Tapas/Pintxos: 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

The bars begin filling up at around 10:30 a.m. for patrons to stop in for coffee, tea, or a morning beer.  Like many Europeans, Spaniards consider it uncouth to drink without eating, so the bars set out tapas or pintxos around 10:30.

Tapas are small plates of food served at bars.  The word tapa means "lid" because bartenders used to place a thin slice of ham or bread on a glass of wine when serving to patrons to keep away flies and bad smells from the wine.  The patrons began to eat the salty meat which activated their desire to drink more, and bartenders began to invent more small plates to go with the alcohol.

Common tapas include pimientos de padron (roasted small green peppers which are not usually spicy), patatas bravas (fried potatoes with a spicy sauce), jamon y queso (thinly sliced ham and cheese plates), bacalao (salted cod), albondigas (meatballs), and tortilla espanol (Spanish omelette with potatoes).

Pintxos are the Basque region's version of tapas. Pintxo means "spike," an appropriate name because savory or sweet items are spiked to slices of bread with a toothpick.  Though the Basque region specializes in pintxos, we found pintxos in bars all over Madrid and Barcelona.  Common pintxos include cheese with membrillo (a quince paste) or sausages spiked onto the bread.  Usually, a single pintxo costs 1 Euro (though sometimes less).

Tips:

• In some bars, you will see food listed at two different prices for either raciones or for tapas . Raciones are large quantities, usually meant to be shared by four or more people at a table. Tapas are sized for either one or two people to share.
• It can be intimidating to go into bars where noone speaks English (a common occurrence at some of the smaller bars in Madrid, especially).  Luckily, ordering tapas is as simple as pointing to the food sitting at the bar.
• For pintxos, you typically get a plate and serve yourself the pintxos sitting on the counter.  At the end of the meal, a waitress will ask you how many you ate (or if you don't remember, just count up the number of toothpicks on your plate) and you will be charged per pintxo.

Lunch in Madrid
La Comida (Lunch): 1:00 to 3:30 p.m.

At 1:00, the stores and offices close down for la comida and siesta.  La comida, or lunch, is the main meal of the day and patrons pack into their favorite restaurants between 1:00 to 2:30.  Most restaurants advertise a menu del dia , or daily menu, with three or four choices of an appetizer, three or four choices of a main course, and a few dessert choices, for a reasonable price.  The above picture shows a typical menu del dia that Patrick ordered at Terra Mundi , a fantastic restaurant right near the Museo del Prado, in Madrid, of a seafood soup, porkloin, and chocolate custard cake.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to find vegetarian food at la comida and we often passed restaurant after restaurant without finding any options.  At a few places, I found tortilla espanol (and in one place, they offered tortilla espanol made with zucchini shreds which was a nice change) or a vegetarian paella.

Tips:

• Though the heaviest meal of the day, la comida can also be your cheapest meal, because many of the menus del dia are offered at around 10 - 14 Euros for three courses.
• Plan to eat slowly and steadily.  Most meals at lunch lasted around two hours because the wait staff brings food out VERY slowly (especially in comparison to American meals).  If you're in a hurry, don't sit down to eat at lunch time.  You can make a meal out of pintxos or tapas at a few bars and then be on your way.  If you have the time for a leisurely lunch, find a restaurant that serves a menu del dia.
• Expect everything to be shut down between 1:00 to 4:00 other than restaurants and bars.  You will not be able to run errands or even buy simple items at stores during this time.  If you are driving, this is the best time to get to places because the streets will be empty.
• After eating, most head home for a short siesta.  Even in September, the midday sun was HOT so we followed suit and rested around 3:00 rather than trying to see sights in the heat.

Chocolate and cookies

La Merienda: 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

• You will never find a Spaniard eating dinner at 7:00 or even 8:00.  The restaurants that serve dinner at those times are oriented toward British/American tourists and likely won't have very good food.  While your body is adjusting to the new eating schedule, our advice is to pop into a bar and get a few tapas to tide you over until 9:00 or later.
• We recommend ordering only 1 to 2 tapas in a single bar to start to determine whether you like the food there.  If you like the food, you can always order more.  If you don't like the food, head on to the next place.
• Tipping is not common in Spain.

Churros con chocolate

Midnight snack: After 12:00 a.m.