BARS and restaurants in the Málaga-province town of Antequera will get a chance to repair some of the damage caused by shutdowns ordered in an attempt to contain the pandemic – and residents and visitors will have the chance to try out local cuisine in miniature.
A restaurant in Antequera (photo: Antequera tourism board)
For the eighth year running, the Ruta Gastroturística ('culinary tourism route'), or tapas-crawl, will see 40 cafés and eateries offering one of their star dishes in snack format combined with a half-pint of Cruzcampo lager for the set reduced price of €2.50, and customers get a stamp in their 'tapas passport' for each.
Once customers have at least five stamps from four different premises, they can deposit their 'tapasport' in a slot-box in the tourist information office on the C/ Encarnación and the first 300 to do so will get a free commemorative Ruta Gastroturística de Antequera mask-carrier.
The 'tapasport' carries an individual identity number, and the stamped part, which is detachable, also bears this code, so winners can be traced without their personal details being on the paper inside the slot-box.
As well as mask-bags for the first 300, all 'passports' dropped into the box will be placed into a prize draw and six of them will win a €50 voucher to spend in the bars and restaurants which win the most public votes for their participating tapas.
Other prizes include a hot-air balloon ride for two, a spa and massage session for two in the Convento La Magdalena Hotel, and a guided tour of El Torcal for two.
Identity numbers will be published on April 7 in the tourist information office and on the town hall website, and their holders should go to the tourist office in person before April 21 with the other part of their 'tapasport' to prove the number belongs to them.
The restaurant or bar with the most votes will get a €100 voucher plus €100 worth of products from the beer manufacturer Cruzcampo, and those placed second and third will get the same but at €75 and €50 respectively.
Those placed in the top six will receive a certificate which they can frame and display on their premises.
Other initiatives include a town hall-funded discount scheme similar to the one launched on the high street in Antequera at Christmas, and a commemorative drinks glass for sale.
The tapas-crawl runs from Wednesday, March 17 to Sunday, March 28 inclusive.
Similar 'tapas and passport' schemes elsewhere in the country have proven immensely popular – on the Costa Blanca, the most famous are in Jávea and Dénia.
