If you're looking for the best Spanish tapas in NYC, you've got to try Mercado Little Spain. This Hudson Yards megaplex is a food and wine lover's playground, with several cafes, bars, tapas restaurants, and markets all paying homage to Spain in one place.
If a trip to Spain is not quite in the cards at the moment, but you're craving the vibrant Spanish food scene, then a trip to Mercado Little Spain in New York City might be the next best thing stateside.
Mercado Little Spain is a bustling food market from celebrity chef José Andrés, chef Albert Adrià, and chef Ferran Adrià. Chef José Andrés is a successful restauranteur of arguably some of the best restaurants in the world. He is reportedly the only chef globally that has both a restaurant with two Michelin stars and also four restaurants with Bib Gourmands. He is also a TV show host, and cookbook author, as well as founder of World Central Kitchen.
The Adrià brothers worked at the legendary el Bulli, known for its unique dishes and avant-garde cuisine. Little Spain is a sprawling homage to the beautiful home country for all three chefs.
Located in the ground level of New York's Hudson Yards, the excitement builds as you ride the escalators underground.
An "Hola Amigos" mural welcomes you into the 37,000-square foot space.
Then you round the corner and descend into the food market, with larger-than-life, pop art-esque statues of the three owners greet you.
Jump to:
Little Spain vibe
Even though you're below ground, Little Spain is bright, vibrant, and warm. The bold yellow and red colors of Spain are woven throughout the entire space.
In essence, the market is a square, with Spanish restaurants, bars, shops, bakeries, and little markets lining the perimeter. Then seating areas, along with more restaurants and bars, make up the middle space.
I suggest you take a walk around Little Spain first. This helps you get your bearings of where things are, and see all that is available, before deciding where to land.
🦐 Little Spain restaurants
There are four main restaurants within Little Spain: La Barra (pictured above), Leña, Mar, and Spanish Diner.
Each restaurant has a slightly different focus on Spanish cuisine.
- La Barra - offering some of the best Spanish tapas in NYC. The tapas bar menu features some regional favorite pintxos (traditional small plates).
- Spanish Diner - an outdoor restaurant under the High Line that serves big plates of traditional Spanish fare. Egg dishes are a specialty here. You'll find classic Spanish dishes like tortilla española, huevos estrellados, and huevos revueltos
- Leña - a grill-focused restaurant with a slightly more formal dining room compared to the other restaurants. It features the asadores and steakhouses of the Basque Country and Asturias. Nearly everything on the menu is cooked over fire.
- Mar - As the name suggests, Mar is a seafood-focused restaurant. You'll find some beloved seafood dishes from all over Spain here.
🍷 Little Spain bars
There are two main bars within Little Spain: Vinos and Bar Celona.
Vinos is a great place to enjoy a glass of wine. This wine bar offers an extensive wine list, with wines available by the glass as well as by the bottle. The list highlights the diverse and beautiful Spanish wines, as well as sherries.
Bar Celona (like Barcelona) features specialty cocktails and sangrias. And if you're hungry, Bar Celona also offer some tapas to satisfy those small bite cravings.
🥐 Little Spain kiosks
If you just want to grab a snack or two, Little Spain has several kiosks serving specialty Spanish items.
It's hard to resist the Spanish favorite: Churros. You'll find a variety of churros at this kiosk. Be sure to enjoy some churros with a hot chocolate!
Jamon y Queso offers famous Spanish Iberico ham, along with other cured meats and cheeses.
Manolo is a lively coffee shop. In addition to Spanish coffees, you'll also find the classic Spanish sweet treat known as pallettes and pressed sandwiches known as mollettes.
In addition, you'll find a kiosk offering the iconic Tortillas de Patatas (Spanish omelette), Bravas (spicy fried potatoes), and Paella (a hearty seafood rice dish).
🛍️ Little Spain shops
In addition to all of the wonderful food and beverages at Little Spain, you'll also be able to buy some traditional Spanish goods at one of several shops.
From gourmet gift boxes to tableware to Spanish pantry favorites, this is the perfect spot to grab items for your Spanish tapas home party. Or create your own gift box of Spanish goodies for friends and family.
Shop for Spanish olive oil, chocolates, dry meats, canned Spanish razor clams, and more.
🍽 Lunchtime
My husband and I were at Mercado Little Spain during lunchtime. We're preparing for a trip to San Sebastian, Spain, and we were craving Basque food at a good tapas spot.
So we stopped at La Barra for a light lunch, but sat at Vinos. We had the best of both worlds: a great glass of red wine and an Albariño, and the best tapas!
Of course, you must order the Patatas Bravas ($14). These little potato bites are fried to crispy perfection. Then they're topped with a spicy salsa brava and creamy aioli. So good!
I was tempted to get the seafood paella, but thought it might be too large of a portion for our light lunch. So we opted for another one of my favorite Spanish tapas: Gambas Al Ajillo ($19).
Red shrimps are cooked confit with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, chili, bay leaf and Oloroso wine. The garlic shrimp were cooked just right, and the sauce was garlicky, warm, and irresistible.
We also enjoyed some Gazpacho ($7) and Albondigas ($19).
The Gazpacho was a traditional cold tomato puree soup served with tiny croutons. Very refreshing and full of flavor.
Albondigas are traditional Spanish pork meatballs, and they were served with fried potatoes in a rich sauce.
✨ Restaurant FAQs
There is no dress code. It's very casual, so come as you are!
Absolutely! Little Spain is very kid-friendly and family-friendly.
Reservations are not required. However, I recommend making dinner reservations for some of the sit-down restaurants, especially during busy seasons.
Yes. You'll find a lot of seafood and meat focused dishes here, but I did see a few different vegetarian and vegan options.
While most of the food market is located indoors on the bottom level of Hudson Yards, there is some outdoor space. The Spanish Diner is located outside under the High Line.
Mercado Little Spain
I absolutely love Mercado Little Spain, and cannot wait to return on future New York travels. It's one of my favorite places for families to visit in NYC. It's great for groups, because you can order from different places and sit together in the general seating. But it's also a fun date night!
Mercado Little Spain
10 Hudson Yards, New York, New York 10001
HOURS: each bar, restaurant, kiosk, shop has its own hours, so be sure to check the Little Spain website for the most up-to-date information.
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