What time do Spain eat dinner?

Their day starts at 8:00 am and lunch is at around 2:00 – 3:00 pm. The whole city shuts down then except for tourist sites and everything re-opens at 5:00 pm. Dinner time is also very late, at 10:00 pm and unlike in the United States, they eat a pretty big dinner. Spaniards are also big fans of bread.



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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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Typically, most Spaniards will eat 4-5 times per day. The main meal of the day will usually be lunch, with a lighter dinner typically served.

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Lunch is the mid-day meal, or la comida as it is called in Spain, and it is the largest meal of the day. It usually comes with multiple courses, eaten between 1:30 and 3:30 pm.

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A siesta is a nap, usually taken in the afternoon. Some alternative terms might include descanso (break), descanso de mediodía (mid-day break) or hora del almuerzo (lunch hour). While it's true that it's common to take a mid-day break in Spain, the majority of working-age people don't go home to nap.

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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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Traditional lunches in Spain include: Bread with some appetizers like cheese or cured meat. Soup (gazpacho in summer or a type of bean or seafood soup in winter) Main dish (seafood, fish, meat, stew, vegetables) Green salad. Dessert, such as fruits, cheese, flan, ice cream, or pastry.

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Punctuality is not highly important in Spain. People can arrive half an hour late to a social function with no questions raised. If someone turns up late and apologises, people are likely to respond with something like “no pasa nada” – meaning “It's not that important”.

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Dinner: 9–11 PM Cena, or dinner, is usually much lighter than it would be in many other countries. If eaten at home, a Spanish dinner often consists of a salad; a plate of cured ham, sausages, or aged cheese; or even just yogurt and a piece of fruit. Restaurant and bar dinners are another story.

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How long is a siesta? The experts believe that a 20 minutes power nap is enough to give you enough rest to keep going with your day, and it won't affect your night sleep. However, a lot of siestas in Spain take longer than that, from 40 minutes to one hour, or even more.

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It's very common in Spain to see gatherings of people enjoying a drink and chatting and laughing together in the bars from about 10 in the evening, and then on until the small hours of the morning.

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Siestas are common in many cultures, promoting rest and productivity during the day. A short nap can boost alertness, mood, memory, and reduce stress. Keep siestas short, typically around 20 minutes, to avoid grogginess.

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