Spanish food and tapas

Spanish food in Palo Alto comes down to one restaurant, one small market and a handful of places that borrow the tapas habit of ordering small plates for the table. That sounds thin, but the one restaurant is a serious Catalan kitchen with an open hearth for paella and a list of more than 200 Spanish wines. Add a Cuban rum bar on California Avenue that has served small plates since 1997 and two Peninsula tapas restaurants within a half hour's drive and you have enough for a good Spanish night out.

This guide covers the places we confirmed in late 2026. Names in Palo Alto link to their pages in our business directory, with hours and sources. For Latin American cooking more broadly, see our guide to Mexican and Latin American food.

Telefèric Barcelona at Town & Country Village

Telefèric Barcelona is the city's only full Spanish restaurant. It belongs to a group founded in 1992 by the Padrosa family in Sant Cugat del Vallès, a town just outside Barcelona. The Palo Alto restaurant opened in 2019 at Town & Country Village, the open-air center on El Camino Real across from Stanford and Palo Alto High School. The room has an open kitchen and a patio that faces the center.

Paella and tapas

Paella is the main event. The restaurant says it makes its paellas with bomba rice from Valencia and saffron from La Mancha. The Palo Alto page lists a lobster paella with shrimp and octopus, a black paella made with squid ink, a mixta with pork belly, chicken and shrimp, an all-pork ibérico paella and a fully plant-based veggie paella with shiitake mushrooms and Piquillo peppers. Each is cooked to order, so expect a wait and plan on sharing.

Tapas fill out the table. Popular dishes listed on the restaurant's page include patatas bravas, pan con tomate, grilled Spanish octopus with potato cream and crab croquetas. The kitchen hand-carves jamón ibérico de bellota, the acorn-fed ham of western Spain. The restaurant suggests three tapas per person for a light meal or four for a full one. For a set meal, its Taste of Barcelona menu brings nine tapas and a dessert, with no group minimum.

Hours, wine and booking

Telefèric is open every day from late morning into the evening, from 11:30 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends. Happy hour runs Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. The wine list was chosen by Catalan sommeliers and stays almost entirely Spanish, so it is a good place to try Spanish wines you may not see elsewhere in town. Reservations go through OpenTable from the restaurant's Palo Alto page. Parking in the center's lots is free.

El Merkat: a Spanish pantry next door

Right beside the restaurant, El Merkat is Telefèric's own small market. It sells imported Spanish olive oils, Manchego and other cheeses, ibérico ham and conservas, the tinned seafood that Spanish tapas bars serve straight from the can. It also sells paella kits built around the same bomba rice and saffron the kitchen uses. Foods and Wines from Spain, the Spanish trade promotion program, lists it among its certified colmados, the word for a neighborhood grocery in Spain.

El Merkat is a shop rather than a cafe. It makes sense as a stop on the way out of dinner or as a source of food gifts. A tin of good conservas and a wedge of Manchego make an easy tapas spread at home. Add bread and olives and you have a picnic for a nearby park.

Cuban small plates on California Avenue

Cuban food is not Spanish food, but it shares a lot of DNA, from croquetas to paella-style rice. La Bodeguita del Medio at 463 South California Avenue has been a Cuban-inspired restaurant and rum bar since 1997. It takes its name from the Havana bar of the same name.

The menu suits a tapas-style meal. Starters include pork empanadas, platanos maduros, potato croquetas, crispy yuca, shrimp ceviche and mariquitas plantain chips. Family-style dishes for two or three include a paella Cubana. The wine list includes Spanish bottles and the draft beer includes Estrella Galicia. The restaurant opens at noon Tuesday through Saturday and serves through the afternoon, with Cuban Social Hours from noon to 5 p.m. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Several dishes are labeled vegan, including the crispy yuca and black bean soup.

Other places for small plates and Spanish flavors

• The Wine Room, 520 Ramona Street. A downtown wine bar open from 4 p.m. to midnight every day. Its plates to share include a Spanish plate with Manchego and prosciutto, cheese and charcuterie and beef empanadas. It is the late-night answer when Telefèric's kitchen has closed.
• Dohatsuten Ramen & Tapas, San Antonio Road. The name can mislead. This is a Japanese ramen kitchen and izakaya. Its tapas are Japanese small plates such as karaage and gyoza. It is a good meal, just not a Spanish one.
• Protégé, 250 California Avenue. Not a Spanish restaurant, but chef Anthony Secviar trained in Spain, as a stagiaire at Akelare in San Sebastián and through the 2005 season at El Bulli, before his years at The French Laundry. Our fine dining guide covers how to book.

Tapas restaurants a short drive away

Two Peninsula restaurants are worth the drive if you want a second Spanish or tapas option.

Iberia, Belmont

Iberia calls itself a source of Iberian dining, tapas and cocktails on the Peninsula since 1984. Chef and owner Jose Luis Relinque now runs it at 740 El Camino Real in Belmont, about 15 miles north of downtown Palo Alto. Its hours page lists dinner Tuesday through Sunday, Saturday lunch and a Vermut Hour happy hour Tuesday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. Paella lunches on weekdays are for groups of 12 or more by reservation. The restaurant also runs Pintxos and Paella nights, cooking classes and a takeout menu.

LV Mar, Redwood City

LV Mar at 2042 Broadway in downtown Redwood City is a tapas and cocktail restaurant from chef Manuel Martinez. Its tapas are Latin-inspired rather than strictly Spanish, with a focus on seafood and a cocktail list built around tequila and mezcal. It belongs to the same group as San Agus, the Mexican restaurant on Hamilton Avenue in Palo Alto. LV Mar lists lunch and brunch Thursday through Sunday and dinner from 3 p.m. Pair it with our guide to eating in Redwood City.

How to order a tapas meal

1. Start with bread and something cured. Pan con tomate and a few slices of jamón are the classic opening. They arrive fast and go with any drink.
2. Add fried and grilled plates. Patatas bravas, croquetas and grilled octopus round out the first wave.
3. Order paella early. It is cooked to order. Put it in with your first tapas so it lands as the small plates run out.
4. Share everything. Tapas are meant for the table. Ordering one plate each defeats the point.
5. Drink Spanish. Cava, a crisp Spanish white or a young red fit most tapas. Ask the server for a pairing if the list looks long.

Cooking Spanish at home

If you would rather cook, Palo Alto makes it easy. El Merkat's paella kits cover the hard-to-find parts. Spanish olive oil and conservas keep well. Fresh produce for a summer gazpacho or a winter stew comes from the city's two markets, covered in our farmers markets guide. For other specialty shops, see groceries and specialty food.

A few practical notes help. Use a wide, shallow pan for paella so the rice cooks in a thin layer. Do not stir once the stock goes in. Let the pan rest for a few minutes before serving so the rice finishes and the bottom crust, the socarrat, sets.

Planning a Spanish night out

For a simple plan, book Telefèric for an early dinner, browse El Merkat on the way out and finish with a glass downtown. For a Cal Ave evening, start with Cuban Social Hours at La Bodeguita and walk to the California Avenue bars after. Visitors who want a guided taste of the wider region can compare Bay Area food tours, most of which start in San Francisco.

Spanish restaurants come and go on the Peninsula. Check each restaurant's site for current hours before you drive, especially for Iberia's group lunches and LV Mar's weekday schedule.

Frequently asked questions