Breakfast in Spain

Food & Drink in Spain: Breakfast

Nutritionists say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but the Spanish like to keep their first meal of the day small so as to make room for the gigantic meal they'll eat at lunch time. On this page you'll find details of what to expect for breakfast in Spain.

See also:
BestBreakfast in Madrid
Lunch in Spain
Evening Meals in Spain

Spanish breakfast is small and usually consists of a cup of coffee with a slice of toast and jam (almost exclusively apricot, for some reason), a pastry or churros. Churros are often served with chocolate instead of coffee.

But my favorite Spanish breakfast is torrijas, Spain's take on bread pudding or French toast. Not as widespread as the above options, but a must if you can find it. For a better idea of what torrijas is, see the About.com Guide to Spanish Food's torrijas recipe.

Freshly squeezed orange juice is popular and surprisingly common - even the smallest bar will invariably have an orange squeezer. This usually pushes the price of the breakfast up by quite a bit - just your coffee and toast/pastry will usually cost 1.50-1.80€, the juice doubles the price.

The Spanish are not the earliest risers in the world. If you have to leave before 8am you might find that nothing is open, though in Madrid many bars open at 7am. The situation is even worse at weekends.

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