Why the Spanish eat so late

Compared to the majority of European countries, the Spanish eat very late. Why is this?

One of the most perplexing things about the Spanish to tourists and travellers is their eating habits, in particular the time of day, and Spaniards visiting other countries can find themselves equally bemused. In comparison to the majority of countries in Europe, the Spanish eat really late. Whereas most of the countries eat lunch between 11:30 and 13:30 and eat dinner between 17:00 and 19:00, the Spanish have a tendency to eat lunch between 14:00 and 16:00 and habitually eat dinner after 21:30. It´s not unusual to see tourists in Spain searching for a place to dine out at 18:00, questioning why none of the restaurants are open, whilst those used to eating at Spanish times can become quite frustrated when visiting another country, by the fact that many eating establishments have stopped serving food by the time they arrive.

It all dates back to the Second World War, and a decision made by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Back in 1942, Franco decided to change the clocks in Spain. Up until that point, Spain had followed the same time zone as countries such as England and Portugal, but Franco ordered the clocks to be put forward an hour in order to coincide with Hitler´s Germany and Italy´s Mussolini.

The Spanish eat late because their time zone is different

When the sun is at its highest point (midday) the clocks in Spain strike 13:30. This one-and-a-half-hour delay to the natural time zone explains why the Spanish refer to midday as being any time loosely around 13:30, whilst for the English, midday is 12:00 sharp. The change to daylight saving time (excluding some regions such as Galicia, which, due to its western location, is in the same time zone as Portugal) makes Spain one hour ahead of solar time in winter and up to two hours ahead in summer, and as a result, the Spanish follow their own clock.

It´s not just the times that the Spanish eat that are later than is usual in Europe. The working day in Spain can also differ significantly. For example, the typical 9:00 – 17:00 job that many people living in England are accustomed to is seldom an option in Spain. The Spanish are much more used to working later, often through a split shift. This means that, if one is working until 19:00 or 20:00 in the evening, relaxing and eating will inevitably happen later as a consequence.