Show only or with dinner?

What each version gives you

The base ticket lists entrance and one drink during the show, for about an hour. The dinner version is an option on the same ticket page: choose it when you pick a date, and the page shows what it includes for that day. The venue's own website describes the same split, a show with a drink or a show with dinner, each with its own start times; every dinner time sits earlier than the matching show time. The website lists several start times each evening, so you can often move the whole plan earlier or later by choosing another sitting. This guide quotes no prices; the booking page shows each option's live price. The ticket's other terms, such as the ID request and the wheelchair-accessible listing, apply to both versions.

What neither version changes

The show itself is the point of both tickets. The venue's website describes one show in two parts, with a closing rumba, and lists the dinner version as dinner plus that show; it does not describe a different programme for diners. The cave, the cast and the hour on stage stay the same, so the choice is about the rest of your evening: where you eat, how long you stay on the hill and how many times you climb it. Both versions sit on the same ticket page, so the cancellation and pay-later terms the page shows apply to each, but read the terms on the option you select.

How the dinner evening runs

According to the venue's website, dinner comes first and the show follows, and its restaurant is separate from the caves used for the zambra, so guests can dine and then go straight in. The website says dinner can be served in one of the caves or, in spring and summer, on a terrace with a view of the Alhambra and the Generalife. Which of those applies to your booking is a question for the provider, so ask through your confirmation if the terrace matters to you. The website describes the food as traditional dishes and tapas in an unusual setting.

How long the whole evening runs

The ticket lists about one hour for the show. Show only therefore asks for roughly an hour of your evening once you are in your seat, plus the climb and the walk back. With dinner, the venue's website pairs each dinner time with a show time, so the night is a meal followed by an hour of show. Neither the ticket nor this guide can say how long dinner takes: read the pair of start times for your date, weigh the gap between them against your appetite, and build the rest of your night on the later one. The two sample evenings below are shapes, not timetables.

• Show only: eat in the city, travel up to the cave, take your seat and your drink, watch about an hour of show, travel back.
• With dinner: travel up to the cave, dine at the venue, move into the show, watch about an hour, travel back.

What reviewers say about the dinner

Travellers' reviews praise the passionate performances and the close cave setting, and many also like the dinner and the service. One reviewer wrote that there was plenty of food and that the performances were excellent. Another called the dinner delicious and the guitarist exceptional. A reviewer who loved the atmosphere found the end of the night a little rushed, because the next group was due in. Seating is the recurring complaint, and it applies to both versions, so do not choose dinner in the hope of a roomier seat. The ticket page also gives category scores out of five: 4.7 for the guide, 4.5 for value.

When show only makes sense

Choose show only if you already have a dinner you want to keep, if you would rather eat in the Albaicín before the climb, or if you plan to pair the show with the sunset walk, which has its own calendar. A drink comes with the ticket, so you can arrive hungry or not as you please. With the show at about an hour and the venue's website listing several start times, it slots into other plans more easily than a long dinner does. It also leaves the choice of restaurant open, which matters if anyone in your party has needs the cave's dinner may not meet. If you plan the sunset walk the same evening, show only gives the cleanest finish: walk, show, home.

When dinner makes sense, and a quick test

Choose dinner if you want one stop, if you would rather climb the hill once, or if you want the longer evening the venue describes: a table first, then the show. It suits groups who prefer to arrive together, since one booking covers both parts, and first-time visitors who would rather not plan a second booking. It also gives you a seat in the building before the show starts, which helps if the walk up was hard. Four questions settle most choices. Take them in sequence and stop at the first clear answer.

• Do you have a dinner you want to keep? Choose show only.
• Would you rather eat in the Albaicín than on the hill? Choose show only.
• Do you want one stop and a longer evening? Choose dinner.
• Does anyone in your party tire on steep streets? Choose dinner and make one climb.

Dinner at the cave or dinner in the Albaicín

Wikipedia's Granada article notes that the Albaicín has more classic flamenco shows, usually linked to restaurants. A table in the city gives you a free choice of menu, neighbourhood and time, and lets you eat before or after the show, whichever suits you. The dinner at the cave gives you one booking, no second search on a slope and a short walk from table to show. Wikipedia calls these restaurant-linked shows one of the city's cultural attractions, and the cave does not replace that choice; it offers another. Neither is better in the abstract: the first buys choice, and the second buys convenience.

Diet, allergies and questions to ask

If you eat a restricted diet, message the provider through your booking confirmation before the day and ask what the dinner can do. Do not assume that vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or allergy-safe dishes are offered. A restricted diet is a good reason to choose show only. Show only avoids the question, because the drink is the only item the ticket lists for that version. A short message after you book saves surprises, so ask about whichever of these matters to you. If you are booking for a group, put the number of people with dietary needs in the first message, so that one answer covers everyone:

• Where will our party sit, and can we sit together?
• Is the terrace available for my dinner option and date?
• What can the dinner offer for my diet?
• What are the start times for dinner and for the show on my date?
• Where can a taxi set us down closest to the cave?

Getting up and down the hill, and pairing the night

Both versions end on a steep hillside after dark. The Sacromonte Caves Museum, further up the same slope, says private cars are restricted in the Albaicín and Sacromonte, recommends public transport, and lists a city bus, a taxi from Plaza Nueva and a walk from the centre, so you can mix them: ride up, walk down. If you pair the night with the sunset walk, whose time moves with the sunset, read both calendars first. The show and the walk can be cancelled until 24 hours ahead; the two Alhambra tickets cannot, so book those last.

Read next: Getting up to Sacromonte

Who this isn't for

Neither version suits anyone who needs to choose their seat, because the ticket does not promise where you sit; if a clear view matters, ask the provider before the day. Neither suits people who dislike close seating or who want the venue to guarantee a view, or a party that cannot manage steep streets at night; for them a city-centre tablao is easier. The dinner option also stretches the night, so for a light evening take show only and keep the rest of it free.

Read next: A Granada day around it