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International Tapas Day Torrevieja 2026 – €3.50 Tapas & Drinks
Fancy spending a Saturday wandering around Torrevieja eating tapas and having a drink or two?
Well, International Tapas Day Torrevieja 2026 takes place on Saturday 26 September, and this year 11 bars and restaurants are taking part.
And there’s one particularly important number:
€3.50.
That’s the price for a tapa AND a drink at participating venues.
Yes, you read that correctly.
In 2026, when €3.50 can occasionally feel like the starting price for somebody to bring you an empty plate and explain that it’s artisanal, Torrevieja is offering food and a drink for it. We did the 2024 event, but sadly last year we had already been booked in for something else.
We’ll take that.
International Tapas Day Torrevieja 2026
This is the tenth edition of International Tapas Day in Torrevieja, organised by the Torrevieja Hospitality Association.
The idea is simple enough.
Choose a participating bar or restaurant, try their special tapa, have a drink and then wander off to the next one.
Or stay where you are and order the second tapa.
Nobody said this had to become an endurance event.
The important details
Date: Saturday 26 September 2026
Price: €3.50 for a tapa and drink
Participating venues: 11
Edition: 10th
Opening times can vary between the individual establishments, so it’s worth checking directly with anywhere you’re particularly determined to visit.
What’s On The Tapas Menu?
If you like tuna, you’re going to have a particularly good day.
Tuna features heavily across this year’s offerings, but there’s also rice, seafood, meat, cheese, artichokes and several other choices.
And we’re not talking about somebody opening a tin of tuna and sticking it on a slice of bread either.
There are some seriously interesting-sounding tapas on the list.
Bianco Sea Club
Paseo Vistalegre, s/n, Torrevieja
They’re offering:
Crispy pig’s ear toast with tuna tartare, chipotle emulsion, avocado mousse and ponzu.
Or:
Mini brioche with raw cuttlefish, piparra pepper aioli and confit leek.
We’re starting strongly here.
There’s certainly no “slice of baguette with something unidentified balanced on top” approach going on.
La Cantina Food & Drinks
Paseo Juan Aparicio, 4, Torrevieja
Two considerably easier choices to remember after you’ve visited a few establishments:
Tuna tataki
or
Arroz a banda.
The arroz a banda could be particularly tempting if you fancy something a little more substantial along the way.
Jax Torrevieja
Calle La Loma, 9, Torrevieja
Here you’ve got:
Tuna tequeño
or
Mini Venezuelan tuna empanada.
A bit of Venezuelan influence joins the Torrevieja tapas trail.
The Food & Coffee Theater
Plaza Miguel Hernández, 2, Torrevieja
The choices here are:
Crispy puff pastry with tuna, fresh cheese, radishes and chives.
Or:
Creamy tuna, egg and gherkin with yoghurt.
Again, tuna is very much having its moment.
Crescent Moon Gastrobar
Avenida Desiderio Rodríguez, 3, Torrevieja
You can choose between:
Fake cannelloni of fresh tuna with avocado cream, lime and sesame.
Or:
Charcoal-cooked confit artichoke stuffed with arroz del señoret.
The second one immediately caught my attention.
Not least because by this stage I might be starting to look suspiciously like a tuna myself.
HB Torrevieja Hostel/Restaurant
Calle Apolo, 45, corner of Calle Blasco Ibáñez, Torrevieja
Their two options are:
Crispy tuna tartare
or
Roasted chicken croquette with Cajun and chips.
Chicken!
The tuna resistance movement has begun.
Guest Restaurant Gastrobar
Calle del Mar, 29, Torrevieja
Here you’ll find:
Tuna cannelloni
or
Cheese crisp.
Nice and simple.
Martini’s Restaurant
Avenida Desiderio Rodríguez, 78, Torrevieja
The choices are:
Country tuna
or
Grouper fideuá.
If you’re unfamiliar with fideuá, think along similar lines to a paella-style dish, but traditionally made using noodles rather than rice.
And it’s one of those dishes that really deserves more attention from visitors to this part of Spain.
El Rincón Restaurant – La Mata
The tapas trail isn’t confined entirely to central Torrevieja.
At El Rincón Restaurant on Calle Virgen del Carmen in La Mata, the choices are:
Tuna with onions
or
Clams in marinara sauce.
The clams would certainly tempt me away from yet another encounter with tuna.
Foodline La Mata
Avenida del Mediterráneo, corner of Calle La Sal, La Mata
They’re serving:
Tuna wave
or
Creole snack.
I have absolutely no idea what sort of wave the tuna is performing.
But for €3.50 including a drink, I’d be prepared to investigate.
Botanical Restaurant – Ciudad Quesada
There’s also a participating venue a little farther afield.
Botanical Restaurant, Avenida Antonio Quesada, 53, Ciudad Quesada, Rojales
Their choices are:
Red tuna tartare on Andalusian salad
or
Artichokes with romesco sauce.
So anyone around Quesada doesn’t necessarily have to head right into Torrevieja to join in.
Which Tapas Would We Choose?
There’s actually a decent variety here once you get beyond the obvious conclusion that Torrevieja may have purchased Europe’s entire tuna supply for the weekend.
The charcoal-cooked artichoke stuffed with arroz del señoret sounds interesting.
So does the grouper fideuá.
The clams in marinara sauce would probably get a look in.
And crispy pig’s ear with tuna tartare sounds sufficiently unusual that I’d probably have to try it simply to find out whether it works.
That’s half the fun of these tapas events.
You order things you probably wouldn’t normally choose from a full restaurant menu.
If you love it, brilliant.
If you don’t?
You’ve spent €3.50 and you’ve still got the drink.
Hardly catastrophic.
Tuna Is The Star Of The Show
There’s a reason you’ll notice tuna appearing on every participating restaurant’s tapas selection. As a condition of taking part in International Tapas Day, each establishment must create a special “Makro Tapa” with tuna as its main ingredient. Makro, the official supplier for the event, is providing every participating establishment with 8kg of skinless and boneless yellowfin tuna loin from producer PETACA CHICO, completely free of charge – supplied as two vacuum-packed pieces of roughly 4kg each.
So if you’re wondering why tuna is absolutely everywhere on this year’s tapas trail, there’s your answer. The interesting part is seeing how 11 different kitchens take the same main ingredient and turn it into something completely different – from tartare and tataki to cannelloni, tequeños and empanadas. In other words, if you don’t like tuna… this may not be the tapas event you’ve been waiting all year for.
A Good Excuse To Discover Somewhere New
That’s what I like about events like International Tapas Day.
It’s not simply about getting inexpensive tapas.
It gives you an excuse to try bars and restaurants you’ve perhaps walked past dozens of times without ever going inside.
Pick four or five venues.
Have a wander around Torrevieja.
Try something different.
Find somewhere new that you might return to for a proper meal.
And hopefully enjoy a bit of sunshine along the way.
Although I’m making absolutely no promises about that last bit.
Will You Be Doing The Torrevieja Tapas Trail?
International Tapas Day Torrevieja 2026 takes place on Saturday 26 September, with 11 participating bars and restaurants offering a tapa and drink for €3.50.
With venues in Torrevieja, La Mata and Ciudad Quesada, there’s plenty to choose from.
The difficult part isn’t finding somewhere to go.
It’s deciding how many €3.50 tapas constitute “trying the event” before it officially becomes an all-day session.
Are you going?
And looking through the tapas above…
Which one would be your first choice?