Spanish Dinner Culture in Sierra - Why is dinner so late?
We often get asked why we eat dinner so late. The truth is, it's all down to Spain's history and time zones. Spain used to be on GMT, but during World War II, the time was changed to CET and was never changed back. If you look at the map we should be on GMT, as is Portugal. This makes Spain an hour later than it should be and mealtimes were never re-adjusted. As breakfast is usually between 9.30 and 11.30, lunch between 14h – 16h, it makes sense dinner is late too and in Andalucía it is rather later than the rest of Spain, especially in summer!
However, we don’t eat a huge meal in the evenings, I would say we eat the equivalent of your lunch to be honest. I think I am quite lucky as Ángel was brought up in a pretty large family and once they were old enough, they were able to get their own dinners. Some made sandwiches, the ones who got home first would probably eat the leftovers from lunch (I get the impression that there were leftovers deliberately!) others helped themselves to cheese and cured meats, a glass of milk and homemade magdalenas. This is the type of dinner Ángel prefers and I wasn’t one to insist on changing that! We have a large meal at lunch time and then see what’s in the fridge for dinner! It isn’t like that in other families though, people do cook in the evenings but it is always something light.
When people go out for dinner, they will probably eat more than they are used to. At restaurants people will order dishes to share, ask for the pieces to be cut up making it easier to pass the plates around and serve themselves a spoonful of each dish that has been ordered. Here in the Sierra most people who are dining are visitors on a weekend away or on holiday and therefore there is less restraint on what they eat and drink!
Experience the Social and Familiar Approach to Food and Drink
At the bars it is very much like lunch time, people will order tapas or share raciones and generally graze over the evening, eating more than intended.
The culture of food and drink here in the Sierra is very social, familiar and quite informal. You will see families of 4 generations gathering in the square for a drink and a tapa, perhaps move on to a restaurant or perhaps they decide to stay where they are. It can be loud, gregarious, spontaneous and inviting. Children aren’t expected to sit still and keep quiet (although these days with mobiles….). When our daughter Sofía was younger and full of beans it was easier to take her to the square on the summer evenings, let her play with her friends, call her when the food arrived, watch her wolf it down and let her run off to play again!