Tapas & Beers
Tapas & Beers
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About
At Tapas & Beers we offer travellers four local food and drink experiences, allowing them to taste the real Barcelona. Our philosophy is to visit local, untouristy barrios, exploring in small or private groups, and selecting charismatic venues with great food and drink offers for our guests. Our four tours include our private craft beer tasting tour, our private tapas tour, our market food tour and (new for 2020) our Beer Lovers Food Pairing Tour... the first of its kind in the city!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
33 reviews
Excellent
23
Very good
4
Average
1
Poor
1
Terrible
4
Margo
Chicago, IL2 contributions
Jul 2019
This tour was awesome! We didn’t realize that our tour would just be us and a guide, but it worked out wonderfully. We were running late and thought we missed the tour, but since it unexpectedly ended up being just us and our guide, he was patiently waiting for us at the meeting spot.
Our guide was a Spanish man in his 20s/30s who was fantastic to chat with about Spanish culture, food, and life. If you have dietary restrictions, let them know beforehand so they can cater the tour. (I'm a vegetarian and felt bad that our guide had to change the food plan on the fly.) We went to three different local pubs. They were all off the beaten path of tourists, and were where locals go. Delicious food, great drinks, and a perfect way to get to chat with a local.
Our guide was a Spanish man in his 20s/30s who was fantastic to chat with about Spanish culture, food, and life. If you have dietary restrictions, let them know beforehand so they can cater the tour. (I'm a vegetarian and felt bad that our guide had to change the food plan on the fly.) We went to three different local pubs. They were all off the beaten path of tourists, and were where locals go. Delicious food, great drinks, and a perfect way to get to chat with a local.
Written June 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah J
Perth, Australia1 contribution
May 2015 • Solo
This beer tasting tour turned out to be a lot of fun! The guide was very knowledgeable and the whole tour had a really friendly atmosphere about it, so it was easy to make friends and have a good time while picking up stacks of interesting info about craft beer along the way. The added bonus of this tour is that you get to hit up a bunch of cool little places you probably wouldn’t find on your own - helped me to avoid the tourist traps! Super fun. Totally recommend it!
Written November 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Boatlady70
Greensboro, NC23 contributions
Dec 2017 • Couples
We did the Craft Beer Tour in early December. We were the only 2 on the tour and Mario was outstanding. He is so knowledgeable about many aspects of the beer and wine in and around Spain, He provided great recommendations to us for dinner afterward. The bar and beer choices were varied. If you are 2 or 10 he would do a great job. Look forward to returning and doing this tour again
Written February 11, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sarah E
1 contribution
Apr 2023 • Friends
Tapas and beers as advertised on the website is no longer offered. Instead we were directed to BCN Travel and offered a tour with two tapas stops and a market tour. We were only given contact details for the guide the day of the the tour and we’re 10 minutes late, therefore the market was closed (the tour should have been scheduled earlier) . The tapas were mediocre and the guide really didn’t add anything- nothing about the food and very little about the city. We had a much better tour experience with a bike tour and much better tapas experience in places we found ourselves. For €75 pp I would expect better
Written April 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Margaretcollen
1 contribution
Jun 2019 • Friends
What they offer isn’t what you get!
Tapas (pinchos actually) are average and up to 4 per person (not enough food to be honest) and the “beer tasting” was really weird. We were a group of 12 people and they only brought 2 small glasses of each beer ( 5 types of beer in total) to do the tasting. They expect us to share 2 small glasses of beer between 12 ppl and there was no guidance for the tasting, plus we couldn’t hear the guy talking. It was very disappointing. Wouldn’t recommend it.
Tapas (pinchos actually) are average and up to 4 per person (not enough food to be honest) and the “beer tasting” was really weird. We were a group of 12 people and they only brought 2 small glasses of each beer ( 5 types of beer in total) to do the tasting. They expect us to share 2 small glasses of beer between 12 ppl and there was no guidance for the tasting, plus we couldn’t hear the guy talking. It was very disappointing. Wouldn’t recommend it.
Written June 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Margaret
You are part of the same 14 person group that has already left a 1 star review about your experience. I'm sorry your group didn't enjoy the experience that we tailored for the requirements of your team.
To clarify your company asked for a Craft Beer AND Tapas Tour, and a special itinerary was agreed of one craft beer bar and two tapas bars. At the first tapas bar we decided on (which has a 4 star rating on Google and Tripadvisor) your team were enjoying yourself enough that your team leader decided to stay there, instead of moving on to the second tapas bar.
In other words the product you are reviewing, and the product we ran for your team - at your request - are different.
I believe that if your team had requested our Craft Beer Tour, you would have had a better experience, more in line with your expectations, but that is not what your team leader requested. So you comment "What they offer isn't what you get" is not really fair or accurate in this case.
Nonetheless, your team had 3-4 full drinks, 2 taster beers and an average of 8 tapas/pintxos per person (I'm not sure why you say you only ate 4... we can see the expenditure was on average 8 per head), which is better value for money than 95% of tours in Barcelona.
Overall, I think it's a shame that the lack of communication in your team meant you felt the need to leave this review just for the purpose of damaging our company, not knowing the full situation and the product that your team had specifically requested.
We will review how we work with companies in future to make sure that customer expectations and final products are better aligned.
Regards
Duncan
Written July 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Anna P
1 contribution
Sep 2018 • Friends
Three friends and myself did the tapas tour and got really disappointed. The tour was not well organised, starting with the guide who (as she admitted) did not know the district well. This resulted in us getting lost while looking for the tapas bars and also in not benefiting from a guided tour in the district as promised on the website. The places we visited were nice and quite authentic and the food was good (although not abundant) - so in that respect the tapas bars were well chosen. However, one of them was not open at the time when we arrived and was packed when we got back there, therefore we had to wait for some time to get seated. What was promised on the website regarding the sightseeing and the dishes we would enjoy was not the case in the end. We had fun because we were in good mood but overall it's not worth the cost!
Written September 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Anna
I'm very sorry our tapas tour did not meet your expectations.
Mariana is an experienced tour guide with excellent reviews and knows Barcelona exceptionally well, but I will ask her to familiarise herself more with the Gracia district and include more cultural information on the tour for next time. That was her first time leading this particular tour.
As for the tour not being organised to your satisfaction, I think your criticisms are related to the fact that we are an evening tour in a non-touristic part of the city. You might notice that 90% of other tapas tours in Barcelona take place in the afternoon. This way you can go to nearly empty bars, get a seat, eat the same dish at the same time as the previous tour customers, and everything is well-oiled and planned. We rather wanted to show people what a real night out in Barcelona is like, so our tour is more authentic I would say, but a bit less comfortable too, as we go out when the locals are eating so that our guests can experience the real flavour of an evening out in Barcelona with tapas. Also in the evening these restaurants don't take reservations, so yes sometimes we have to wait a little, or hustle for seats.
Maybe this was not the right tour for you, but hopefully your feedback helps other people make the right decision if this tour is for them. Certainly there are advantages to the taking one of the many afternoon tapas tours that exist in Barcelona, but we believe it's worth suffering a bit of chaos to enjoy tapas at the proper time in the local way, in genuinely local places. And that's the basis of our offer and what we do differently to the others.
Many thanks
Duncan
Written October 8, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Beth A
Norwalk, CT9 contributions
Sep 2017 • Couples
Really disappointed in this as I purchased it as a gift after a ton of research. The address took us over a block away and we were completely lost trying to find the station to meet our guide. We were the only two on the tour and the guide completely seemed annoyed/bored with us. I did most of the talking most of the time just so it wasn't awkward and we both just wanted it to end. He ordered tomato bread at each location which got very irritating. The food he picked was not interesting and he tended to make himself comfortable rather than choosing seats which better suited us. We felt we did better on our own.
Written September 19, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Beth
We're really sorry you didn't enjoy your tapas tour with us. Our tapas tour is supposed to be a fun social experience, but unfortunately we had some last minute cancellations the day of your tour meaning it was just the guide and you guys. In fact our guide was really surprised and upset about your comments as he thought you had all got on well, (he even ordered some special Catalan dishes for you that he doesn't normally order that he thought you'd appreciate), but I guess you felt the experience was awkward. Normally we don't run tours for just two people for that reason, but as I say the tour was planned for more people but last minute cancellations changed that.
Regarding your specific points, the meeting point that is made quite clear to our customers, so I don't know why you had troubles finding that.
Pan amb tomaquet is the most classic (albeit simple) dish of Barcelona, but I agree no need to order it more than once. I have spoken to our guides about that. On the larger tours we can order more dishes and share more tastes between more people, so again it's bad luck that this tour was reduced by cancellations.
Regarding the seating this is a cut and thrust tour to authentic and popular tapas bars, so we grab whatever's available (we try and time the visits so the bars are bustling but not overly congested, but we can't always control that). I think I'd advise any customers with any special seating needs to make that clear to the guide beforehand so they can try and accommodate you.
Overall we share your disappointment that this tour didn't meet your expectations and have tried to reach out to you via email regarding a partial refund, or a free visit next time you're in Barcelona. I really believe on another occasion with more people you'd see the experience in a different light.
Warm regards
Duncan
Written October 16, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Pau
Barcelona, Spain60 contributions
Jun 2019 • Business
We took the Craft Beer tour for a large group - totally not worth the money as you could just go to the first bar and make a great evening yourself (and with enough of beer and food - Garage Beer Bar is a great place and we could have just come there as regular guests and get more out of it).
The description of the tour on the website is not accurate:
1. We did not taste 5 beers - we received 2 small beers of 4 variation to taste from the SAME small glass. We ask for glasses and got warm glasses and a judging look from the guide. After this we could order ONE beer of those 4 types.
2. We did not get a tour of facilities nor talk to staff. No Brewery Tour.
3. "your expert guide, a Catalan brewer from the town of Caldes de Montbui" as stated on the website is also not true. The talks about the beers were plain and not engaging, just repeating information that could be found on flyers - it perhaps was also the fault of the set up as talking in a loud bar is not helping.
4. Website also states we would visit 3 bars - not true. After the "beer tasting" (if you can even call it like that) we were guided to "great tapas bar" - which is a pinchos place franchise next door, where the quality is not great. We only good have couple of the pinchos and a normal beer.
Completely not worth the money and your time, we were disappointed.
The description of the tour on the website is not accurate:
1. We did not taste 5 beers - we received 2 small beers of 4 variation to taste from the SAME small glass. We ask for glasses and got warm glasses and a judging look from the guide. After this we could order ONE beer of those 4 types.
2. We did not get a tour of facilities nor talk to staff. No Brewery Tour.
3. "your expert guide, a Catalan brewer from the town of Caldes de Montbui" as stated on the website is also not true. The talks about the beers were plain and not engaging, just repeating information that could be found on flyers - it perhaps was also the fault of the set up as talking in a loud bar is not helping.
4. Website also states we would visit 3 bars - not true. After the "beer tasting" (if you can even call it like that) we were guided to "great tapas bar" - which is a pinchos place franchise next door, where the quality is not great. We only good have couple of the pinchos and a normal beer.
Completely not worth the money and your time, we were disappointed.
Written June 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Pau
I'm sorry your group didn't enjoy the experience we tailored for the requirements of your team.
You asked for a Craft Beer AND Tapas Tour, and a special itinerary was agreed of one craft beer bar and two tapas bars. At the first tapas bar we decided on (which has a 4 star rating on Google and Tripadvisor) your team were enjoying yourself enough that your team leader decided to stay there, instead of moving on to the second tapas bar.
In other words the product you are reviewing, and the product we ran for your team - at your request - are different.
I believe that if your team had requested our Craft Beer Tour, you would have had a better experience, more in line with your expectations, but that is not what your team leader requested.
Nonetheless, your team had 3-4 full drinks, 2 taster beers and an average of 8 tapas/pintxos per person, which is better value for money than 95% of tours in Barcelona. In addition we gave your company a 10% discount as unfortunately we were not able to tour the brewery's premises on this occasion.
I think it's a shame that the lack of communication in your team meant you felt the need to leave this review just for the purpose of damaging our company, not knowing the full situation and the product that your team had specifically requested.
We will review how we work with companies in future to make sure that customer expectations and final products are better aligned.
Regards
Duncan
Written July 19, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RodBint
Leicester, UK188 contributions
Oct 2019
Arriving late due to the ongoing protests we opted to stay local to our hotel the first evening and wandered over the road to find this place.
We were made very welcome and our server (sorry, we forgot your name) was happy to explain and recommend dishes. The gambas pil-pil was as excellent as he said it would be. Nice beers and wines finished the evening and at a very affordable price too. Definitely worth a visit if in that area.
We were made very welcome and our server (sorry, we forgot your name) was happy to explain and recommend dishes. The gambas pil-pil was as excellent as he said it would be. Nice beers and wines finished the evening and at a very affordable price too. Definitely worth a visit if in that area.
Written October 17, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Debby H
Colleyville, TX78 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
After drinking Estrella beer at several restaurants in Barcelona, it was so fun to go with Jordi to Barcelona craft brew pubs. He was knowledgeable, very friendly and we are so glad we did this tour
Written June 27, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How long does it take to receive confirmation email?
Written November 1, 2016
Hi Lynne, If you book one of our regular departures online, you receive your confirmation right away.
If you book a private tour with a tailored departure then we need to check availability of our guides for your requested day and time first, but usually it does not take longer than one working day.
Written November 12, 2016
How do I contact you ? Where do we meet up ?
Written June 19, 2016
Hey Pete, best to email the booking office.
The meeting point is different depending on which of our three tours you're interested in. We offer a tapas tour, a craft beer tour and a local district bar crawl.
More info on our website. There is a link on our Tripadvisor profile (you can find it under the map, directly under our phone number on the right of the page. Sorry I can't link to it because of the Tripadvisor posting guidelines for posting answers to questions won't allow it for some reason. Nor can I link to the email but you can find it on the website).
Many thanks!
Slinky
Written June 20, 2016
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.