Why Do Spaniards Eat So Late? And Should Melbourne Get on Board?

If you’ve ever been to Spain, you know that dinner rarely if ever starts before 8, 9 sometimes even 10 pm.
Doesn’t matter if you’ve got young kids, work the next day, have an early-morning flight… You’re not going to be sitting down to dinner while the sun’s still up. Rumours about late-night eating and the effects it has on weight, sleep, digestion and what have you be damned.
Growing up, as I was all about it. I liked to think it was because Spanish culture is in my blood. In reality, it’s probably because my youthful eating habits and preferences were heavily influenced by my Italian-Argentine grandpa and Euro/Latinophile grandma (don’t tell her I said that). That meant child-size sips of Limoncello with dinner, adult-sized coffee afterwards, and meals that didn’t finish up until midnight if not later.
Latin and Mediterranean cultures both have a long-standing reputation of being slow and leisurely. Late starts, siestas at midday, lengthy lunches and even longer dinners.
But, as I recently discovered, Spain’s culture of late-night dining is distinctive from that of other parts of Europe and Latin America. Although many countries have similar practices, theirs are purely cultural while Spain’s is — at least in part — geographical and shockingly political.
Since World War II, the country’s been living in the wrong time zone. They should be running on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but during the war, their Hitler-supporting dictator transitioned the country to Central European Time (CET) to align with Germany. They never transitioned back.
So while Spaniards were already late diners, this change pushed their schedules yet another hour later. No wonder they eat so late when they don’t get off work until 8 pm and the sun doesn’t set until hours later.
I once felt pride in repping the late-night dining habits of the Spanish but now I’m conflicted. Am I overthinking it, or is my pride in this custom a subtle heil Hitler?
I take comfort in the fact that if the country’s time zone was only pushed back one hour, they already operated on a tardy schedule — even before the impact of Francisco Franco.
In Melbourne, it’s hard to find restaurants open as late as those you’d find in Spain. There are a few, but they’re predominately Asian, not European. Because the clientele frequenting European restaurants are typically a bit older, a tad more conservative and not interested in living like a Spaniard, as much as they may admire the culture.
I love Pontoon in St. Kilda (see the cover image of this article) for their sophisticated Spanish fare and beautiful seaside views. But I know the venue would probably lose money if they stayed open past 11 pm. Venues in the city are another story.
Melbourne club culture is experiencing a lull as is drinking culture. Lots of people are seeking new spots to spend their nights — and ones where alcohol is optional. You can’t really go to a bar and not imbibe, but you can go to a late-night eatery and drink a coffee without expectations beyond that.
So political connotations aside, maybe it’s time for Melbourne to embrace more of a late-night dining scene. Thoughts?