Tapas in the Old Town: Calle Jovellanos & Surrounds
Almería is one of the last cities in Spain where every drink you order in a bar automatically comes with a free tapa — a proper, cooked tapa, not a bowl of crisps. The dense grid of streets around Calle Jovellanos, Calle Las Tiendas and Plaza Bendicho in the old town is the epicentre of this delicious local custom, and a crawl through four or five bars here constitutes a full, memorable dinner for
How the Tapeo Works
Order a caña (small draught beer), a glass of local Alpujarra wine or a tinto de verano and the bartender will bring a plate alongside it — you usually get to choose from a short list of three or four options. Common choices include croquetas de jamón, migas (fried breadcrumbs with chorizo), revuelto de gambas or a small stew of the day.
The key is to keep moving: one drink per bar, four or five bars per evening, and you will have eaten a varied, generous meal without ever sitting down to a formal dinner. Most locals start around 8:30 pm and finish around 11 pm.
Specific Bars Worth Seeking Out
Casa Puga on Calle Jovellanos 7 has been serving tapas since 1870 and is Almería's most storied bar; its walls are papered with bullfighting posters and its barrels of local wine line the back wall. The tapa of chickpea stew (potaje de garbanzos) is the one to ask for.
Bodega Las Botas on Calle Fructuoso Pérez is a tiny, standing-room-only bar beloved for its cured meats and its remarkably cheap house wine poured straight from the barrel.
El Quinto Toro on Calle Juan Leal is louder and more modern but the kitchen is serious — the free tapa here is often a small portion of whatever the chef is preparing that day, and it is consistently excellent.
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