Dinner in Spain-your experiences please

The best solution we have found is to eat early and don’t skimp. If you are in a tourist area you can usually get food for the in between hours, but in the country side not so much.
We also find the late night dinner problematic. If we do go late it is when the restaurants open up, maybe 8pm, and then we are the first to arrive.
So, do your tapas and eat as if you will not have another meal unless you go out again. Don’t save your appetite. You may not get to that dinner time.

For me the challenge starts before the later dinner, with the late lunch. Many Spaniards have a second breakfast around 10-11—something like a small ham sandwich and a coffee. This is the key to my happiness.

Remember, to, that dinner in Spain is often small, and lunch the bigger meal.

Minnesota is on Central Time (GMT-6). Spain is not on the same time zone as Minnesota. Spain is on Central European Standard Time (GMT+1). That means that when you go to Spain you will need to adapt to a 7 hours difference already, since Spain time is 7 hours ahead of Minnesota, so I don’t see a problem adapting to their meal times by pretending to change the time by 4 hours instead of 7.
All you have to do is move your watch ahead 4 hours instead of 7. Therefore the dinner at 10pm will actually appear to be at 7pm on your watch. You won’t even be able to tell the difference from the sun. In Madrid at 10pm (7pm by your watch actually kept behind 3 hours) is when sunset occurs at the end of June. The Spaniards adopted the European Central Time but in reality, geographically, being so far west in Europe, they should belong to the same time zone as Ireland.
With the little trick used above, when you go to bed at 10pm (by your watch) in reality it is 1am in Spain, which is pretty much when Spaniards go to bed in summer.
If you travel in winter, the Spaniards don’t eat as late and go to bed earlier. Also in the small towns, unlike the large cities, people eat earlier. I remember dinner time in Ronda in summer was between 8 and 9pm or so, unlike Madrid when it was a couple of hours later.

We didn't find it to be a problem. We've been on a Tauck tour of Spain, spent over a month walking the Camino and spent another month in Southern Spain. We too were not night owls (although we did a number of late dinners) but we found it easy to find earlier eating options.

One day walking into Longrono after 15 miles around 5pm we despaired to hear everything was "closed" until 9-- but after a few minutes of searching found a coffee shop/bakery that served delicious ham sandwiches, cheese cake and wine-- for around 10 euros too.

I ate one dinner at 10pm and one at 9pm. Other that that, we always went out for tapas about 7pm and filled up. I know people say to adapt but we always got up early to go to breakfast or the attractions and eating after 9pm makes my sleep restless.

Not sure how it works on an RS tour but I assume you don't have to join all the dinners.

I've done RS tours in Spain
The group dinners were definitely earlier than usual Spanish dinner times. On days you are on your own, you will find stuff to eat earlier.

Edited to add:
I'm on the east coast and keep a VERY regular and early schedule when home. I usually have dinner before 6, and I'm in bed by 10. I manage just fine in Spain. Somehow.

Are the meals on RS tours not prearranged?

In Spain not only are our meal times different, it's very important to know that the meal sizes are different too. In Spain our dinners are usually very light on the stomach, mostly eaten at home, think a tortilla francesa or pan con tomate. The main meal of the day in Spain is lunch, unlike in the USA where you're more likely to have the steak and potatoes for dinner. Going out for a big dinner is something I mainly see tourists doing in Spain.

I think we go to bed a tad later too than the typical Anglo, so for us it's not eating "late". A very popular tv program MasterChef España goes well into the mid-night.

I think if you come to Spain with an open mind you will get the swing of things soon enough. If all else fails tapas bars are open around the Anglo dinner times lol!

I am not sure how the Rick Steves Tours handles meals in Spain. But, in multiple trips there on my own, I find you just need to adapt to the culture (you know, that whole "living like a local" thing).

We rarely have a hotel breakfast, which is fine, the Spanish are not big on breakfast. We would usually go out for coffee as soon as something opened, then stop again mid-morning, for another coffee, a juice, and a toast (try the toast with tomato puree, just grand).

That would hold us until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, when most Spaniards eat. We usually would have a larger meal then, as you probably do at "supper" or "dinner".

Then we would plan something light for the evening, maybe mix in some tapas.

If you try to do the big buffet breakfast at the hotel, skip or eat light at "lunch", trying to do it at 12:00...you just will not make it until the restaurants open, and you will be miserable if you try to eat a big meal late.

When we were in Barcelona in October we took the approach of a late breakfast, an apple and some cashews for lunch, then tapas and wine in the early evening. If we were hungry before bed we had another apple and some cashews. As I was recovering from COVID I was down for the night by 9pm.

We too don’t like eating at 10m, but we’ve never had a problem finding a place to eat. Depending on which city we’re in, it may be take-away, but we generally find an open restaurant with other old people who don’t like eating late either.

Thanks for all the thoughts and ideas. I think a big lunch and tapas for an early dinner or having snacks like nuts, energy bars etc on hand in case I don't feel like staying up to eat when I feel like I should be in bed would work. I am not a foodie, so if I am on tour and miss a group dinner it won't be a big deal. As for the time adjustment, I usually arrive 'in country' a couple days early and try to adjust to local time within 48 hours. Staying up until at least 8 or 9 local time and staying outdoors as much as possible that first couple days really does work for me.

I haven't done a RS tour in Spain, but I have done one in Italy which also has meals at times later than usual for me.
On that tour, group dinners would start at 7 pm and take a few hours. It is different than usual, but not really a problem. You only have about 1/2 your meals with the group. Those that you do have are enjoyable and it just wasn't that hard to be a little flexible while on vacation. The other 1/2 tended more toward the "picnic" style for me. I would grab some pizza, salad or sandwich from a shop or grocery store. I would eat whenever I wanted.

... interesting reading ;) Makes me think of the thousands of times out there, travelling the world, when I've had to eat something when I wasn't hungry at all just because I knew that either I did or I wouldn't have the chance to eat anything later in the evening because everything was going to be closed by "normal" dinner time, LOL!.

Try not to think as if you were in the USA. You´re travelling abroad, and that means that there´ll be a number of cultural differences, most of them of very little importance but you probably need to know about them. Life in Spain is much more relaxed than in the US, we spend lots of time socializing outdoors (we rarely celebrate at home...it´s more going out, bars are our places to socialize and meet family and friends, and very different from those in the US) and meails are of paramount importance to us. Lunch is the BIG meal, around 2pm, later in weekends, when we customarily have a first, a second, a dessert (fruit, quite often) and many people with wine (a very standard custom, wine is not a luxury here). Dinner is, as Carlos has said, a soup, an omelette, a salad...but something light. We do not think this is late, we find it hard to understand why someone would dine at 6pm, when there are so many things out to enjoy before going home. But of course, it´s just a cultural difference and you will very quickly get used to it (as they said before, we find it funny when we see foreigners with such big dinners at our restaurants!). Enjoy Spain, you´ll love it...and I´m sure you´ll have no issues with dining.

Pay attention to the posts from the Spanish people.... as much as you can, shift over to "Spain time." It really is a cultural thing, and lots happens in those evening hours. It seems really hard until you do it; it's actually easy if you embrace it.

Over multiple trips to Spain, we've followed Roberto's method with our teenage special needs son, who goes to bed at 7:30/8:00 at home. We just don't tell him about the time change. So, instead of eating dinner at 6/6:30 like we do at home, we eat at 10/10:30 and usually have a nice stroll after, then head to bed somewhere between midnight and 1:00 a.m. We all do great on this schedule, including my son, whose body clock doesn't know the time on the wristwatch.

Have a great trip -- Spain is wonderful!

Thanks everyone. Carol Now, I have been on 8 Rick tours and that includes 4 in Italy. I remember now what I did at those group dinners. I only stayed through the primi course which was usually pasta and was plenty for me. I am not one to socialize in the evening as I am rather introverted, so joining the group for the 1st part of dinner, saying hi to everyone and comparing notes on our day worked for me. That should work for Spain, too, especially if the meal is no later than 8pm. As a lifelong insomniac I need a couple hours (alone) down time before bed.

Laurie Beth, I ‘m glad you feel like you have a plan that will work for your needs. I hope you have a fabulous time!!!

I found the menu del dia at mid day to be a good option. Usually great value and often comes with wine, coffee or desert. Later in the early evening there are always tapas, bocadillo, or pizza.

We were in Spain on RS tour in September. Dinner was at 8 PM. You will not have any issues finding a place to eat earlier on your own. Many places are open all day. When we were on our own for dinner, we ate at 7 PM and always found an acceptable place to eat.

I've never eaten dinner in Spain, despite multiple trips there. But I love having lunch in Spain, the menu del dia is large, cheap, and delicious. And it's often available until 3. So a late lunch, then something light later, like tapas, yogurt, fruit, etc. I'm an "early bird", too, and Spain definitely is not, but with a large, late lunch it works for me

I'm the opposite--we've actually brought Spain (and to a similar extent Italy) dinner time to our US routine, lol.
I'll just add that you might want to consider time of year when you choose your tour. You might not miss much in spring or fall by sticking to your preferred routine, but in summer when it is 100 degrees, the night time is the right time! I'll never forget coming upon a block party in Sevilla where we were welcomed like we were neighbors. If you are going to rest during the hottest part of the day, it makes sense to be out in the wee hours when it is more pleasant.

We have been to Spain about five times and enjoy the cuisine. It varies a bit from Andalusia, Castile and Catalonia, but is all good.

We especially love tapas. Also, a good seafood dish. As I get older ( I'm 74), I just can't eat dinner at 10PM, so we just eat tapas about 6PM and love that.