News that Wetherspoons will open its first pub outside of the UK and Ireland at Alicante Airport has made international headlines. However, Spain already has hundreds of popular pubs; if you haven’t been to one here’s what to expect.
While not exactly the best way to integrate into Spanish culture, pubs are still great places for foreigners to enjoy home comforts and social activities, and can be good places to hang out when you first arrive in Spain.
In Spain pubs are called pubs irlandeses (Irish pubs) rather than just pubs or pubs británicos, even though Brits have a much larger presence in Spain than the Irish.
As most of the staff are foreign themselves or speak very good English, you won’t have a problem communicating either.
It’s not only tourists and foreigners that hang out in Irish pubs in Spain though, they’re popular for several reasons.
According to tech company Rentech Digital, there are 361 Irish pubs in Spain as of October 2025. They estimate that 329 Irish pubs are privately owned, while the remaining 32 which is 8.86 percent are owned by bigger companies.
The top three regions with the most Irish pubs are Andalusia with 78 Irish pubs, Valencia with 67, and Catalonia with 46.
Meanwhile, the Official Irish Pub in Spain association has 230 pubs on its list. The largest numbers of these are clustered around the Costa del Sol, the Costa Blanca, Madrid and the Basque Country.
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Sports matches
Irish pubs are generally great places to catch live sports matches not showing on Spanish TV channels. Almost all of them have big screens, unlike some of the Spanish bars, and many of them have more than one.
Most of them will show almost all the Premier League football matches from the UK, as well as other non-Spanish league football games. They are also the only places that show rugby and maybe even cricket matches too.
Food and drinks
Aside from being some of the only spots to catch your favourite sports, they’re also some of the only places to get food and drinks reminiscent of home.
Yes, we know that food from the UK and Ireland doesn’t have a great reputation abroad, but we know that there will be some dishes you’ll be missing. Roast dinners, pie and mash or fish and chips? Most of these are hard to come by in Spain, unless you go to an Irish pub.
And when it comes to drinks, Irish pubs are some of the few places that will serve you pints, rather than the smaller Spanish servings of beer like a caña. They’ll also sell a range of beers you usually can’t find elsewhere such as Guinness, Carlsberg, Murphy’s, as well as whiskies and British-style ciders. Be aware though that because everything is imported and the sizes are bigger; you’ll often pay a lot more for food and drinks in Irish pubs than elsewhere in Spain.
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Celebrations and social events
Irish pubs in Spain tend to go all out for certain festivals, particularly foreign ones. For example, they’re often some of the best places to go for Halloween, if you can’t find anywhere celebrating in Spain, as well as St. Patrick’s Day of course.
Most Irish bars also host pub quizzes, language exchange evenings and other social groups. They can be a great place to make friends when you first arrive in Spain and don’t know the language yet, although it’s important to frequent Spanish bars too.
Music
If you’re into live music, Irish bars can also be great to go, particularly because this is not common in local Spanish bars, apart from maybe flamenco bars in Andalusia. As well as hosting typical Irish folk nights, you’ll find bands of all different genres and nationalities playing at these venues, as well as open mic nights for those of you who want the chance to perform too.
Décor and size
Many Irish pubs tend to be much bigger than local Spanish bars, though that’s not always the case. This means generally there’s space for large gatherings, groups and get-togethers, as well as parties. They’re also typically cosy and dimly lit with lots of trinkets and curios. Several Irish pubs in Madrid for example are located in old 19th-century cafés, which have retained their original decor such as wood-panelled walls and antique lamps, but have adapted it to the traditional pub aesthetic people are used to in Ireland and the UK.
