Barcelona Tapas Tour: My Experience + What to Expect (2025)

Are you looking to take a food tour on your trip to Spain and considering a tapas tour in Barcelona? This guide has you covered! I will detail the best Barcelona tapas tour, how to book it, and what to expect for your culinary adventure!

Are you planning your trip to Barcelona last minute?

If you’re booking your trip to Barcelona last minute, I have you covered. Below are some of the top tours, hotels, and more!

🇪🇸 Top tickets and tours in Barcelona:

Barcelona tapas tour (reviewed in post below – highly recommend to first-timers!)
Sagrada Familia skip-the-line entry ticket (top-rated ticket in Barcelona)
Park Guell skip-the-line ticket (also includes a guided tour)
24 or 48-Hour Hop-On Hop-Off Bus (best for maximizing your time)

🛌 Top hotels in Barcelona:

ME Barcelona (luxury option—has an outdoor pool!)
Praktik Vinoteca (near Plaça de Catalunya)
Violeta Boutique (fabulous budget option with colorful decor)

🚗 Looking for the best way to get around Barcelona? Click here to check rental car rates for Spain!

Barcelona is famous for its food culture, ingredients, and small plates. So when Lena, one of my friends and a former editor here on the blog, was heading to Barcelona, I encouraged her to take a tapas tour (it was her first trip to Spain!) and if she enjoyed it, to share about it here on my blog.

Some of the food I enjoyed on this tapas tour in Barcelona

Obviously, she enjoyed the tapas tour because you’re on the post that she wrote about it and shared her pics in this very guide. Thanks, Lena! Let us know if you have any questions about taking one of these tasty food tours in Barcelona in the comments. Thanks!

Why I Signed Up for a Barcelona Tapas Tour

Honestly, I knew very little about Barcelona and Catalan culture before my trip, so I thought the best way to get in touch with the culture and history was through the food. At least it was a good starting point.

So, I signed up for this tapas tour in Barcelona to learn more about the famous small plates and culture that surround the food in the city.

BOOK HERE: Barcelona Tapas Tour

At the time, I was living in a landlocked country (I am now living in LA) and I was so excited to try some of the seafood that Barcelona was known for given its coastal location.

How to Book This Tapas Tour in Barcelona

I booked my tapas excursion through GetYourGuide which was the place Megan booked all of her tours in Europe. I knew that she trusted them, so it had to be a reliable place to book my tour.

I searched for a tapas tour based on my dates and I was also able to choose a starting time. It was nice because I was able to add this tour to my basket and book a few more (like La Sagrada Familia, etc) at the same time without having to enter my credit card information multiple times across various sites.

Once I checked out, I was reserved a spot on the tour! The tour can be canceled up to 24 hours before it starts in case you have to change your plans.

After the tour is confirmed, you will get an electronic voucher/ticket that you need to keep handy on your phone as you will use this to check into the tour. The guide may also email you with additional instructions closer to the start date.

Book your Barcelona tapas tour here!

Where to Meet

The meeting point for my tour was in the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona… an area known for its extravagant architecture and narrow streets. We met at Carrer de la Boqueria 27 in front of the ‘Travellers Nest Bar’, which you can see in the photo below.

This is where you'll meet the day of the tour — This is where you’ll meet on the day of the tour

Do double-check that your tour will leave from here before heading out, however. The guide should message if the plans change.

My Highlights and Experience on the Tapas Tour

Duration: 3 hours
Meeting Point: Carrer de la Boqueria, 27, 08002 Barcelona, Spain
Language: English
🫒 CLICK HERE TO BOOK!

Upon arrival, be sure to give the guide your name and the travel voucher that I referenced above (you can also find it in the GetYourGuide app if you have downloaded it).

At that time, the guide will likely ask you about dietary restrictions, or if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. This is the time to let them know if you have allergies!

Let them know ahead of any dietary restrictions or preferences!

One of the participants in my tour had Celiac disease and they were able to accommodate her just fine – but it was important for the guide to know this beforehand!

We then were given a brief introduction and some background about Catalan cuisine and tapas. Time to begin the tour!

So, what exactly are Tapas?!

If you have traveled abroad a bit or are familiar with the cuisine, you may already know the answer to this, but if you aren’t familiar with it, this is your chance to learn more. Here is a brief overview, but you will learn far more on the tour. This was the first thing we did.

Tapas are appetizers or snacks. They are common in Spanish cuisine and can be served cold or hot.

We also got to visit a market on the tour

Throughout the day, you will get a chance to try a little bit of both. You can use tapas as a snack or you can combine a few of them to create a full meal. Don’t worry – this tour fills you up!

Indulge in Spanish Wine and Starters

We stopped at our first restaurant of the day and had a chance to try three starters paired with delicious wine. The wine was rather strong, but tasty nonetheless.

We started with a red vermouth, Espinaler Vermut Rojo, which contained 15% alcohol and had flavors of mint, oregano, and caramel.

After that, we were served tapas (called pinchos or spikes) which come from the Basque country. The first one had green peppers (godfather peppers) with deep-fried zucchini (courgettes) and two different varieties of pork. One was sweeter tasting while the other was a blood sausage.

Then we tried an appetizer with zucchini and sweet red bell peppers that had been steamed ever-so-slightly and finished off with a dusting of caviar and salty fish.

Our first stop / Best Barcelona tapas tour — Our first stop – YUM

Finally, we got a chance to taste tapas containing Sobrassadas, a Spanish sausage) and paste. These were topped with fried cherry tomatoes and caramelized goat cheese.

Visit the Renowned La Boqueria

I think visiting a market is one of the best ways to get to know a city and its ingredients, so I was pretty excited to check out the world-famous La Boqueria.

La Boqueria was one of my favorite stops on my tapas tour in Barcelona — La Boqueria was one of my favorite stops on my tour

You may have come across this one travel sites or social media. There was so much more food than I could have imagined inside! I need to plan a return trip to explore it a little further on my own one day.

On this tour, we tasted oysters with cava (Spain’s beloved sparkling wine) and chistoras (little cured sausages) and manchego cheese.

Manchego is delicious and made from sheep’s milk. Not everyone in our group tried the oysters, but if you don’t have a shellfish allergy or dietary restrictions, I encourage you to give them a shot.

Stop by a Private Kitchen

Our third stop was the Volana Test Kitchen, a place that is only available with a reservation. Every dish was meticulously prepared by a private chef, and the restaurant offered vibes from the Catalan countryside, despite its Gothic Quarter location!

The Barcelona tapas tour also took us to the Volana Test Kitchen — The tour also took us to the Volana Test Kitchen

We got the chance to try a tomato salad topped with balsamic vinegar and goat cheese before indulging in a side of asparagus with honey and salt. And, of course, more Manchego! The main dish we had was chistora sausage cooked in a delicious cider sauce.

We also were served a Rioja wine that came from the north of Spain. The grapes are actually pressed earlier in these wines, leaving for a much smoother taste than the wines we previously tasted.

Try Tapas By the Beach

The last stop of the day was a tapas bar that was a stone’s throw from Barcelona Beach and it was the perfect place to wrap up an epic (and delicious!) day. We tried multiple tapas at the place, including everyone’s favorite – patatas bravas, which directly translates to ‘mean potatoes’.

The potato tapas dish had fried potatoes smothered in a tangy mayonnaise, pepper, and chili pepper sauce. It wasn’t really spicy, but it didn’t shy away from flavor.

After the patatas bravas, we had a pork and beef meatball dish. Our tour guide explained that Spain uses a lot of pork in their meals due to the Spanish Inquisition because pork is not permitted in the Islamic religion. The meatballs were covered in a saffron and carrot sauce and it was super tasty. We also had a side of green peppers right after.

Finally, for dessert, we tried the traditional Easter cake which is topped with powdered sugar and almonds.

One of the coolest things we did here was to watch a demonstration on how to make Sangria. This famous drink contains vodka, red wine, fruit juice (we used orange juice), and sugar syrup.

Making us drinks for our final stop — Making our drinks on the final stop

That was how our tour wrapped up. From there, you can go your own way and leave the guide a small tip if you enjoyed the adventure.

FAQ

Who can’t take this Barcelona tapas tour?

A lot of walking took place on this tour, so if you have accessibility limitations, you may face difficulties. It was also not a tour for those under 18 as alcohol is consumed in establishments that don’t allow minors.

Even though there is a lot of meat - there are veg options! — Even though there is a lot of meat – there are veg options!

Can I take this tour as a non-drinker?

Yes! Water and non-alcoholic alternatives were offered throughout the tour, so you don’t need to be a drinker to enjoy this tapas activity.

Do they cater to dietary preferences or restrictions?

Yes. I noted above to let your tour guide know asap at the meeting point. They will also most likely ask the question. Let them know of allergies, Celiac disease, lactose issues, and if you’re vegan/vegetarian. Accommodations can be made.

What do I wear on a tapas tour in Barcelona?

Comfortable shoes for sure. You will be walking around the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona and will be on your feet for 3 hours (with a few places to sit down throughout). Also, bring a jacket if you are not taking this tour in the summer.