Please clarify when tapas are available.

I am usually struggling to stay awake at 8:00 pm, but my husband and I had no problems finding places to eat in Madrid in October 2017.

Every place we ate at provided us with a free tapa with a drink order. The tapas varied - potato chips, risotto (the best), a small serving of beef stew, French fries, even a bit of calamari.

We stayed near the Lavapies neighborhood and I don't know where Salamanca is. Here is a link to our favorite place, which was very close to Reina Sofia.

http://opazodelugo.es/cont/especialidades/

As one who has difficulty with sleeping if I eat a large meal and have a few glasses of wine at about 7:30 or after, I wonder how the Spaniards manage this. Do they go to bed immediately after eating? They still seem to be up and ready for work at 9am. Amusing story--A few years ago when my daughters and I traveled to Catalunya, Girona, which I'd call a "smallish" town, was our first stop. We were so tired, jet lagged and hungry at 6pm and staying in the old town. We couldn't find anything open so we stopped at the desk in our small inn for help. We explained our problem to the lovely woman at the desk (who was already astounded with us for wearing short sleeves at the end of December while she wore a winter coat--it was 55 degrees) I also mentioned that one of my daughters was vegetarian. She considered that as she looked for restaurant ideas and said, "well, you do eat veal, right?" We still smile at that thinking the last thing a vegetarian would probably eat is baby cow. She did find us a enjoyable, small place, with three other tables of customers--all tourists! Not only were the entrees excellent, but this was our introduction to rioja, pan con tomate, patates braves, and pimientos de padron. YUM!!

I know I saw places offering mid-day tapas by noon or shortly after. I think few restaurants not catering totally to the tourist trade will have tapas out at 5 PM. Perhaps at 6 PM? Locals tend not to have dinner until 10 PM.

The schedule was a big problem for me, too. My solution was to have my main meal at lunchtime. Dinner was some combination of yogurt, fruit, cheese and crackers. Both Madrid (San Miguel) and Barcelona (La Boqueria) have all-day markets where a tourist can get tapas at odd hours.

I don’t think you’ll have any trouble finding a bar with tapas at 5pm. Each bar will likely have different ones, so you may want to bar hop. Getting a free tapa with a drink is common throughout the country.

The San Miguel Market is really more like a food court; unlike the Boqueria Market in Barcelona, most of the stalls sell prepared foods rather than raw ingredients. It's a lifesaver in Madrid, if you're hungry outside of standard Spanish meal hours (which as you already know, are quite different from US meal hours). The food is good, and locals actually eat there; it's not just for tourists.

Tapas is often how the locals tide themselves over until their later meals times, so it’s very prevalent for bars to serve these ‘snacks’ 11am - 2pm and 5pm - 8pm.

I wonder how the Spaniards manage this. Do they go to bed immediately after eating? They still seem to be up and ready for work at 9am.

Here's an interesting link that explains why the Spanish eat so late http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170504-the-strange-reason-spaniards-eat-late

My favorite tapas places in Madrid at night are also around the Lavapies subway stop; during the afternoon I might try those in the Plaza de la Paja, especially if you're looking for vegetarian options.

That center has become so well known for veggie dining that places that cater to modern American palates and eating times have opened up recently, like this veggie burger shop:

http://vivaburger.es

What hasn't changed there is the nifty hidden gardens and revamped former masjids -- once your tour guide has shown you how to spot the architectural clues that indicate former Muslim buildings, you can investigate the neighborhood with a keener eye.

(Let me also point out that 8pm seems early for dinner -- I would not leave my lodging until 9pm or a little later, but don't wait too long because the popular spots will get crowded around 10 or 10:30. Note that this means that you have time for a long nap after the museums close and before you pick an area to explore and dine in at night.)

Michelle, since you are going to be staying in the Salamanca area, I recommend you consider the San Anton market, just a block from the Chueca metro, much closer than the San Miguel market (which I like also). The 2nd floor (3rd US style) has several take-out type restaurants and a dining area. The ground floor (1st US) has a gelato stand. There are also several restaurants right on the plaza where the metro is. Also consider the 9th floor of El Cortes Ingles department store at the Callao metro (also closer to Salamanca), which has a variety of small restaurants; fewer tapas choices but also has various non-Spanish food choices, and a great view.

There are many articles on typical Spanish mealtimes with roughly the same times. What
Spanish Sabores says about what is eaten when may be useful.

"Spanish Mealtimes 101
Desayuno (Breakfast): 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Almuerzo (Mid-morning snack): 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
La Comida (Lunch): 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Merienda (Mid-afternoon snack): 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
La hora del aperitivo (Tapas Hour): 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
La Cena (Dinner): 9 p.m. to 11 p.m."

Joke on my husband and I: We went looking for food in Madrid too early one night. A delightful-looking place appeared to be closed. I asked in my very poor Spanish what time they would reopen and was told at 9, not 21, 9. I assumed that meant the next morning, so we walked on and had an indifferent pizza at a place not too far away. We walked back by the cute place about 22:00 or so and it was rocking. They meant 9 that same night and probably adjusted from 21 to 9 because they recognized that I was not from around there.

My Madrid tapas story:

I was there with friends and colleagues for a business meeting. Three or four of us would go out together in the evening for tapas (we only made it to dinner at 10 pm once). We went to the tapas bar area near Plaza Mayor and would take turns paying for the evening. I was the only woman. The night it was my turn, when I reached for the bill brought by the waiter, he took it from my hand and passed it to one of the men, saying sternly, “Las señoras no pagan”.

I reimbursed the guy later.

Just stay on Boston time and you’ll fit right in.

... that's there in Madrid :))))..... in Catalonia it's not done this way, traditionally we split the bill among the number of people in the party and everybody puts his share, man or woman (call it 'gender equality', lol!).

In my experience traveling with children who couldn’t stay up - most cafes and bars serve tapas all day from lunch on. You can order tapas, and often rations too. Just not a full dinner but you can get plenty of good food between 12-8.

And by the way 8PM is still early! If you want a full dinner at a restaurant (not tapas) you might be looking at 9 or 10. Or later. An Andalucian lady I met asked me for the English word for food eaten at 8 PM. I suggested dinner or supper. Not right, those are at 10! She was looking for “snack”.

Enric, I wish more groups shared meal expenses like you described. Just divide up the bill equally among all the people there and each person pays the same amount. I can't count the number of times a lovely experience has been tainted at the end by people who sweat over who had 2 glasses of wine and who had the steak and who ate dessert. I just figure sometimes I'll pay more than my "share" and sometimes I'll pay less. It all comes out even over time.

Hi Lo,

We Catalans tend to be very "egalitarian" in many matters, and this one is a good example. This way no one feels pressured or unhappy. Also, many of my female friends say -and I totally support that- that they don't see why they should be "invited" if they work and earn money like everybody else.

In Madrid they contemptuously refer to this practice as "pagar a la catalana" (pay the Catalan way).... one more of the many differences among two opposite cultures, the Catalans and the Spanish(Castilians)

Gotta say though that if you're in a group of "acquaintances" (as opposite to "friends") and someone is being clever and abusing it because he/she knows we'll later split, I've had no problem a couple of times in my life to say "hey, no, we each pay whatever we've eaten". I believe in England this is referred to as "going dutch".

Among friends it's different though, we tend to split but sometimes you'll invite and perhaps another time someone else will invite you... it's a matter of trust, confidence, and prudence: we all tend to not ask "the most expensive dish in the menu" when we're eating out with friends... and if you do, then good manners dictate that you warn (and insist) the others that you'll be paying for your meal.

Note as well that the older generations here in Catalonia had a different approach to this, less "egalitarian", LOL!

To piggy back off this post, my family of 4 (2 adults, a 2 yr and 6 yr old) are planning to visit Barcelona and Madrid beginning Sept. My husband and I would love to go tapas hopping but wondered if they allowed us to bring children in the bars..any advice?

Hi Dao,

The word "bar" has different meanings in both your neck of the woods and mine. A "bar" over here is an establishment, open to the general public, serving drinks and snacks. Some of those drinks can be alcoholic, but then minors (under 18) cannot consume alcohol anyway so they won't be served alcohol.

• These days, regular bars -those described above- can also be sort of bar-restaurants because they might be serving cooked food (not just snacks) and have sitting arrangements like a normal restaurant.
• If you and your kids are at the same table, you can be drinking alcohol. But your kids cannot -if they're on their own. If they're with you and you decide to serve them alcohol (ie. a sip of wine or a glass of beer) no one will frown upon you. You're the responsible adult and you decide what your parenting skills should be. This, of course, doesn't amount to allowing your kids to get drunk... in that case, it's likely the bar owner would say something to you or even call the Police. But again I am referring to teenagers of course, not a 2 and 6 yo!!!
• An "adult bar" -you know what I mean- is clearly spotted: one can't normally see the inside and it tends to have neon signs or 'suggestive' signs and names. Also, a clear "no under 18" sign is posted at the door (by law).

So, don't worry, no problem taking your kids to a tapas bar.

Lo -- in my circle we usually just split the bill because we usually share orders and order similarly -- but in my experience the people who get very annoyed at people paying their own way are the ones who order 3 drinks to everyone else's one or get the appetizer and dessert and expect everyone else to subsidize their big orders. Drinks are especially a problem because often that is where most of the money is. A big drinker can add 10s of Euros to the bill very quickly and ought to be paying for it. Tapas is meant to be shared and so it makes sense to take turns.