One out of every three restaurants in Spain serves international cuisine

Barcelona, May 11, 2022 – The number of international cuisine restaurants continues to grow in Spain. According to a report by Delectatech, a Big Data company specializing in the restaurant sector that analyzed over 250,000 establishments in Spain, 34% of the country’s restaurants are specialized in international cuisine.

American restaurants are the most widespread, accounting for 56% of international cuisine establishments. Specifically, 29% are North American restaurants, such as burger joints, and 26% are Latin American, with Mexican cuisine standing out, representing 17% of this category. This shows that Spain has a wide offer of dishes like burritos, tacos, and fajitas.

The second largest group of international restaurants is European cuisine, making up 22% of the total (excluding Spanish cuisine). Italian cuisine is the clear favorite, with nearly all European establishments (94%) specializing in pizza or pasta. Spain also has some French restaurants (0.2%) and Greek restaurants (0.12%).

The third major group consists of Asian cuisine, representing 21%. As with Italian in the European group, Japanese cuisine dominates in Spain, with 92% of Asian restaurants being Japanese. There are also Indian and Chinese restaurants (0.71% and 0.54%, respectively), as well as Southeast Asian cuisine, such as Thai, which accounts for 0.26%.

Finally, 0.6% of restaurants offer African or Middle Eastern cuisine, including Lebanese cuisine, for example.

Canary Islands, Catalonia, Madrid, Valencian Community, and Andalusia: the most international regions

In Spain, the autonomous community with the highest share of international restaurants relative to its total restaurant offering is the Canary Islands, with nearly half of its establishments (47%). They are followed by Catalonia (41%) and Madrid (40%). Next is the Valencian Community, where 38% of restaurants are international, and fifth is Andalusia, where nearly three out of ten establishments (29%) specialize in cuisine from other countries.

“There are four autonomous communities where the number of international cuisine establishments is above the Spanish average: the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Madrid, and the Valencian Community. Regarding the type of cuisine, Catalonia has the highest number of Japanese restaurants. Italian restaurants are most numerous in the Canary Islands and the Valencian Community, while North American cuisine dominates in Madrid and Andalusia,”

said Xavier Mallol, CEO and founder of Delectatech.