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Eating culture & Tapas

Breakfast (el desayuno)

The Spanish have a different eating culture from the rest of Europe. Breakfast is often only a cup of coffee and maybe a small sweet bread roll or cake (magdaleina). For those people who don't worry about calories, they make ‘churro’s’ (deep fried strings of dough with chocolate sauce, which the Spanish also eat a lot during the feria).
A very common (and healthy) breakfast is also a toasted white bread roll with mashed tomato, olive oil and sometimes some garlic. Especially in the larger cities they often eat outside for breakfast – for example in a tapas bar – and then start their work between 9 or 10. Hotels often only have a very simple breakfast and the continental breakfast includes just a little jam and butter.

The main meal (la comida / el almuerzo)

The mail meal – which mostly contains three courses – is eaten during siesta from 2 o’clock. Most people start work again at 4 or 5 until 8 or 9 in the evening. Lots of people eat in (cheaper) restaurants and preferably with the whole family. When they do, it’s usually cheerful and noisy.

Evening meal and Tapas (la cena)

Late at night, around 10, the Spanish might eat again, either hot or cold. This could be a salad, a soup, some fruit or tapas (a small snack like some cheese, ham, olives etc). In a tapas bar you can often point out which tapas you’d like. Tapas are a small portion which often is for free (in some bars it’s free inside and costs a little outside). The Spanish also eat a lot of fish and shell-fish or squid. The tapas bars are very popular for going out.

- The typical Spanish restaurant or tapas bar doesn’t exactly look cosy and are generally very brightly lit, they have never heard of candle light it seems! Loud television (mostly nobody’s watching) is normal. Although the food usually isn’t very creative or outstanding, the Spanish restaurants are reasonably priced.

- In the tourist’s areas and resorts on the coast, you will find all kinds of international restaurants, particularly pizzerias.

- Although the traditional Spanish cuisine isn’t overly exciting, the Spanish are catching up with the rest of Europe mainly in the bigger cities. In Bask country, Barcelona and Madrid there are relatively a lot of 3 star Michelin restaurants and Barcelona was the culinary capital of Europe in 2006.

- When the Spanish eat bread, it’s mostly with the warm meal and without a topping, just olive oil if you choose it. In tourist’s places though you can order a toast (tostado) or a bread roll (bocadillo or montadito). Wholegrain bread they don’t serve but you can buy some in the supermarket, but – like the white bread – it goes dry very fast because they don’t use any additives..

- The traditional beach fish restaurants are called ‘chiringuitos’ or ‘merendero’ and offer simple meals for reasonable prices.

- Sometimes the VAT (IVA, 7%) is exclusive, but this should be mentioned clearly on the menu.

- The Spanish eat the most fruit and vegetables of the EU.