Whatever you do, do not take your wife to Argentina. Many restaurants will not open for dinner until 9pm, will be empty until 11pm with midnight being the most popular time to eat!

<<On the other end of the spectrum are the Scandinavians. If you go to restaurants in Copenhagen at 6pm hoping to beat the crowd, it will be already busy. >> That's news to me. Most don't open until 6 or 6.30pm unless they are open all day cafe places or fast food restaurants, eating out is not in the Scandinavian culture as much as it is in other countries. 7.30pm is an early dinner for me in Scandinavia or the UK. In hot countries, they tend to eat later simply because it is cooler but in Madrid in Feb it will be cold.

When I go to the US, especially if having dinner with colleagues, I have to adapt to early dinners at 6pm or thereabouts but it's hardly a problem, it's temporary and I'm usually jetlagged so it makes no difference.

We always say we should have been Spainsh or Italian, as we adapt quite easily to eating late and pretty much function that way at home. One thing I do wonder about is rates of gastrointestinal reflux--eating late and sleeping too soon afterward being fairly common triggers. Any medical nerds on here know about that?

Again...dinner is very light, and we go to bed late, so reflux is not the case...

"Who´d have dinner at 7pm???"

Let me think ... a person who wants to get a good night's sleep.

You'll find of places to eat by 7:30 or 8. Check out some places online before you go.

When it comes to eating dinner at 10 p.m., I do not want to be like a local

Get 8 p.m. reservations at Sabrino de Botin. Is it the best restaurant in Madrid? No. Is it touristy. Yes. But you can also say you ate at the oldest restaurant continuously operating in the world (1725), according to the Guinness Book of Records. The food is nothing memorable, but we all had a good dinner, and it was fun. I know some people will try and talk you out of it, but just remember, you ARE a tourist! Have fun.

Let me insist...that´s because you´re "dinnering" as a foreigner, considering it a big meal. We like to dine light...go local!! And even dining late...we get a good night sleep! Life is too short to spend it sleeping!!

Eat early ... drink late!

There are more and more restaurants opened all day in Madrid and Barcelona. And she can get fries at McDonald or a donut at Dunkin to tide her over.

You are being a very considerate husband but I think this is something your wife will have to figure out for herself. I would mention that you have heard Spain has late dining habits and remember how difficult that was for her in Italy. You might suggest she research a bit to figure out how she will adjust and that you will be amenable to whatever strategies she considers. I think if she makes some of those decisions, you will have a happier trip.

FWIW, which isn't much, we eat dinner between 9:30 and 10 pm in summer, when the sun doesn't go down until late. Just seems natural, as does going to bed around 1-2 am.

I'm a big believer in the medieval concept of two sleeps: https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-...e-should-again

Indeed, so do I

The two sleeps concept is a winner, IMHO. It reminds me of the old Spanish saying; "Is it not wonderful to do nothing, and then sleep afterwards?".

I really don't like eating dinner late at night and would never do it (meaning 9:30-10). I do eat late by many Americans' terms, though, I usually have dinner between 8-9 pm. I didn't have any problem finding places to eat dinner in Madrid, maybe because I don't go to expensive restaurants ever. really, I don't think you have to worry about this so much. It just isn't true that there are no restaurants open until after 9 pm in Madrid. there are plenty open before. Now I agree some full-fledge restaurants may not open until 8 pm (and some at 7:30), but there are plenty of places where you can eat.

I remember eating in an excellent Indian restaurant near by hotel I stumbled across, and it was one of the best meals I had in Madrid. So I know it was open earlier. Also, there are places that are open almost continually, at least past lunch, I think they are usually called cafes or tabernas or something. And I don't mean just a cafe as a place to have coffee and rolls. And these are NOT just places where tourists eat, absolutely not. I have always stayed not too far from the Opera, around plaza St Martin. There is a street just below the opera that is kind of an open-air restaurant area and I know there are places there open earlier. there was also a restaurant about a block from my hotel that served pizza, but it wasn't just a cheap pizza restaurant, it was nice decor, and it was open at 7 pm or so, as I recall, I know I ate there. And there were plenty of people in there who were not tourists.

Here is one example,
Café Restaurante Los Austrias ? Emblemático Café del Madrid de los Austrias

here's another place near my hotel, they are also open continually from about 1 pm.
https://casaparrondo.com/horarios-re...-casa-parrondo

I don't eat tapas as it would ruin my appetite and I'd rather have dinner. But if I ate them, I guess that would have to be dinner in itself, which of course, you can always do.

I'm not a picky eater, though, so if you want the really nice expensive restaurant experience, you probably will have a problem as a lot of those don't open until at least 8 pm or 8:30.

When we first went to Spain I wondered how it would feel to eat much later than we normally did. I remember being near the Plaza Mayor in Madrid the first night. It was 11:30PM and the temperature was 98 degrees F or so and we were eating dinner and it was, in a word, wonderful!

you seriously do not need to worry.
There will be many tapas places open for tourists that eat early.
We were in Spain last year and never had a problem with eating out at 7pm.

Or, eat early ... drink early! It was never a problem.

I still thank your advice for the excellent G&Ts I had in Spain.