Aioli (garlic and oil sauce)Spoon it beside the brava sauce and drag each potato through both.
Fried chistorra sausageCut the thin sausage into short lengths and scatter them over the plate.
Fried eggs broken over the topCut the eggs up at the table so the yolk runs into the potatoes.
Hot tapas for the same table 8
Blistered Padrón peppersFry them whole, salt them well and pick them up by the stem.
Croquettes (croquetas)Serve them hot, a couple for each person, with nothing on top.
Fried baby squid (chopitos)Pile them on a plate with a lemon half to squeeze over.
Galician-style octopus with paprikaSlice it onto a board and finish it with olive oil and coarse salt.
Garlic shrimp (gambas al ajillo)Bring them sizzling in their dish, with bread for the oil.
Pinchos (toppings on bread, held with a stick)Set out a tray and let everyone take the ones they like.
Small turnovers (empanadillas)Stack them warm on a napkin so they can be eaten in the hand.
Tiger mussels (mejillones tigre)Hand them round on the half shell while the crumb is still crisp.
Cold tapas 15
A slice of Galician empanadaCut the pie into small squares and serve it warm or cold.
Ajoblanco (cold almond soup)Serve it well chilled with a few grapes dropped in.
Almogrote on toastSpread the cheese and pepper paste on small toasts.
Bread with tomato (pan con tomate)Rub the toast with tomato at the last minute so it stays crisp.
Fish in escabeche (cooked, then marinated)Lift it cold from its marinade and put bread beside it.
Fuet (thin dry sausage)Slice it on the slant and let people help themselves.
Manchego cheeseCut thin wedges and leave them out of the fridge before the meal.
Mixed olivesPut out a small bowl, and a second one for the stones.
Pickle skewers (banderillas)Eat one between forkfuls of potato for a sharp bite.
Salmorejo (thick cold tomato soup)Pour it into small cups and top each with chopped egg and ham.
Salt cod salad (esqueixada)Dress it with olive oil and bring it out cold.
Salt-cured tuna (mojama)Slice it very thin and add olive oil and a few almonds.
Savoury coca (flat pastry with toppings)Slice it into strips that can be picked up in one hand.
Serrano hamFan thin slices on a plate and let them lose their chill.
Spanish omelette (tortilla de patatas)Cut it into small squares and serve it at room temperature.
Main dishes to serve them beside 3
Grilled steakRest the steak, slice it and let the juices run toward the potatoes.
Roast chickenCarve it at the table and pass the potatoes in place of fries.
Sausage with beans (botifarra amb mongetes)Grill the sausage whole and spoon the beans alongside.
Something sweet after 6
Almond cake (tarta de Santiago)Cut thin wedges and dust them with sugar.
Chocolate-coated almonds (catànies)Put a small dish of them on the table with the coffee.
Churros with hot chocolateDip each churro in the thick chocolate while both are hot.
Crema catalanaCrack the caramel top with the back of a spoon.
Curd with honey and walnuts (cuajada)Spoon honey over the cold curd and scatter the nuts.
Turrón (almond nougat)Break it into small pieces to pass round with coffee.
Drinks 2
Leche merengada (iced cinnamon milk)Serve it half frozen in a tall glass with cinnamon on top.
Tiger nut horchataPour it very cold, straight from the fridge.
How it works
What to eat with patatas bravas depends on the table. In Spain the fried potatoes are a tapa, one small plate among several. These 37 ideas cover sauces, hot and cold tapas, main dishes, sweets and drinks.
Read the full guide
What do you eat with patatas bravas?
Other tapas, most often. Patatas bravas are cubes of fried potato served hot with a spicy sauce, and tapas are the appetisers and snacks that can be combined into a full meal. Some are cold, such as mixed olives and cheese, and some are hot, such as fried baby squid.
Build the table around them
The potatoes are hot, soft and spicy, so put cool and sharp plates beside them. A Spanish omelette is often served at room temperature, which means it can wait on the table. Padrón peppers are fried until the skin blisters, then salted. Most taste mild, but some are hot.
Bring the potatoes out last. The longer they sit under the sauce, the softer they get.
Balance the table: one fried plate, one cold plate and one from the sea.
Questions and answers
What tapas go with patatas bravas?
Set them beside a Spanish omelette, bread with tomato, blistered Padrón peppers, garlic shrimp and croquettes. Manchego cheese, serrano ham and a bowl of olives fill the cold side of the table.
What sauce goes with patatas bravas?
The potatoes come with their own brava sauce, which is built on paprika and olive oil. Aioli, a cold garlic and olive oil sauce made in eastern Spain, is the cooling one to set beside it.
What main dish goes with patatas bravas?
Grilled steak or roast chicken, with the potatoes in place of fries. For a Catalan plate, grill a botifarra sausage and add beans. Fried eggs broken over the potatoes make them a main dish on their own.
What do you drink with patatas bravas?
Without alcohol: tiger nut horchata, a drink of the Valencian Community made from tiger nuts, water and sugar, or leche merengada, milk and egg whites with sugar and cinnamon, served so cold that it is partly frozen.