Sobremesa is one of my favourite Spanish words. While I don’t think it has an equivalent in English, it literally means sobre- (above) + mesa (table). Wikipedia defines it as:
The Spanish tradition of relaxing at the table after a meal. During sobremesa, conversation is freely had.
When I looked for more information about it I came across this great BBC article which I’d encourage you to read to understand more about what sobremesa really is.
I particularly liked this personal story:
When I moved to Madrid from Zaragoza, I got in touch with Ben Curtis, a British blogger who has lived in Spain for 20 years and has probably taught more people about Spanish customs than anyone else. We’d been emailing about things related to Spanish culture for some time, but we’d never met, so I suggested we go out for a beer. He wisely suggested we go out for lunch instead. It went so well that we’ve been having lunch more or less once a week for the past six years. And by lunch I don’t mean a sandwich at a food court or a fast-food burger, but a proper sit-down, three-course Spanish lunch. With wine, naturally. If there’s a better way to form a friendship than having long lunches on a regular basis, I’d like to know about it.
And I completely agree with this too:
In my experience, avant-garde food doesn’t lend itself to a good sobremesa because too much attention gets devoted to the food itself. That’s why I prefer classic, unpretentious casas de comida, or family restaurants, where the food is home-style, made from well-cooked, simple ingredients.
My mum meets with her brothers and sisters for lunch every week and I know they enjoy the sobremesa as much as the food.
