The original Calle Navas tapas bar that built Granada’s free-tapa-with-drink reputation. Open since 1942. Standing room only in the original location.
Quick Facts
| ADDRESS | Calle Navas 28, 18009 Granada |
| NEIGHBOURHOOD | Realejo–San Matías, on Calle Navas |
| HOURS | Tue–Sat 13:00–16:00 and 20:00–23:30 (verify holiday hours) |
| PRICE | Tapa free with each drink; raciones €8–14 |
| RESERVATIONS | No reservations — walk-in standing-room bar (other locations of the chain take bookings) |
| CUISINE | Traditional Granadino tapas, fried fish |
| GOOD FOR | Tapas crawl, casual lunch, cañas with friends |
| NOTABLE | Opened 1942 — the original of a small Granada chain and a benchmark for the city’s free-tapa tradition |
The Calle Navas standard
Calle Navas is Granada’s tapa street — six blocks of bars, mostly stand-up, mostly traditional, that the locals walk on a Friday night the way Sevillanos walk Triana. Bar Los Diamantes has been the Calle Navas reference since 1942. The original location at number 28 is the smallest and the loudest — no tables, a single bar, fried fish under glass at one end and a beer tap that does not stop. Standing room only.
How the free-tapa tradition works
Granada is one of the few Spanish cities where ordering a drink at a traditional bar still earns you a free tapa, no menu, no choice. Bar Los Diamantes is the city’s showcase for this: a caña of beer is €2.50, and it arrives with a small plate of whatever the kitchen feels like sending — fried calamari, fried anchovies, fried squid, fried chocos (cuttlefish). Order a second drink, get a different tapa. Three drinks gets you fed.
What to order
If you want more than the free tapa, the menu is built around fritura andaluza — Andalusian fried-fish platter — and the boquerones, both of which are excellent at the price. Drink Cruzcampo on tap, or a glass of Manzanilla if you want to be regional. Avoid the fancier sit-down dishes; this is a fried-fish bar and the kitchen knows it.
Honest verdict
Standing-room tapas at a bar that has not changed since the war is genuinely the right introduction to Granada’s drinking culture. There are now five Diamantes locations across the city, and they are bigger and seated; this one is the original and the best. Stand at the counter. Three cañas, three free tapas, twenty minutes.
Practical
How to book: Walk-in only at Calle Navas 28. Other branches (Plaza Nueva, San Antón) take bookings.
How to get there: Calle Navas runs off Puerta Real — 5-minute walk from the cathedral.
If you only have one visit: Caña of Cruzcampo + free tapa, repeated three times, standing at the bar.
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