Good to see you settling well in Spain. We have some local tapas restaurants, but we didnt go yet. Its not really a child-friendly place so it makes it difficult and with limited time for just me and my wife to go out we didnt make it yet.
How are the prices for eating out? I found it quite pricey depending where you went.
The child-friendly place is important because we too have experienced quite a few times that there was literally nothing on the menu that she wanted to eat. She's a fussy eater, so that doesn't help either. Usually, they have some sort of chicken nuggets or something similar with potatoes or chicken curry but lately, it has become harder to get her to eat something, that's also a reason that I'm a bit done with eating elsewhere. It's shit if you go out for a relaxed evening and then have a complaining child for hours, especially not when you get the bill and realize we should have stayed home :)
The prices really depend, there are a few restaurants that have this concept where you scan the QR code and just order tapas or bigger dishes. Having a beer or other drink that usually gives you the right to a tapa isn't needed there, which is great as I usually drink water myself. They have quite some dishes for just 2 euro to 4-5 that are worth it so with a few each you'd have enough to eat and have a lower bill than when you order a big plate with any kind of meat or fish.
The thing is, lately the portions have come down in size, and these restaurants often only have part of the menu available where they had everything during summer. This is something you will find out when already there and it's not that great if you only really want to eat 3-4 things off the menu tops and 2 of them aren't available. We had plenty of evenings where we just paid 25 to 35 euros and had a great evening and enough food with the 3 of us. But we also had some surprises where we only liked a bigger plate and had to pay 3x as much. I try to avoid that though and aim for a few tapas mostly. I preferred having the option to do it more often over having 1 fancy dinner elsewhere because it was nice to be out at night during the hot summer months.
Where were you in Spain if I may ask? I think it differs a lot where you are, we are at the cost in the south, I think in the Barcelona area you will pay a lot more, but that's my guess.
!CTP
Thats good to know and you are right. Also the smaller kids need some playground or activities to keep them busy.
We were on the coast by Alicante. Some of the beach restaurants were pricey I thought for a cheap lunch and sangria, but some of the longer termers knew the best places with good deals so there was a good balance to be had.
!CTP
Yeah having a playground is ideal but we have not seen many restaurants here with a playground. Lately, it means we let her do some educational apps on the phone so we can eat in peace, lol.
I think the Alicante area is also quite expensive compared to here, but that's only from hear-say as I've never been up there in Spain. We will start exploring those areas once we have a car though, as I want to compare it myself, of course.
I admit that we have enjoyed a lot of tapas and restaurant visits since we arrived in June but it was a bit of catching up as we spend most of the months before due to prepping the emigration, sorting things, working our butts off etc. And it can be quite challenging having to work with 40 degrees all day, it really makes you want to leave the house at night and as everyone is eating late here, you simply start adjusting to that schedule slowly.
But playtime has come to an end with the kid attending school probably from Tuesday, getting back into full work mode during school hours, and also meal prepping again. Time to start saving these euros instead of spending them too often, lol.
!CTP
Haha I feel you. Keep up the great work and looking forward to seeing more posts.!CTP