La sobremesa

The hour after the meal

what

The time spent at the table after a meal: people go on talking, have a coffee and sometimes a drink. It can last twenty minutes or the whole afternoon.

when

After lunch above all. On Sundays the family lunch is long and the sobremesa longer. At work it is short: a coffee and back to the office.

where

At home and in restaurants alike. In a restaurant the waiter does not bring the bill until you ask for it.

who

Everybody who was at the table. The children get up to play; the grown-ups keep talking.

why

The company is the point. Getting up as soon as the plates are cleared can look like haste, or a lack of interest in the people you ate with.

• The sobremesa is the time spent at the table after eating — almost word for word the dictionary definition. English has no single word for it.
• On Sundays the family lunch is long and the sobremesa longer; the same old stories get told and people argue about football or politics.
• Leaving straight after the meal can seem like a lack of interest in the company. If you must go, say so and apologise, and nobody minds.
• De sobremesa also describes things made to sit on a table: un ordenador de sobremesa is a desktop computer.

La sobremesa es el tiempo que se pasa en la mesa después de comer.

The sobremesa is the time spent at the table after a meal.

Los platos están vacíos, pero nadie se levanta.

The plates are empty, but nobody gets up.

Lo siento, me tengo que ir.

Sorry, I have to go.

Coffee, a drink, and the bill that never comes

First dessert, then coffee: solo, cortado or con leche. A carajillo — coffee with a splash of brandy or rum — is a classic of the long sobremesa. After the coffee there may be a copa or a chupito, a small shot, which is sometimes on the house; what is in the glass depends on the region.

In a restaurant, the waiter will not bring the bill until you ask for it. Bringing it unasked would be like showing the customer the door, so visitors who think they have been forgotten have not: they are being left in peace. Raise a hand and say la cuenta, por favor; in a bar you will hear ¿me cobras?

• The waiter does not bring the bill until it is asked for; bringing it earlier would be like throwing the customer out.
• A cortado is an espresso cut with a little milk; a carajillo is coffee with a splash of spirits.
• What comes in the chupito depends on the region: orujo in Galicia, pacharán in Navarre, hierbas in the Balearic Islands.

El camarero no trae la cuenta hasta que se la piden.

The waiter does not bring the bill until you ask for it.

La cuenta, por favor.

The bill, please.

Who pays, and the tip

Among friends the bill is often split equally — pagar a escote — or one person pays and somebody else pays next time. Hoy invito yo means today it is on me: invitar is to treat somebody, not only to invite them.

In Spain the tip is voluntary and modest. Waiters are paid a wage and do not live on tips; many people leave a few coins from the change, and leaving twenty per cent in a Madrid bar offends nobody, but it gets noticed.

• Among friends the bill is often split equally, or one person pays and another pays next time.
• Invitar means to pay for somebody: te invito a un café means the coffee is on me.
• Tipping in Spain is voluntary and modest; it often comes down to leaving the change. Waiters are paid a wage and do not live on tips.

Hoy invito yo.

Today it's on me.

En España la propina es voluntaria y modesta, y a menudo se reduce a dejar la vuelta.

In Spain the tip is voluntary and modest, and often comes down to leaving the change.