A question about European late dinners

The joy of being retired and living alone means I eat at any time I please now! Great as I have a poor appetite! Years ago I gave the children their main meal at 5 to 5.30ish (unless after school activities precluded it) as they were really hungry by then. My husband and I ate at 7.30 or thereabouts as being self employed he would often work on. I had often ‘gone past it’ by then, having maybe nibbled at the children's meals, so often didn’t eat much at all with him Bad routine, I know, that possibly explains my erratic eating habits today!

We now have our main meal at lunch time and a light supper, due to digestive problems. Works for us. I’ve always wondered how Spanish children get up for school! When we visited Madrid families were just coming in to restaurants at 11.30. How do they sleep after eating so late is a mystery to me! I guess if you’ve always eaten like that your system knows no difference.

Frog but most European countries do not eat late, they eat the same times as we do.

The exception is Spain, where they have up to a three hour break at lunch time, work 3.00pm - 7pm, which means they frequently do not eat until well after 8.00pm.

Now we're retired I do really prefer to eat my main meal for lunch, with a lighter meal in the evening - DH likes a "proper" meal at 7 - 7.30.
Like other posters I don't really like eating a heavy meal before bed. When I was working I tended to stay up later to get everything done so had time to digest a big meal.

I’ve often thought people living ‘sur the continon’ can’t suffer from acid reflux/GERD as they eat so late when we’re advised not to eat for 4 or so hours before going to bed if we have this problem. My husband can quite easily go to bed on a full stomach but unfortunately if we eat late I find myself staying up into the night to make sure the food has gone down. ?

We ate with our children at 7pm from a very early age. They had a snack when they came home and were fine until 7. When they were older I went back to full-time work and still had time to cook a meal from scratch. There's no way I could have done that if we ate earlier. Perhaps people (in countries other than the UK) finish work earlier?

I have a light lunch at 1pm and my main meal at 5pm, although on holiday I wouldn't normally eat until 8/9pm. I must get that European feeling when I'm away...

Fasting for 2days?!?! How have you fallen for such rubbish!?

I think that in the UK it's mainly about long working hours and commuting leading to long days and late meals. When I was working I rarely got home before 6.45 so late eating was the norm. This led the. To very late bedtimes and ultimately exhaustion! And that's why I retired at 62 - couldn't do it anymore.
In Europe the flow of the day can be better with mid day closures or longer lunches in the middle of the day so working later is more part of a balanced day.
What do we do in the early evening - the answer for many of us is...work or travel

I seem to remember that UK working days are shorter than elsewhere apart from USA, but we have much less leave days, other than USA too! As such I think we are generally home by between 5.30-6 we usually eat when we choose now retirees. Sometimes main meal mid afternoon in winter or lunch time rarely if going out in evening (although never do that nowadays) but generally 6ish.

A lot of European countries eat later as when its hot in the middle of the day they have their "Sietsa" for a few hours and then return in the cooler hours of late afternoon. As a result most families eat at about 8.00pm. If they have no children it may be 9.00pm. Even in Spain people eat at different times.
Here in the UK most people eat at about 7 - 8.00pm. If children are involved about 6.00ish as hours ot work are mainly 8.00 - 5.00

We eat around 7.30-8pm. I used to work quite late and we just got used to the routine. I started a diet three weeks ago which involves fasting for two days a week, so now trying to eat before 7pm if I can.

When we were a younger married couple we ate whenever our busy lives allowed us to cook and sit down together. However when we were able to afford to travel and made some very good Spanish friends, we could be eating our main meal at 1130 in the evening! The warm Spanish weather made it seem quite 'normal'. Now that I am a widow and live alone I eat/or not when I feel hungry but never really late.

having lived abroad and here, had the usual varied life of working sometimes shifts in overseas telegrams - awful trying to work out a good time to eat and get some sort of pattern - brought up a family and sung in concerts, operas shows etc so eating had to match in with stage times and when you needed to eat so have always fitted meals in with life. Now am a widow and live alone. would much prefer to have my lovely husband with me of course but that is one great pleasure now, I can please myself and I do . I eat as and when I choose to fit in with whatever else I am up to. Love the freedom to just do as I please. a local butchers called Kitson is quite renowned for their high quality pork pies , which make the quickest picnic / snack to take on a sudden decision to go out, I make casseroles and curries when I am in the mood and freeze them in individual portions so if I am out for the day can just chuck them in the mcrowave or on a cold night shove a jacket potato in the oven and warm the casserole as well . so my usual evening meal can stretch from about 6pm to up to 9pm and on rare occasions if I cant be bothered on my way home from something I will get a chinese take away . But its the pleasure in being able to change my mind at the last minute and I am free to do so and not bother anyone. I also find it quite economical as of course only make things I enjoy as there is only me to please so often find something in the reduced price at a supermarket and think oh yes I will totally change my mind and have that . adds to my pleasure to get something I will enjoy for a cheaper price and no waste. Of course there are the days when you just think what can you eat and are clueless but on the whole it feels part of freedom now

I have an ulcer….. my doctor says eat nothing after 6 or 6.30 latest! Not only had this worked for my ulcer but I’ve lost half a stone in a year!! Win win.

I don't eat after 6pm as I follow a time restricted diet, but when I lived in France it seemed to the custom to have a proper lunchtime meal.. none of this sandwich sitting at a desk stuff. and when I worked with a French colleague on a busy ward in the NHS he was quite unpopular for insisting on taking a proper sit down lunch..

We eat between half seven and eight when typically the farm work is finished for the day

We eat at 8pm . I had to laugh at the question as to what do the adults do between 6 and 8. All the things that have to be fitted round s busy working day, shopping, cleaning, laundry , dog walking and the preparation of the said dinner!

8-9pm usually here. Too busy to get it ready much before then. When the kids were small they had an earlier supper around 5pm but my husband wasn’t even home from work then.

If eating out we usually book for 8pm.

I eat when I am hungry. I live alone so only have myself to worry about. Some days I have eaten at 4pm other days it is 7pm.

In England my family eats around 6.30. But if going out to eat, probably about 8.

we generally eat @ 7pm in the week if everyone is in and on the weekend when ever we also feel like it

We have always eaten between 6.00 and 7.00, when everyone who was home for supper was present (DH travelled a lot with his work, so was often away). We still do, but now have our main meal at lunch time. if we eat out, we also tend to do it at lunchtime.

Dinner used to be at variable times for is as we both worked unsocial hours. The children always had their meal at 5pmm
Now I am retired I like to have dinner at 5.30pm.

When the children were very young, they’d have tea about 4.30-5. And we had dinner about 8 when they’d gone to bed. When the were at high school, we ate at 6. Anyone who was going to be late or not joining let us know.

Now we eat about 7, like many others I need a few hours between eating and bed.