5 tips to get the most out of tapas

Tapas on Top at Tutoni’s showcases our culinary team’s talents one small bite at a time. Here’s a guide to having the best tapas experience.

Think of tapas as an awesome opportunity to forget about dining etiquette in the traditional sense. Best enjoyed in a flurry of passing plates, double-dipping and sometimes eating with your fingers, tapas serves up an alternative, yet just as delicious, form of fine dining.

The Tapas on Top experience at Tutoni’s in York, Pa., takes your taste buds on a culinary adventure – one small bite at a time.

The latest addition at Tutoni’s showcases our culinary team’s talents while giving you the chance to experience new flavors and exceptional ingredients with the company of good friends.

While it's a popular tradition in countries around the world and can be found in big city restaurants in the United States, tapas is just starting to catch on in other places.

Our tapas dinner guide will navigate your first small-plate experience so you leave dreaming about the new dishes you can try next time you visit our downtown York restaurant.  

1.   Just how hungry are you?

Tapas, by definition, are small savory dishes. And there are a few different ways that you could enjoy them.

If you’re just in the mood for tickling your taste buds without stuffing your stomach, grab an after-work glass of wine or scratch drink at the TT Bar upstairs and enjoy a tapas plate or two during cocktail hour.

If you're hungry for more, head to Tapas on Top for dinner. You might end up ordering three to four plates per person, depending on how hungry you are, as you enjoy our culinary team's delectable creations.

2. Go with good company

Small plates like tapas are best enjoyed shared with others.

So whether you’re on a date with your main squeeze or out with a group of friends or co-workers, order a few plates of tapas to pass around.

Eating tapas in good company at Tutoni’s gives you the opportunity to try more bites and dishes you might never have ordered for yourself.

3.  Let the server be your tour guide

Don’t be afraid to admit that you have no idea what to do when ordering at a tapas restaurant.

If this is your first tapas dinner, let your server know you’re new to tapas. You could even let her know how hungry you’re feeling, how much you might want to spend and what you hope to get out of the experience.

Your server knows the house specialties, what to recommend based on other foods you might like and how you can fully appreciate our York, Pa., tapas restaurant.

4. Try new things

Here’s maybe the best piece of advice about how to order tapas:

For each dish you order that’s familiar and comfortable, order one that dares your palate to be adventurous.

A delicately constructed cheese plate might be scrumptious and comfortable, but the duck heart tacos might just be your new favorite food.

You won’t know until you try it. So get both.

5. Come back for more

The great thing about tapas is trying new things each time you visit (and maybe also ordering that plate you got last time you’ve been craving all week).

You probably won’t get to taste everything on the menu in one sitting, so we invite you to come back again and try the seasonal offerings our York, Pa., Italian restaurant is known for.

We can’t wait to showcase all the dishes we’ve been creating for our Tapas on Top menu. Make your reservation with us tonight!

Get attached to Tutoni's scratch cocktails

Tutoni's is raising the bar when it comes to cocktail hour. Following its same high standard for creating locally sourced and artfully prepared dishes that bring a taste of the big city to a York, Pa. restaurant., Tutoni's is now pouring that same care and quality at its new upstairs bar.

Whether you prefer the herbal undertones of a Gin and Tonic or the classic hint of molasses in an Old Fashioned, Tutoni’s scratch cocktail menu is elevating the Prohibition-era drinks that are making a comeback.

Join us at Tapas on Top — one of the latest offerings you’ll find for York, Pa., bars. Ours is set in the cozy, rustic atmosphere our second floor offers. Order a tantalizing bite from our tapas menu or sit back and let the bartender walk you through how simple changes, like craft soda, homemade bitters and infused liquors can transport you from your bar stool to a new cocktail experience.

Elevating the classics

It’s not about changing the classic drinks you’ve come to love, it's about making them better. Bar manager Bryan Busch sipped and sampled and created a lineup of scratch cocktails that celebrate the Prohibition-era drinks that have returned to the York, Pa., bar scene without taking away what people love most about these classics.

The Tutoni’s Old Fashioned looks like the classic Bourbon beverage many people consider a bar staple, but the addition of homemade orange bitters takes this drink from the same-old cocktail your grandfather ordered and elevated it to a truly original scratch cocktail.

Fresh twists on other classic cocktails also allow Tutoni’s to keep in line with the seasons. That’s why the Clover Club — a classic Pennsylvania cocktail typically served with raspberry syrup —will sport a red, cranberry syrup in the winter months when raspberries aren’t available in the region.

Tutoni’s is also bringing back another Prohibition-style tradition: cocktail hour punch. Grab a seat at the bar and let the bartender slide you a glass of Tutoni’s Cocktail Hour Punch, a rotating, seasonal and daily changing selection of a classic bar punch brought back to life. If you really like the punch, you can even order a punch bowl for your dinner table at the main restaurant downstairs. Served in vintage glasses, Tutoni’s punch proudly resurrects a classic era of cocktails at its York, Pa., bar.

All in the name

There’s a whole story behind each of the original cocktails that are crafted behind the bar at Tutoni’s.

The King George — a three-day thyme-infused bourbon cocktail featuring orange cordial, grapefruit juice, Carpano Antica and aromatic —is named after the building Tutoni’s calls home, which according to York County legend was once a brothel called The King George.

If you’re looking for something a little less risqué, try the Smoked Cherie, named after York’s very own Cherie Anne, who is better known for selling freshly brewed teas at 48 W. Philadelphia St., in York. Combining Montelobos, lemon, egg white and a cold smoked tea syrup, this cocktail offers a subtle flavor that will remind you of childhood campfires.

New to Pennsylvania, sample the unique taste of Barr Hill Gin, a Vermont-sourced liquor previously not available to bars in York, Pa. This liquor – made with juniper berries and real Vermont honey – is featured in The B. Your palate will dabble over the sweetness of gin and tart lemon brought down a notch with the addition of black pepper-infused honey.

Cheers!

Let Tutoni's quench your thirst with one of our craftfully prepared scratch cocktails.

Even the simpler bar drinks, such as the Cranberry Vodka and Rum and Coke, are elevated with freshly squeezed juices and craft sodas poured right from the bottle.

You’ll never be able to look at your favorite cocktails the same way.