Gastrobar

In the 1990s, establishments began to pop up all over Spain offering miniature food to accompany drinks. They modeled themselves on the extensive and meticulous menus of Ferran Adrià's reinvented haute cuisine. As Rafael Ansón, President of the Spanish Royal Academy of Gastronomy, points out, "Tapas have evolved in two ways. In one sense, they have become miniature meals: you no longer need to hold the food in one hand and a glass in the other. Now, you can have a small pot or a small amount. In another sense, you can now enjoy a whole meal of intricate tapas—they are no longer mere appetizers."