What time do people eat dinner in Tenerife?

In Tenerife it is usual to have lunch at about 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., and dinner after 8 p.m. Please keep that in mind when you go out for a meal in typical Spanish restaurants. In the tourist centres, the mealtime has already been adapted to the tourists. You should also ask for the dish of the day (menu del día).



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When it comes to Spanish eating customs, keep in mind that when eating out in Spain that most restaurants won't open until around 8pm. At the weekend, it's also common for Spaniards to eat even later beyond 10pm.

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Why do they eat so late in Spain? Spain's famously late mealtimes are due to the fact that the country has been geographically in the wrong time zone since World War II! During all that time, Spaniards have eaten at the same time they always have in regards to the position of the sun in the sky.

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As a result, Spaniards who would eat at 1pm or 1.30pm continued to eat at their usual time (now 2pm or 2.30pm), continued to have dinner at 8pm (now 9pm) and continued to go to bed at 11pm (now midnight).

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Lunch: 2–3:30 p.m. Merienda (Mid-afternoon snack): 5–6:30 p.m. Aperitif: 8–10 p.m. Dinner: 9–11 p.m.

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Most Greeks will eat dinner around 9 to 10 pm. If they have had a substantial lunch then they will eat something lighter for dinner such as fruit with yogurt, a sandwich, salad or a small amount of leftovers from lunch.

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Tipping in Spain works differently: The customer actually has the option to not leave any tip at all. However, restaurants expect a 10% tip on each bill—although it's not a formal rule, and that percentage is much lower than tipping practices in other countries.

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Lunch -- The most important meal of the day in Spain, lunch is comparable to the farm-style midday dinner in the United States. It usually includes three or four courses, beginning with a choice of soup or several dishes of hors d'oeuvres called entremeses.

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During World War II, Franco moved Spain's time zone ahead one hour to Central European Time in solidarity with Nazi Germany. Because of this, the sun also tends to set pretty late in Spain, which is part of the reason dinner (and nightlife) tends to start so late.

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