Many travellers believe Spain's late mealtimes are a reflection of the country's laidback attitude, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Spain isn't as mellow about meal times as you might think. For years, the European country has been notorious for its super-late dinner time, usually around 10 p.m., coupled with its nationwide policy for taking a siesta in the mid-afternoon.
While most countries only have three meals a day, Taiwan worships food so much that there's a fourth and final meal: the midnight snack, or 'xiaoye' in Chinese.
While there are no strict meal times in Japan, most Japanese people will consume meals at approximately the following times: Breakfast: 06:00-07:00. Lunch: 12:00-13:00. Dinner: 18:00-20:00.
Australian families usually have dinner between 6 and 7pm, but I see older people having dinner as early as 5pm and young busy professionals can have dinner as late as 8 or 9pm.
As a rule of thumb, the north of Europe (where it is colder) tends to dine earlier and the lower you travel, the later you eat. Australians eat their meals earlier than usual, especially in the recent years so as to spen more time with family after dinner, as per reports.
Breakfast - between 7:00 and 9:00, Lunch - between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m. Dinner (sometimes called Supper) - The main meal. Eaten anytime between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. (Evening meal)
The Typical Italian Dinner
Italian dinner or la cena, usually from 8:00 to 10:00pm, is another time that Italians enjoy sitting down together and socializing. Dinner can be much later than 10:00pm, especially if eating out or dining at a friend's house.
The French tend to eat lunch and dinner later than Americans do. Lunch is noon to about 2:30 p.m. Dinner is 8 to 11 p.m. Many restaurants close in the late afternoon to prepare for dinner service.
In the United Kingdom, the name for this evening meal varies between “tea” and “dinner”. A recent survey found that six out of 10 Britons eat the same food every day. According to the map, most Europeans eat dinner between 7pm and 8.30pm. Enjoy a ratatouille in France during this time, or pierogies in Poland.
Australia. In Australia, a light meal eaten in the period between 10:30 am and noon is considered Morning Tea; an actual lunch will be consumed between 12 and 2 PM.
People in France tend to spend the most time eating and drinking per day on average at 2 hours and 13 minutes. Their neighbors in Italy and Spain aren't too far behind, averaging more than two hours per day.
But in Germany, the traditional dinner time is much earlier: you'll find many German households having their evening meal between 5 and 7 pm.
In countries like Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, where dinner is served somewhat ridiculously late, the time between lunch and the evening meal can be filled with aperitivos of snacks, tapas and, of course and always, alcoholic treats that vary from region to region.
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.
The traditional evening meal in France is considered a family affair – around a table, lots of chatter, more good food, and an all-round convivial experience that rolls along merrily for an hour or so. They usually run from roughly 7.30pm until 8.45pm.
Scottish meal times are pretty close to what you'd expect in the United States. Lunch is served between 12:00 and 1:00. Dinner is usually between 5:00 and 8:00.
In Paris, there are two distinct service times: Lunch is typically from around 12 until 2:30, and dinner around 7:30-11 p.m. If you are hungry in between, you can always step into a patisserie or boulangerie.
This is because dinner in Norway, and other Nordic countries, is served between 4pm and 5pm. Several factors contribute to this. The first is that people finish work earlier, so they head home and prepare dinner so they can have the rest of the evening to themselves.
Irish Dinner
In rural communities, dinner will generally last for about an hour and will usually be sometime between 12pm and 2pm. In cities, dinner usually starts between 5pm and 7pm and will last for the same amount of time. This will typically be the largest meal of the day.
Dinner time in Rome
When to have dinner in Rome: 8 p.m.–12 a.m. As you might've guessed, Romans tend to have dinner much later than other European countries. Especially if you had aperitivo beforehand.
What time is dinner in Greece? In a country that never sleeps, no time is "too late" for dinner. You will find most eateries open until past 12 at midnight. Regardless, traditionally, dinner in Greek homes is served at around 8-9 pm.
As a guideline, you should stop eating two to three hours before bed. This will give your body enough time to digest your food, lowering your chances of acid reflux and digestive issues keeping you up.
Americans typically have dinner between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Unlike other countries, the US typically has a very short lunch — making dinner the biggest and longest meal. Americans also are ordering more take out and eating out more, making dinner easier than it once was.
Experts say that having a late-night meal keeps the body on 'high alert' at a time where it should be winding down, which can have dangerous implications for our health. Researchers have now said that we should never eat within two hours of our bedtime, and ideally, nothing after 7pm.