User:Pura Llorente

Differences Between: "Bar", "Restaurant" and "Bar-Restaurant" in Spain
When contemplating opening or buying a business in the hospitality sector in Spain, the differences between “bar,” “restaurant,” and “bar-restaurant” must first be considered.

Bar: Establishment offering bar service and optionally area for tables, serving drinks and food (only snacks and ours d’ouvre). The price list must be exhibited inside the establishment and must include taxes.

Restaurant: Establishment that has kitchen and dining services. The price list must be exhibited inside and outside the establishment.

Bar-Restaurant: It is a bar that also has a kitchen and is licensed to serve food menus.

Opening a New Bar or Restaurant:

The following steps must be followed to open a bar or restaurant:

·Obtain the proper municipal license (environmental license) for the establishment based on its characteristics. ·Request authorization to start and register a company in the Registry of Tourism Activities and Companies of the corresponding Autonomous Community. Often these steps can be undertaken jointly. To obtain the required authorization, a technical project for the bar or restaurant must be attached, including the corresponding drawings and environmental license. ·Obtain an identification plate for the bar or restaurant to be placed in a visible place outside the establishment. This is a plate with blue background and a white letter R for restaurants or white letters R and B for Bar-Restaurants. ·Have complaint sheets available to clients of the bar or restaurant and clearly advertise their availability.

Before considering the idea of opening a Bar o restaurant we recommend, for liability reasons, to form an SL (limited liabilty company), you can find detials about the SL's requirements, other type of business entities, and several ariticles in English at

This article is based is the Spanish Regulation (Restauracion):- Decreto nº 317/1994, de 4 de noviembre, de Ordenación y Clasificación de Establecimientos de Restauración; I try to make clear the options, please go to the Royal Decree for details or contact a local advisor for more information.