Bar Restaurante Los Portales

Bar Restaurante Los Portales is the archetypal Spanish plaza bar elevated to a genuine local institution. Positioned on the corner of Plaza España — Mérida's main square — beneath the arcade that defines the space, it serves as the daily gathering point for a cross-section of the city ranging from retired locals nursing morning coffees to tourists who have discovered the simple pleasure of a cold beer and a plate of tapas with the best view in town. The food is a faithful representation of the affordable end of Extremaduran bar cooking: the pringá tapa, made from the fatty off-cuts of a slow-cooked stew spread on toasted bread, is hearty and deeply flavoured. Migas con chorizo, the breadcrumb-and-sausage preparation that appears across Extremadura, arrives without ceremony and at a price that makes it one of the region's best-value introductions to local food. The menú del día, available at lunch for around €10, typically includes a starter, main course, bread, wine or water and dessert — an offering that represents perhaps the single best-value sit-down meal in central Mérida. The dining room extends back from the bar into a more formal restaurant space, though most activity clusters at the counter and the outdoor tables on the plaza. Service is rapid and efficient in the manner of a genuinely busy Spanish bar-restaurant. The location directly facing the Plaza España means it catches passing tourists and dedicated locals in equal measure, and the resulting atmosphere is unpretentious, animated and entirely enjoyable. No reservations are accepted.