meat like chorizo, or fish like anchovies, along with olives and other garnish stacked on top of sliced bread and held together by a cocktail stick called a pincho.
The word “pincho” comes from the verb “pinchar” which means “to pierce”.
While pinchos are sized to eat in a few bites, tapas are small share plates with one or two main ingredients. You can order a bunch at once for your table along with bottles of wine or glasses of beer or you can ask for the chef’s choice to arrive as they come, depending on the place.
Pro tip: When a server takes your order for a specific tapa or pincho that usually means you’ll see it included in your bill. Tapas or pinchos in Barcelona and Northern Spain in general are not included with your drink like they often are in Southern Spain. It’s exclusively a cultural thing in the South.
However, when in or around Granada or Madrid and enjoying a crowded taberna, you’ll find that the rumors are true, this miraculous traditional hospitality includes a delicious tapa with the cost of your very cheap local wine or beer.
The causal chef behind the bar is making tapas for everyone, one thing at a time, thus allowing a perfectly timed tapa to appear before your eyes in a whirl of motion right around the time you’ve enjoyed your first few sips. The taberna (bar) hums in rhythm- order a drink, enjoy a few sips, and another tapa appears before you, sometimes accompanied by a quick smile from your server. This means you get what you get and you smile back and eat it because it’s delicious.
It’s not polite to ask for substitutions and they’re not accommodated, so either take it as it is or politely decline till another option inevitably rolls around after you’ve ordered your next drink.
If you don’t eat your whole tapa after it’s been served and ask for it to be taken away partially eaten, that means you won’t be getting another drink or tapa unless you ask (a lot) and they’ll assume you’re ready for the bill.
Generally Spain has a ‘finish everything on your plate’ culture. They’re also an ‘ask for the bill or you’ll never get it’ culture, because it’s considered rude to rush out a guest.
