Dish guides
What are patatas bravas?
Patatas bravas are chunks of potato fried until crisp and served with salsa brava, a spicy sauce built on Spanish paprika. Many bars add alioli (garlic mayonnaise) as well. They're one of the most common tapas in Spain, listed under tapas or raciones, and meant for sharing.
- At a glance
- Patatas bravas
- Fried potato chunks with a spicy paprika sauce, a staple tapa across Spain.
- Pronunciation
- Say it like pah-TAH-tahs BRAH-vahs · IPA /paˈtatas ˈβɾaβas/
- Also written as
- bravas, papas bravas, patates braves, patatas a la brava, bravas mixtas, patatas bravas con alioli
What’s in it
Core ingredients
- potatoes
- olive or sunflower oil for frying
- salsa brava: pimentón (sweet, smoked or hot paprika), oil and chilli
Often added
- alioli or garlic mayonnaise
- tomato in the sauce
- flour or stock to thicken the sauce
- vinegar or white wine in the sauce
- chopped parsley
Allergens
| Allergen | How likely |
|---|---|
| Eggs | Often contains |
| Gluten | Sometimes contains |
| Sulphites | Sometimes contains |
| Mustard | Sometimes contains |
| Dairy | Rarely contains |
| Peanuts | Rarely contains |
| Tree nuts | Rarely contains |
| Shellfish | Rarely contains |
| Fish | Rarely contains |
| Soy | Rarely contains |
| Sesame | Rarely contains |
| Diet | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Vegetarian | Usually — No meat in the dish itself, but some brava sauces are made with chicken stock and the fryer is often shared with meat and fish. |
| Vegan | Depends — The potatoes and a plain brava sauce are plant-based, but the alioli served in most bars is made like mayonnaise, with egg. Ask for them without alioli (sin alioli). |
| Pescatarian | Usually |
| Halal | Usually — No pork or alcohol in a standard recipe, but the fryer is often shared with ham croquetas and other pork products, and some sauces use wine or chicken stock. |
| Kosher | Depends — There's no meat in the dish, but bars in Spain are rarely kosher-certified and the fryer is often shared. |
| Gluten-free | Depends — Potatoes are gluten-free, but some brava sauces are thickened with flour and the fryer is often shared with breaded food such as croquetas. |
Allergen and calorie details are AI estimates based on the menu and typical recipes. They can be incomplete — if you have a serious allergy, always check with the staff.
Potatoes and the brava sauce
The potatoes are cut into irregular chunks and usually fried twice, so they're soft inside and crisp outside. What makes them bravas ("fierce") is the sauce. There's no single recipe. In Madrid, salsa brava is typically a reddish sauce of oil, sweet and hot pimentón and chilli, sometimes thickened with a little flour or stock. Elsewhere it may be tomato-based, closer to a spicy ketchup.
In Catalonia and Valencia, bravas often come with both brava sauce and alioli, a combination sometimes called bravas mixtas. Some bars squeeze both sauces over the top in stripes; others serve them on the side. The heat level varies a lot: some are barely warm, others properly hot.
Typical price
Median price 7.5 EUR
Typical range 4.5–10 EUR.
Median of 51 menus, 2025-04 – 2026-04. Basis: Spanish-language menus scanned with MenuGuide.
How to order it
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Una ración de bravas, por favor. | A portion of patatas bravas, please. |
| ¿Pican mucho? | Are they very spicy? |
| ¿La salsa lleva huevo o harina? | Does the sauce contain egg or flour? |
Not to be confused with
- Patatas alioli — Boiled or fried potatoes in garlic mayonnaise, with no spicy sauce.
- Patatas a lo pobre — Slow-fried sliced potatoes with onion and green pepper, usually a side dish.
- Papas arrugadas — Small Canarian potatoes boiled in salty water, served with mojo sauces.
Frequently asked questions
Are patatas bravas spicy?
Usually mildly to moderately spicy. The brava sauce gets its heat from hot paprika and chilli, but bars vary a lot: some versions are hardly hot at all, while others are quite fiery. If you're sensitive to heat, ask "¿Pican mucho?" (Are they very spicy?) or ask for the sauce on the side (la salsa aparte).
Are patatas bravas vegan?
Sometimes. The fried potatoes and a simple brava sauce of oil, paprika and chilli are plant-based. But many bars add alioli, which in restaurants is normally made with egg like a mayonnaise, and some brava sauces use chicken stock. Ask for them without alioli and check what's in the sauce.
Are patatas bravas gluten free?
Often, but not reliably. Potatoes don't contain gluten, yet some cooks thicken the brava sauce with wheat flour, and bars commonly fry bravas in the same oil as croquetas and battered squid. If you need to avoid gluten strictly, ask whether the sauce has flour (harina) and whether the fryer is shared.
What's the difference between bravas and alioli potatoes?
Patatas bravas come with a spicy paprika-based sauce, sometimes with alioli on top as well. Patatas alioli (or patatas all i oli) are potatoes coated in garlic mayonnaise with no spicy sauce. The alioli version is creamy and garlicky rather than hot, and it almost always contains egg.
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