The venue
What is a tablao?
Where the word tablao comes from, how these flamenco rooms multiplied from the 1960s, what one serves and what to check before you book.
Book flamenco in Alicante ↗Quick answer
A tablao is a place that stages flamenco shows, and the word is also used for the raised wooden floor a dancer performs on. Wikipedia places the growth of tablaos in the 1960s, across Spain, as they replaced the cabaret-style cafés cantantes. Drinks are served, and a few venues add tapas or a whole meal.
The word
Wikipedia gives two meanings. A tablao is a place that stages flamenco shows, and it is also the raised platform a dancer performs on, from the Spanish tablado, meaning floorboard. They are the same idea in two senses: the stage and the room built around it. At El Mentidero in the Port of Alicante the word names the venue. You do not need the term to book, but it explains why listings use it and what kind of evening to expect.
Before the tablao: the café cantante
Before tablaos came cafés cantantes. Wikipedia describes them as cabaret-style night bars, with a large room of tables and a performance area at the back, decorated with bullfighting posters and mirrors, and says they were at their height between the mid-nineteenth century and the 1910s. They were where professional flamenco singers made a living and where the art took a performing shape. The tablao kept the idea of an evening show with drinks, in a smaller room.
The 1960s
Wikipedia places the development of tablaos in the 1960s, nationwide, where the cafés cantantes had stood. Spain's tourist board names Madrid's Corral de la Morería, founded in 1956, and Tablao Flamenco 1911 as well-known examples. The date matters for Alicante: the tablao is a Spain-wide format, not an Andalusian-only one, which is why a port city on the Mediterranean can host one. Wikipedia adds that most tablaos are in Andalusia, many on the coast or in larger cities.
What a tablao looks like
Wikipedia lists typical tablao decor as embroidered silk shawls, portraits of famous people and bullfighters' clothes and capes. Spain's tourist board describes a traditional tablao as usually an intimate venue or small theatre, with singers, guitarists, dancers and sometimes percussionists, and calls its cosy atmosphere a highlight. The performance sits on or near the tablado, with the audience seated close by. The booking page for El Mentidero describes a hall where each seat has a clear line to the stage.
What a tablao serves
Wikipedia says drinks are served at a tablao and some venues offer tapas samples or a full Spanish meal. That is the pattern at El Mentidero: you choose a show alone or a show with a Spanish tapas tasting menu, and drinks are bought separately. The first guide on this site covers what each ticket includes. In general, a tablao is not a restaurant that happens to have music; it is a music venue that also feeds and waters its audience, and the food is part of the format, not the main event.
Read next: Show only or tapas at the tablao
Price, and what to check
Wikipedia cautions that tablao prices can be hard to compare, that they vary by location and that an entrance fee may or may not apply. Before booking, check four things: whether the ticket includes a meal, whether it includes drinks, how long the show runs, and what the cancellation terms are. For El Mentidero, the booking page says drinks are not included with either ticket, gives the length as 1 to 2.5 hours depending on the option, and allows cancellation at least 24 hours ahead.
Tablao, theatre or festival
A tablao is not the only way to see flamenco. Spain's tourist board also points to theatres, open-air venues and festivals, naming Seville's Flamenco Biennial and Madrid's Suma Flamenca among them. A theatre show is staged for a seated audience on a larger scale, and a festival is a dated programme. A tablao is the everyday option: a room, a set show and a date you can book, which is why it suits a visitor with one free evening in a city like Alicante.
Read next: Flamenco in Alicante: is it real?
Frequently asked questions
What does tablao mean?
A place that stages flamenco shows; the word is also used for the dancer's raised wooden stage.
When did tablaos begin?
Wikipedia places their growth in the 1960s, across Spain, where the cafés cantantes had been.
Are tablaos only in Andalusia?
No. Wikipedia says most are in Andalusia, and Spain's tourist board names Madrid and Barcelona as places with tablaos too.
Do tablaos serve food?
Wikipedia says drinks are served and some venues offer tapas samples or a full Spanish meal.
Sources