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- Desayuno (Breakfast): 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
- Almuerzo (Mid-morning snack): 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- La Comida (Lunch): 2 p.m. to three:30 p.m.
- Merienda (Mid-mid-day snack): 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- La hora del aperitivo (Tapas Hour): 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- La Cena (Dinner): 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Barcelona Food Tour at LA BOQUERIA and Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain, Travel Guide!
Ever thought about when Spaniards eat breakfast? And how about your meal? Spanish mealtimes are confusing, but Amy breaks it lower for all of us, making certain you’ll know precisely when (and just what!) to consume in The country.
Croquettes, my go-to Spanish dinner dish
It’s noon and my stomach is rumbling. Basically were home in Texas, it would be lunch time. But within The country noon is definitely an eating dead zone. It’s far too late for morning coffee and Spanish pastries but too soon for supper. Actually, most restaurants won’t attempt cooking for an additional hour . 5!
The conundrum of when you should eat in The country is almost as tricky as working the distinction between the 22 kinds of cured Spanish meats.
It could also be probably the most important questions you are able to ask before visiting The country. Getting Spanish mealtimes wrong means relegating you to ultimately tourist-trap restaurants or reheated bar food.
Providing them with right means walking into an enormous amount of culinary delight.
Spanish Mealtimes 101
Desayuno (Breakfast): 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Spanish are lots of things, but early risers is not one of these. It’s rare to find an espresso shop that opens before 7 a.m. in Madrid. In smaller sized metropolitan areas, the espresso starts flowing even later. Lots of people in Spain skip eating a desayuno altogether, opting rather for just coffee or hot cocoa milk.
This early each morning, breakfast choices for individuals people which do start your day with nourishment are restricted almost entirely to carbs.
Spanish breakfast foods include:
- a toasted baguette with essential olive oil and crushed tomato (the most popular)
- croissants (plain, chocolate-filled, cream-filled, or grilled a la plancha with jam),
- churros and porras (thin sticks of fried dough frequently drizzled with thick hot cocoa)
- a variety of sweet baked things (cookies in the morning, anybody?)
That starchy goodness is usually washed lower with café disadvantage leche (espresso with milk) or perhaps a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice.
A scrumptious breakfast croissant in the Praktik Loaves of bread in Barcelona!
The job day in The country typically begins at 9 a.m. when breakfasters drift from their glasses of café disadvantage leche, a minimum of for a couple of hours.
Almuerzo (Mid-morning snack): 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
With lots of people getting began the job day before eating anything, when mid-morning comes around individuals grumbling stomachs have to have a return to the area café for any coffee/cigarette/muffin break. Despite things i learned in senior high school Spanish class, this mid-morning snack is frequently known as “almuerzo.”
For working adults today snack often includes another coffee or possibly a juice. People might eat a muffin or perhaps a croissant layered with pork and cheese. For college-aged children today snack is sacred. When that recess bell rings, from bars of dark chocolate to whole pork and cheese sandwiches materialize from students’ backpacks.
A tostada with pork and tomato in Seville.
For individuals visiting The country, I love to consider today snack a second breakfast. Coffee and pastries are super affordable, mainly in the morning, and addictively delicious. Should you have had the first breakfast inside a loaves of bread, try second breakfast inside a traditional bar, or the other way around. Until about 11 a.m. you’ll locate them busy with workers in offices and newspaper-studying old men.
La Comida (Lunch): 2 p.m. to three:30 p.m.
This, the 3rd and many important meal during the day, can’t be missed. Lunch is really an issue in The country that it is known as “la comida” or “the meal” as though it had been the only real meal that really counted as food.
Spanish lunch is food paradise. Most restaurants open for supper around 1:30 p.m. and also the crowds start flowing in around 2 p.m. Tables will remain full until well past 4:30. On weekends the post-lunch sobremesa (after meal conversation) may last nearly until dinnertime.
Rabo de Toro (Stewed Bull Tail) for any lunch menu del dia in rural Madrid.
Most lunch restaurants possess a “menu del dia” or menu during the day. This set menu typically offers three to six choices for an initial course and only meat or fish like a second course. The 2 courses plus bread, a glass or two (usually wine, beer or perhaps a soda) and only dessert or coffee have a collection menu cost of approximately €9 to €14 in Madrid– less in smaller sized towns. Menus del dia are an excellent way to try excellent traditional dishes for any great cost.
Merienda (Mid-mid-day snack): 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The mid-mid-day snack, la merienda, in The country frequently has more details on socializing than eating. It is now time when buddies meet to “grab a coffee” and old women gather in cafés to gossip. The fare for that mid-mid-day snack is generally sweet (churros with chocolate, pastries, frozen treats) or cured (a little sandwich with Iberian pork, chorizo sausage or cheese).
Mid-day snacking at its finest…
Unlike an average publish-work happy hour, drinks at the moment in Spain are more often than not non-alcoholic (or a beer–which is exactly the same factor within The country!). They have a tendency in order to save your wine and spirits for a couple of hrs later, at tapas time.
La hora del aperitivo (Tapas Hour): 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The actual fun of eating in The country begins around 8:30 at night, when tapas bars start to open. A thing of caution: it is not easy to locate authentic Spanish dinner food before 8:30 p.m. In the typical American or British dinner occasions of 5 and 6 p.m. couple of or no restaurant kitchens are open. Believe me, it’s well worth the wait!
Because the sun heads into the horizon, the Spanish mind in to the tapas bars. As the size, style and cost of tapas change from place to place, in many areas of The country it’s common to obtain a free tapa when you order a glass or two. In Madrid, tapas vary from a bowl of poker chips to some heaping plate of fideuá, a type of pasta paella. In Seville and also the Basque Country, tapas cost between 1€ to 4€. These tapas are usually bigger (as with Seville) or even more elaborate (as with the Basque Country) than, in other areas.
Take a look at our Seville tapas guide to find the best eats in Seville!
Scrumptious tapas in Seville.
Opting for tapas often means one drink before dinner or spending the whole evening likely to 3 or 4 bars and getting a couple of tapas each and every. Tapas are frequently eaten standing in the bar. Many restaurants are split into two sections: a standing tapas bar right in front along with a sit-lower dining area within the back.
La Cena (Dinner): 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Dinner in The country might be late, but because with tapas, it’s certainly worth awaiting. Dinner is generally lighter than it might be within the U.S. or Britain. If eaten in your own home, a Spanish dinner often includes a salad, a plate of cured pork, sausages or aged cheese, or maybe even a yogurt and a bit of fruit.
Restaurant and bar dinners are another story. While there are specific foods that you’ll rarely find on dinner menus — pasta, grain, lentils or lamb, for example– The country has a lot of dinner options. Eggs, for instance, really are a decidedly dinner food in The country. Possibly the crown jewel of Spanish dinners is the tortilla de patata, or Spanish omelet, produced from egg, potato and onion. Other popular dinner dishes include: cured meats like Iberian pork or cured sausage, huevos rotos (fried taters capped with fried sunny-side up eggs) or croquetas (gently battered and fried béchamel combined with diced pork, mushrooms or cheese).
Tortilla española, the crown jewel of Spanish dinners.
Traditional Spanish dinners are nearly always a shared meal. Several buddies will order a number of raciónes, or large plates, to talk about. The overall rule would be to order one ración per person. The waiter sets it in the center of the table and everybody will dish a couple of spoonfuls or forkfuls onto their very own plate. This kind of eating is amazing if, much like me, you’ve got a terrible time deciding things to order!
Maybe you have had trouble working out Spanish mealtimes while driving The country?
For additional Spanish mealtimes 101 when visiting The country, take a look at Eat The country food tours! Scrumptious food tours and tapas tours in Seville, Barcelona and Madrid.
Resourse: http://spanishsabores.com/2015/06/17/the country-dining-guide-when-are-spanish-mealtimes/
Barcelona Food Tour at LA BOQUERIA and Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain, Travel Guide!
Video COMMENTS:
Noseefood: one day he will get totally drunk and tell us the true feelings about some of the food he ate.
Alter Native: Mark when are you coming to the USA. We have great dishes such as, racism, sexism, rape, and a few bullets! And not to forget amazing local Trump vodka.
Deepmala Mahato: Mark makes me eat all the veggies and herbs i used to hate
TheLight: You're the luckiest guy in the world my friend
Cherrie Vergel de Dios: I would say this is one of your best videos, Mark! The camera shots are superb, you gave us great perspectives of the wonderful architectural structures, it's also a gastronomic delight to watch all the eating places you've visited and the delightful food you've tried. Kudos as well to Ying for the great camera angles! A top rate travel & food video from a lovely couple! I just love watching your channel!! More power to you both! 😄👍🏻
Kevin Cochet: Mark, you're eating in the most touristic place of Barcelona. As much as it tastes good, Everything is expensive and served in tiny portions. Just go a few blocks from la rambla and you will taste true catalan food.
Japan On Demand: A combination of egg and squid? It sounds crazy, but I like crazy food!
Fauzan Hakim: Hey Mark,could you please reply its my birthday today and you are my favourite youtuber!!!
Bob Mob: Spain for the salt, Sweden for the pepper.
Apple Yeo Hui Jing: Had been refreshing this page and FINALLY!