Show only or tapas at the tablao

The two tickets side by side

El Mentidero sells a single performance in two forms. The first ticket covers the show alone, with neither dinner nor drinks. The second pairs the same show with a tasting menu of Spanish tapas, and drinks stay extra. Each is booked against a date and start time, each carries the same refund terms, and each can be held now and settled later. The only difference is a meal, so the decision usually turns on where you want to eat and how long you want to be out.

• Show only: the performance
• Show and tapas: the performance and a tasting menu
• Drinks: not included with either
• Cancellation: up to 24 hours before

What show only includes

The show-only ticket pays for the performance. The booking page describes singers, guitarists and dancers, a hall where each seat has a clear line to the stage, and a ticket that covers the performance only, with no dinner or drinks. That makes it the lighter option, and the better one if you have already eaten, if you plan to find something to eat nearby, or if you simply want to keep the evening short. You can still order drinks at the venue; they are bought separately, as they are with the tapas ticket. Wikipedia says drinks are served at tablaos, so expect to be offered some.

What the tapas menu adds

The second ticket adds a tasting menu of traditional Spanish tapas to the show. The booking page calls it a full dinner with an exclusive tasting menu, and describes tables close to the stage in a premium area for those who book it. Reviewers on the booking page often single out the food, with several calling the tapas tasty, generous and finely made, and one adding that there was plenty of it. Dishes are left out here, since menus change; read the booking page near your date for the current description.

Drinks cost extra on both

Drinks are not included with either ticket, and the booking page says so in more than one place. You pay for them at the venue. One reviewer on the booking page found the drinks priced at normal rates, but it is still worth checking the total at the end of the night. Wikipedia cautions that tablao prices can be hard to compare, which is a reason to add ticket and drinks together before you choose between the tapas option and the show alone.

How long each evening runs

The booking page gives the length as 1 to 2.5 hours, depending on the option, and shows the start time beside each date in its calendar. The shorter figure fits the show alone and the longer figure fits an evening with the tasting menu. One reviewer who ate says the whole evening lasted about two hours. Treat that as a rough guide and rely on the start time on your confirmation. If you have a dinner reservation, a late train or an early start the next morning, choose the show-only ticket for the safest fit, and leave the tapas ticket for a night with no deadlines.

Seats and views

The booking page promises clear stage views from every seat in the hall. It also describes tables just steps from the stage in a premium area, and says the same room offers excellent visibility from anywhere. Those two lines suggest a small room in which no seat is far from the performers, which fits Spain's tourist board's description of a traditional tablao as usually an intimate venue or small theatre. Treat the premium area as a feature of the room and look at the calendar for any seat options.

Diets and allergies

Halal, gluten-free, lactose-free and other allergy-friendly options are available for the tapas menu on request, according to the booking page. The venue asks guests to arrange them directly through WhatsApp, so make that contact when you book instead of on the night. The show-only ticket has no food in it, so the question does not arise there. If you have a serious allergy, contact the venue yourself before choosing the tapas ticket, and keep the confirmation of whatever it agrees to. The dietary options apply to the tapas menu.

Booking, step by step

Open the booking calendar and choose a date. Read the start time beside it, then choose the show alone or the show with tapas. If you need an allergy-friendly menu, contact the venue through WhatsApp at that point, because the booking page says that is how such requests are made. Your confirmation repeats the date, the time and the option. A seat can be held with nothing paid today, and a day's notice brings the whole fare back. Arrive in time to find the entrance, which some reviewers say is hard to spot among the port's piers and buildings.

Which ticket suits which evening

Pick show only if you are eating elsewhere, if you are travelling on a tight schedule, or if you are mainly curious about the flamenco and want the lighter way in. Pick the tapas ticket if you want supper and the show at one table, if you are celebrating, or if finishing a long day in one seat appeals. Either way, you are watching the same kind of performance: song, guitar and dance, by professional artists. The choice is about the meal, not the art. Whichever you choose, check the start time on your confirmation, because it is the single fixed point of the evening.

The other flamenco ticket in Alicante

Alicante's booking calendar also lists a fusion flamenco show and gastronomy evening at Blacky Bar, a music bar on Villavieja Street. Its booking page describes artists from across Spain performing live and blending flamenco with Latin and Mediterranean roots, gives the length as 1.5 hours, and says food and drinks can be ordered but neither is included. That is a different format from a tablao: a bar with fusion music, not a hall built around a traditional flamenco show. Choose it if you want a looser, more mixed-music night, and El Mentidero if you want the tablao format.

Who this isn't for

Neither ticket suits children under 5, who are not admitted. Neither includes drinks, so they are not right for anyone expecting an all-inclusive evening. The show-only ticket is not a meal, and the tapas ticket is a tasting menu with the show, not a restaurant booking of its own. Anyone who wants flamenco in the surroundings where it grew up should look to Andalusia, which UNESCO calls the heartland of the art. For everyone else, the port tablao is a straightforward way to see a live show on a night in Alicante. Anyone who wants a late supper after the curtain will need to plan it separately, because the tapas menu is part of the show ticket and not an extra course afterwards.