Five meals, all later than you expect
Meal times shape Spanish life: shops close for lunch, and restaurants rarely serve dinner before nine. In Latin America the timetable is closer to the English one, but lunch is still the main meal.
| Meal | Spain | Typically | The verb |
|---|---|---|---|
| el desayunodeh-sah-YOO-noh · breakfast | 8:00 | coffee and toast with tomato and oil | desayunarto have breakfast |
| el almuerzoal-MWEHR-thoh · mid-morning snack | 11:00 | a bocadillo (sandwich) and coffee; in Latin America almuerzo is lunch | almorzarto have a snack / lunch |
| la comidakoh-MEE-dah · lunch, the main meal | 14:30 | three courses: primero, segundo, postre | comerto eat, to have lunch |
| la meriendameh-RYEN-dah · afternoon snack | 18:00 | children’s sandwich, or chocolate con churros | merendarto have a snack |
| la cenaTHEH-nah · dinner | 21:30 | lighter than lunch: soup, an omelette, fish | cenarto have dinner |
Ir de tapas: a bar crawl with food
Tapas are less a dish than a way of going out: a group moves from bar to bar, having one drink and one small plate in each. The custom changes across Spain.
Every region has its dish
Spanish cooking is regional first, national second. Ask for a dish where it comes from and you will get the original. Tap a dish to hear its name.
La sobremesa, invito yo and pagar a escote
After a long lunch, nobody rushes off: la sobremesa (literally “over the table”) is the hour of coffee and conversation that follows. Paying has its own rituals too: friends often argue over who pays, or split it evenly.
Tacos, arepas, asado, ceviche, mate
Each Spanish-speaking country has its own national dishes, and the same word can mean different things: a tortilla is a potato omelette in Spain and a flat maize bread in Mexico.