Patatas bravas
Fried potato cubes with a spicy paprika-based red sauce, sometimes with allioli too. The default tapa across Spain.
Patatas bravas are exactly what they sound like: chunks of potato fried until crisp outside and fluffy inside, served hot with a sharp red sauce called salsa brava. The sauce is the disputed bit. The Madrid original is paprika, flour, oil, vinegar and a little chilli — no tomato — finished orange-red and gently spicy. The Catalan version usually adds tomato and serves the potatoes with both bravas sauce and allioli on top, drawing white-and-red zigzags across the plate. Almost every bar in Spain serves them; the quality range is enormous, from frozen-bag-of-chips to slow-fried-three-times-in-duck-fat at the more obsessive places.
How it's served
On a small plate, sauce drizzled over the hot potatoes, eaten with a toothpick. Standard tapas-bar order, often alongside a beer or vermut. Best eaten within a minute of arriving; the potatoes go soggy fast.
Regional variation
The Madrid version uses a tomato-free salsa brava: pure paprika, oil, flour, vinegar and chilli. The Catalan and Barcelona version usually adds tomato to the bravas sauce and serves the potatoes with both sauces (brava + allioli). Some Madrid bars (like Las Bravas, which claims to have invented the dish) hold the no-tomato version as canon.
- Origin
- Madrid (traditional attribution)
- Etymology
- Bravo / brava means 'fierce' or 'angry' in Spanish, a reference to the spicy sauce.
Our ranked patatas bravas guides
The curated list of where to eat patatas bravas, ranked and reviewed.
Where to try it in Barcelona
18 restaurants on Guidavera mention patatas bravas in their kitchen description.
- A Pluma SantalóSarrià-Sant Gervasi
- Bar CórdobaL'Hospitalet de Llobregat
- Bar El Tomás de SarriàSarrià-Sant Gervasi
- Bar LoboEl Raval
- Casa LoleaEl Born
- El Drapaire de la Cervesa ArtesanaEl Raval
- El Pescadito de MandriSarrià-Sant Gervasi
- GatsEl Raval
- La Botiga (Pedralbes)Les Corts
- La Central BurgersGothic Quarter
- La Granota & CoSagrada Família
- La PepitaGràcia
- La PorcaPoble-sec
- La VermuGràcia
- MakinavajaEl Raval
- Tapas LobitoEl Born
- ToscaEl Born
- VarelaSarrià-Sant Gervasi
Frequently asked
What's in patatas bravas sauce?
The Madrid original (salsa brava) is paprika, flour, olive oil, vinegar, chilli and water, simmered into a smooth orange-red sauce. No tomato. The Catalan version adds tomato, and Barcelona bars usually serve the potatoes with bravas and allioli together, the white-and-red Spanish flag of the tapas world.
Are patatas bravas always spicy?
Mildly, by Spanish standards. Spanish food generally avoids heavy chilli, so 'spicy' here means a gentle warmth from paprika and a small pinch of cayenne, not a serious burn. Some Madrid bars do push the heat; most Catalan versions are barely spicy at all.
What's the difference between Madrid and Catalan patatas bravas?
Madrid: salsa brava only, no tomato, no allioli, slightly hotter. Catalonia: bravas sauce with tomato, served with allioli on top in a zigzag pattern. Both are common in Barcelona. Asking for 'just bravas, no allioli' will get you the Madrid style.
Related terms
- TapaA small plate of food, usually eaten standing at the bar with a drink. The foundational social-eating format of Spain.
- AllioliPungent Catalan emulsion of garlic and olive oil. Traditionally no egg. Eaten with grilled meats, paella and fish.
- VermutAromatized fortified wine. In Barcelona it doubles as a midday social ritual: a glass of vermouth on tap, an olive, a snack, around noon.
- Caracoles a la madrileñaSnails simmered in a spicy, smoky sauce of chorizo, ham and pimentón — an old taberna ritual eaten with toothpicks and plenty of bread.