Madrid Small Group Premium Tailored Nighttime Tapas Tour
Description
Share a sociable night full of fun, food and stories on this deep dive into Madrid’s tapas scene. This premium personalised food tour takes you beyond your standard patatas bravas and calamari sandwiches and shows you how the locals do tapas. Discover the breadth of the Spanish food scene from the classic to the more adventurous and get a unique insight into the history and culture of Madrid, accompanied by an expert guide who knows all the best places to go. Expect to share 12 to 20 delicious dishes recommended by your guide, according to the likes and interests of the group. Go home with a deeper understanding of the culture, traditions, and social life that define Madrid. • More than 20 years helping people discover Madrid through its food and drink • Personalised tapas chosen by guests, not a fixed preordered menu • Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Best Food Experiences in the World (8th place in 2019, 12th place in 2022) • Maximum group size of 10 for a more intimate experience
Tour Options
Itinerary
This is a deep-dive into Madrid and its culinary scene. A real evening out in real Madrid bars. You’ll experience the real tapas culture of the city, moving from bar to bar, tasting different foods, rubbing shoulders with the locals and discovering how Madrileños enjoy an evening out. Rather than following a rigid script, we share anecdotes, cultural insights, and practical tips that help you understand Madrid beyond the guidebooks. Much more than your standard patatas bravas and calamari sandwich, we offer a premium service where we tailor what we order according to group on the night. We will encourage you to expand your culinary boundaries a little and really get to the heart of the city through its food and drink. We visit 3 or 4 traditional local bars, each with its own atmosphere and speciality dishes. You will taste anything between 12 and 20 different tapas, depending on the size and appetite of the group. A drink is included in each bar.
We will meet between the two metro entrances of Metro Opera in Plaza Isabel II, introduce you to fellow travelers and explain the plan for the evening. Having made introductions and seen the Royal Opera House we will start a night full of fun, food, drink and stories! PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING ITINERARY IS AN EXAMPLE ONLY. We adapt each tour according to the likes/dislikes/interests of the group so each night is slightly different.
First Bar: It is only a short walk to the first bar where we will get you warmed up for the evening with some great food and drink and explain the origins of the tapas culture and some of its most important aspects. By the end of the night you will be well-prepared to get out and to negotiate Madrid's buzzing food scene on your own!
We will point out this emblematic church and tell you about the sweet treat hidden behind it!
We will walk through the Main Square of Madrid and tell you a bit about its history and traditions and make a few suggestions on what to see/eat/drink during the rest of your stay.
We will tell you all about this iconic square, its buildings, history and traditions.
Second bar: You will have built up an appetite by now so we will go to our next bar It might be a crash course in Spanish ham or a traditional bar from the region of León which produces its own wine. We will explain how tapassing is done in Spain with useful information on how to order, tipping etc
Third Bar: We are now getting into the swing of tapassing, Madrid style, so only a short walk to the next bar where we will get you tasting more of their specialty dishes. We will try to expand your culinary boundaries a little and get you tasting things you might not otherwise try!
We will walk past the Spanish Parliament and tell you some stories about its historical and present day importance
Fourth Bar: You may be beginning to feel a little full by now but avoid the bread and leave some room for the last bar where we will try to book a table and sit down to finish off in a more relaxed fashion, often with some great seafood. Our tour will end in this last bar and you should be very full!! Depending on the night and group, you will probably have tried anywhere between 12 and 20 different dishes and have got a real feel for the Madrid culinary scene.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Not recommended for under 17 years
- Please note that some tapas will be shared with other travellers
- This tour/activity will have an average maximum of 10 travelers
- Minimum numbers apply. There is a possibility of cancellation after confirmation if there is not enough passengers to meet requirements. In the event of this occurring, you will be offered an alternative or full refund
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
Reviews(1,978)
James Fraser is a fantastic tour guide. He was Very knowledgeable of the Madrid tapas and drinks and was a pleasure to spend the evening with. I would recommend him to any of my family and friends.
So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for your review. It was a pleasure to meet you and show you a bit of Madrid, its history, culture and above all foody scene. DO come back one day as we have lots more to show you!
What a wonderful night in Madrid -- its the perfect combination of excellent walking tour combined with expert food / drink selections that kept us all entertained. Highly recommend -- James gives you a great understanding of Madrid Nightlife culture.
Thank you for your review and delighted you enjoyed it. We really try to get you to the heart of Madrid through it food and drink, taking you to bars you might not otherwise visit and getting you to taste dishes you might not otherwise try, all whilst mixing in a bit of light history and culture. Hope to see you back this way one day as we have lots more to show you!
Be prepared for excellent, and some unusual, tapas with a jovial, well-informed host, James, as you traverse old Madrid on a night you’ll savour.
Thank you for taking the time to write us a review and delighted you enjoyed it. We always try to expand your culinary boundaries a little and take you deeper into the tapas scene than the normal croquetas, patatas bravas and calamari sandwich!!! Do join us again one day as there is lots more to savour!
A Perfect Introduction to Spanish Food Culture If you are considering this tour, book it early in your trip — it completely changed how we approached eating and drinking in Spain afterward. Jamie gives you much more than a food tour focused on tourist spots. He introduces you to authentic local bars and explains the traditions behind the food and drinks, including where they come from and how they are typically enjoyed. We came away feeling like we better understood Spanish food culture, not just what to order. He also shared practical tips on how to recognize a good local bar or restaurant and how to confidently order like a local. Between stops he pointed out landmarks and shared bits of history that added so much context to the neighborhoods we were walking through. We were a group of 10 people with very different tastes and personalities, and everyone found things they genuinely loved. Jamie was warm, funny, knowledgeable, and engaging throughout the entire experience. This was one of the best things we did on our trip and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone visiting Spain.
Thank you for your review and delighted you enjoyed it. We always recommend people join us at the start of their trip so they can get all the hot tips on what to eat/drink/see during the rest of their stay! We try to mix a bit of light history and culture with some seriously good food and drink on a fun and sociable night out exploring Madrid. Hope you will join us again one day!
James was an amazing guide. The places we stopped were great, and I walked away feeling like I better understood the culture. I'd totally recommend this experience.
Thank you for your review and so glad you enjoyed it. We really try to show you how the Madrileños do tapas and get you trying lots of great food and drink whilst rubbing shoulders with the locals. We hope people will go home very full and with a good understanding of Madrid's people, culture, history and culinary scene!!!
James was absolutely AMAZING! We had a lovely evening filled with fun facts, cultural tips, and delicous foos and drinks. We tried so many things that we would not typically go for. Listen to his advice and try everything. He will not disappoint. Highly recommend!
Thanks for taking the time to write us a review and so glad you enjoyed it. It's a great way to get to the heart of the city and its food and drink while getting a feel for Madrid's people, culture and history.... Hope you managed to really get into the way of doing tapas during the rest of your stay!!!
My family and I had an amazing time on our tapas tour with James. He had us try so many different, excellent dishes that we would have never ventured to try on our own. He is a delightful guide, and will make your tour so much fun. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who is visiting Madrid. Below are photos from 2 stops that we made and some of the dishes we had. Exceptional tour!
Thank you for your review. It's always great to take such nice folk off to discover some of Madrid and its culinary scene and to help them discover some of Madrid's best tapas beyond the standard patatas bravas and croquetas!!!
Fantastic tour and the guide was very adaptable to group preferences. Got some history along the way. When the tour was over the guide noticed our group was still having fun; so he took us to a great cocktail bar so we could continue our night without him. We had a great time!
So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for your review. We always try to tailor things to each group on the night and it is great to bring like-minded people together to share a night full of fun, food and drink!!!
James Fraser is outstanding⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for your review, it was great to meet you and show you a bit of Madrid and it's culinary scene...
I am a travel agent - I send all my people coming to Madrid to James. Lovely guy and amazing food plus great insights. We are completely stuffed and tried many new foods.
So glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for sending people our way. It's fun getting people to the heart of Madrid through it food and drink and getting them to try new flavours in bars they might not otherwise visit. Hope to see you back this way soon!
