Moving to Spain - the Easy Way? Chapter Six.

MOVING TO SPAIN – THE EASY WAY? Chapter Six – food and drink. 

The more astute of you may have realised by now that John and I enjoy drinking good wine, though we vehemently deny that this was the major factor in our decision to buy a house near Jumilla, with its outstanding red wines.

At this stage I must be very responsible and warn readers that alcohol abuse is a serious matter, as the following pages may encourage you to go to Spain and drink too much. Remember that it is worth spending money on a good quality bottle of wine rather than a cheap one, so that you drink more slowly and can really appreciate it.  The only problem is, with Spanish prices being so reasonable, you may very well decide to buy two bottles anyway.

In the UK, pub measures are laid down by law, but the only law in Spain seems to be that bar staff and waiters must be as generous as possible when pouring drinks.  As drinks tend to be a lot cheaper in Spain there is a danger of drinking to excess, however like the French paradox that states there is a low incidence of heart disease in France in spite of people drinking lots of wine and enjoying good food, the Spanish paradox is that although measures are large and prices are cheap, in the majority of Spanish towns you don’t see drunks staggering around the streets.  When you do it tends to be on the coast and they are usually foreigners – sadly, they are often other Brits.

The Spanish way of life means that people usually drink alcohol when they are eating and you don’t see people sitting for hours just drinking.  Everybody knows the Spanish tradition of having tapas with a drink, but at lunch time when people choose menu del dia it will also include a drink, which when a couple are eating out will often be a bottle of wine.  We have even seen people eating on their own being given a full bottle and finishing it, though they are more likely to leave at least half a bottle behind when they have finished their meal.  Bottles of water and “la casera” lemonade usually accompany the meal, and if these haven’t been finished the diner will take the bottle with them.  I suspect that a lot of British diners would prefer to take the unfinished wine rather than the water!

Our strangest experience was when we stayed at a hotel in Madrid. Breakfast wasn’t included and we thought that the hotel’s breakfast was a bit pricey at 11 euros, so we decided to investigate the local cafes.  There was a café in the shopping centre near the hotel, which had the widest selection of breakfasts that we have ever stumbled across, including Scottish breakfast, Irish breakfast and Spanish breakfast.  The set breakfasts included drinks, which were mainly coffee or tea, however we noticed that there was a choice of beer or wine with the Spanish breakfast.  We knew we were being a bit decadent, but on our last morning we just had to try a beer and a glass of wine.  It would have been rude not to.

On one occasion when we were staying in Jumilla we had woken up early, so once we had finished our breakfast in the café next to the hotel, we decided to walk up the long, steep hill to the Castillo overlooking the town, before it got too hot.  On the way back down, we decided that as it was still quite early in the day we would have time before lunch to walk along a path near there that we had seen but never explored, and which looked interesting. 

First though, we would have a coffee in Charco Ontur, a restaurant we had noticed on the edge of Jumilla.  There were quite a lot of cars parked outside and as soon as we entered the bar we could see that the place was packed with workmen having breakfast.  The only available seats were a couple of stools, that meant sitting at the bar.

“I think we’ll come back here for lunch,” John said.  We knew that Spanish workmen always went to the best, inexpensive restaurants, so the fact that they were all here having their breakfast was a good sign. 

After finishing our coffees, we set off to find the path, which was signposted “Charco del Zorro”.  We followed the path, not sure exactly what we would find.  We discovered that Charco del Zorro was a tranquil pool, surrounded by wetlands, with good views of the Castillo, so the walk had proved worth doing.

“I’ve worked up a bit of an appetite”, I said on the way back.  “Your idea to go back to the restaurant for lunch sounds like a good plan, as it’s the nearest place.”

It was a good decision, as lunch was excellent. Although the waiter replied “chicken” when we asked what was on the menu, once I explained that I didn’t eat meat, he brought me a delicious bowl of seafood soup followed by a huge swordfish steak.  I decided that I would have fruit for dessert as I was feeling quite full, however to my dismay I was presented with half a fresh pineapple, with all its leaves still on.  John couldn’t resist taking a photo of me staring in disbelief at my “light” dessert.

Many British people are caught out by the opening times of restaurants in Spain.  I admit it took us a while to adjust to them too.  I once went into a restaurant just before 1pm to ask about menu del dia and couldn’t understand why the waiter shook his head.  Surely most restaurants have this bargain set menu at lunch time? 

Later on we discovered that lunch rarely begins before 1.30 in Spain and often it isn’t until 2pm.  This can work to our advantage though if we want to go to a popular restaurant and haven’t booked.  We are almost guaranteed a seat if we arrive any time up to 2pm, as most places are at their busiest between 2 and 4.

Dinner too starts a lot later in Spain.  If you really want to eat earlier, you need to find a restaurant that is open all day, however if you arrive at 7.30 in the evening, be prepared to either eat alone or discover that your fellow diners are also British. 

It can be baffling when you don’t know Spain to search the streets near your hotel in the early evening for somewhere to eat and find out that the restaurants are all closed when you had already seen them open earlier in the day.  Many restaurants will shut just after 4pm when lunch finishes and they won’t open again until 8pm.  That’s why tapas are such a good idea, as you can walk into a bar and have a drink and some tapas to keep you going until it’s time for dinner.

It’s also reassuring to know that you can get a meal late at night, when you are arriving on a evening flight from the UK.  We had booked a hotel in Bilbao for a holiday and were a bit concerned that our flight might be delayed and that by the time we reached the hotel we could miss dinner.  We sent an email to our hotel explaining this, and asked them when they stopped serving dinner.  Their answer came back saying that dinner was available until 11pm, so not to worry.

Luckily the flight arrived on schedule, so we had time to check in and have a quick shower before going down to the dining room at quarter to eleven.   The place was still busy, though we didn’t hear any English voices, so presumably our fellow countrymen had dined a lot earlier.  We noticed that couples were still arriving for dinner up until midnight and nobody was turned away.

Afterwards we decided to go for a stroll, as we had eaten well and didn’t want to go straight to bed on a full stomach.  We discovered that this was the last day of a local fiesta, so there were bands playing and food being cooked at stalls all along the river, although sadly we were too full to sample any of the delicious smelling food 

Groups of young people were sitting on the pavement, sharing bottles of wine and other bottles of alcohol, chatting noisily with much laughter, but generally well-behaved with no signs of being drunk.  It was a pleasant change from late nights we have experienced in cities back in the UK, but typical of Spain.

Vegetarians have to be very careful when dining out in Spain, as I discovered after a couple of surprises.  I thought I was safe in saying that I didn’t like “carne” as in the UK if you say that you don’t eat meat, the assumption is that you are either a vegetarian or that you may eat fish but not any meat, and the waiter will know which dishes are suitable for you. 

I once chose a lentil dish from the menu in a Spanish restaurant, checked that it didn’t include meat, and was horrified when it was placed on the table in front of me to find that it contained ham.  When I pointed this out to the waiter, I was told that it didn’t include meat, “solo jamon”.  I soon learnt to say that I don’t like meat, ham or poultry, as in Spain meat is taken to mean red meat only.

Don’t despair if you don’t see a vegetarian course, as many places will accommodate you.  We arrived at a restaurant that had been recommended to us, looking forward to lunch there.  I read through the menu del dia, which appeared to have a suitable starter for me, and checked with the waiter.  He shook his head – the dish obviously contained some meat.  It was getting late and I was hungry, so I asked if I could have a vegetable dish instead.  This was not a problem for them, and I was rewarded with a delicious starter of grilled vegetables.

Salads can be tricky for vegetarians even though you may think it’s a safe choice. If you ask for a salad in Spain be wary, as you are almost guaranteed that it will contain tinned tuna, which usually covers most of the plate so is difficult to avoid.  It’s not a problem for me anymore, now that I eat fish. 

I forgot to mention earlier that when you have menu del dia, the menu usually consists of three courses.  It is common though for a large plate of salad to appear on your table for you to share before having your starters, plus a basket of bread.  We have learned to take care that we don’t eat too much of it before our meal arrives, as although you don’t expect large portions when you are only paying between eight and ten euros for the entire meal, sometimes the starters are massive, and you can feel full even before your main course is served.

Very few restaurants have a printed menu del dia.  You can often spot a board outside the restaurant giving you the available options, but sometimes it is only written down on the waitress’s or waiter’s order pad, and if you don’t speak much Spanish and are unlucky it may only be in your waiter’s head.  On the coast you will probably be fine as your waiter will usually be able to tell you what the menu is in English as well as Spanish, but we have been inland and had to concentrate really hard as the waiter rattled off the menu choices in rapid Spanish.

John and I were staying in San Pedro del Pinatar on one of our many trips to Spain looking at property.  We had spotted a café up one of the side streets that seemed very busy.  A popular place usually indicates that the food will be good, so we decided to have a closer look.  The menu was written on the board outside, but unfortunately the main courses were all meat dishes. 

We ate elsewhere that day, but decided to check the board the following day in case there was something that I could eat.  I was in luck as there was a fish option, so we entered the café and ordered our food.  When we were asked what drinks we wanted John chose red wine, but I decided that I fancied rosé so asked for “rosado”.  The waiter said “si” before going back to the bar with our order.

A few minutes later, the waiter brought a carafe of red wine and two glasses, which he left on the table.  John was about to pour me a glass of red wine, but I told him that I was having rosado. “They can’t have any rosado here, or he would have brought it by now”, John said, but I reminded him that the waiter had said yes when I asked for it.  If they didn’t have any, surely I would have been offered red or white wine instead? 

Not long after that, John looked towards the door of the café and shook his head in disbelief.  Moments later the waiter appeared with a bottle of wine, which he opened for me.  John told me that he had seen the waiter coming through the door with the bottle of wine, which he had obviously gone out to buy especially for me.  The menu del dia was only 7.50 euros, so we had not expected that level of service for what was such a cheap meal.  “You’d better drink more than one glass of your wine, after all the trouble he went to get it for you!” I was ordered by my other half. As the wine was good, I didn’t argue with him.

Many years ago, when I first visited Spain as a young woman, drinks were normally served with a free tapa: usually a tasty morsel on a small dish that covered the glass.  Nowadays that doesn’t always happen, but sometimes you are given tapas in places where you don’t expect to be given them, like the capital city of Madrid.

We had gone to a restaurant near our hotel one Sunday evening, thinking that we would probably have a meal there later on, but that we would have a drink first and check when they started serving food.  The waiter apologised and said that they wouldn’t be open for dinner, but suggested a couple of other places that we could try.  When he brought over our drinks, the waiter also brought us some potato skins topped with melting cheese, which proved to be very filling and delicious tapas and which didn’t appear on our bill when we paid it on our way out of the restaurant.

A similar incident happened in Mojacar, which was also unexpected as it is such a popular tourist spot.  We were on our way down the hill after exploring the pueblo, when we decided to have a drink in a café on one of the many lovely plazas.  The waiter brought our drinks over and indicated that we should have a look at the tapas on the counter.  There was a good selection, so I chose prawns while John had difficulty in deciding but eventually settled for one of the meat dishes.

The waiter brought over a plate which had three huge gambas on it for me, and John’s meat had been put inside a small roll, looking like a miniature burger.  When we received the bill, we were amazed to find that such substantial tapas had not been charged for, especially when considering that we had been able to choose what we wanted.  Usually, when you are given free tapas with your drink, it consists of a bowl of olives, nuts or crisps, or whatever the waiter has decided to give you.

Another custom in many Spanish restaurants is to offer you a glass of brandy or liqueur on the house when they bring your coffee at the end of your evening meal.  We were surprised when this happened in Madrid, as we cannot imagine any London restaurant bringing a free drink with the bill, no matter how much you had paid for your meal.

On our first night in Madrid, a bottle of cherry brandy was left on the table at the end of our meal, so in theory we could have helped ourselves to several glasses, though in practice one small glass was more than enough for us.  In another restaurant our waitress brought over several different bottles of liqueurs so we could choose which one we wanted to try.

The most surprising episode though was after we had lunch in a small restaurant in the centre of Madrid.  I popped into the ladies toilet on the way out, and emerged to find that John had already paid the bill and was waiting in the street outside.  In spite of this, our waitress stopped me and insisted that we were to have a drink on the house, so I had to haul John back inside while the waitress poured two substantial glasses of brandy for us.

This is fine when you are on holiday, however I think that once we are living in Spain permanently we will have to limit how often we eat out.  Either that or we will have to go on regular detoxes.  In Spain, every meal in a restaurant should come with a health warning that it may include large quantities of alcohol.

 Key Points: ·        Be aware that Spanish measures are usually huge, so if you are counting units, one drink will always be more than one unit.·        Never drink and drive in Spain, as the limits are lower than the UK (plus see the point above).·        If you are a vegetarian, check that the dish doesn’t include meat, ham and poultry, not just “carne”.·        Meal times are usually a lot later than in the UK, especially inland.  Lunch is unlikely to be available before 1.30 and many restaurants don’t open in the evening until 8pm or even later.  ·        One way to guarantee a table for lunch or dinner is to arrive earlier than the locals, unless there are lots of ex-pats in that area, in which case it may be better to arrive later.