Breakfast, Spanish style

If you’re expecting eggs, bacon and a stack of pancakes, Spanish breakfast will surprise you. El desayuno is usually small: a coffee and something light, often eaten standing up.

A small start

At home, many people have just a coffee with milk and a few biscuits, or toast. Lunch is the big meal of the day, so there’s no need to load up early. Out and about, the classic bar breakfast is café con leche and a tostada.

The star of the toast menu is tostada con tomate: toasted bread rubbed or spread with grated tomato, drizzled with olive oil and a pinch of salt. In Catalonia it’s pa amb tomàquet, bread rubbed with tomato. Other favourites: toast with butter and jam, a slice of tortilla de patatas, or a sweet pastry.

«Un café con leche y una tostada con tomate, por favor.»

The mid-morning break

Because breakfast is light and lunch is late, many people stop again mid-morning, somewhere between ten and noon. Office workers head down to the bar for a coffee and a bite: a second breakfast, or in some regions el almuerzo. It’s as much a social break as a meal.

How to order coffee

Spanish coffee comes in a few classic styles. Learn these and you can order anywhere:

• un café solo: a small, strong black coffee, like an espresso.
• un cortado: an espresso "cut" with a little milk.
• un café con leche: roughly half coffee, half hot milk.
• un descafeinado: decaf.

And churros?

Churros con chocolate, fried dough dipped in thick hot chocolate, are famous, but most people don’t eat them every morning. They’re more of a weekend or special-occasion treat, or a late-night one after a long party.

At the café

Tap the speaker to hear each one in Castilian Spanish.

Try it