For the Love of...: ...Tapas Tips

Having spent a whole month traveling around Spain we've had our fair share of tapas that has been either amazing or grossly substandard. Prior to leaving for our trip we read a few articles about tapas 'etiquette' but never really found anything that told you how to differentiate a good tapas spot from those all too frequent tourist traps that leave you with a huge bill and a whole load of food regret. 

Here are a few tips that helped us find some real gems;

1. Old waiters - If the person serving you looks like he's been working there for ages, chances are he must be proud of the food he's serving for him to stick it out for so long. 

2. Old people - They've been around for a while and know a good restaurant from a bad one.  Plus if they're willing to part with their hard earned cash at this place you know it must be good.

3. Cheap beer - A sure fire sign of a tourist trap is beer that costs more than 2 euros. 

4. A large proportion of the patrons are speaking spanish - People in Spain are proud of their food and seem to have a sixth sense when it comes to crappy restaurants for tourists.

5. Its busy - If you see a place that is still deserted at 10pm, people are avoiding it for a reason.

6. Tooth picks and detritus littered floor - Seems gross but you know a lot of people are eating there

7. Free bread - Places that charge you for bread, or worse yet have pre packaged rolls in cellophane must be avoided. 

Stay tuned for some of favourite places around Spain and let us know what tips have served you well in your quest for the perfect tapas!