Lakshmi Aguirre: Spain's Midday Set Lunch Now Averages €14.70 as Weekly Servings Fall to Four Million

Lakshmi Aguirre has published a new book, *Menú del Día: Everyday Scenes of a First Course, a Second Course and Pudding*, which documents the current state of Spain's daily set lunch. The average price for this meal has reached €14.70. Approximately four million of these meals are still served each weekday, although the habit is slowly losing ground to changing eating patterns.

The tradition began in the mid-1960s. Manuel Fraga, the information and tourism minister under dictator Francisco Franco, created the menu to show foreign visitors that food in Spain was plentiful, good, and affordable. This followed the post-civil war 'years of hunger.' The original law required establishments to offer a soup starter, a main dish of egg, fish, or meat with a side, and a pudding. The price was fixed between 50 and 250 pesetas. To prevent dilution, the accompanying quarter-litre of wine had to be pure Spanish red or white with at least 12% alcohol.

In the early 1970s, the offer was renamed to appeal to ordinary Spaniards rather than just tourists. Today, many residents are unaware of its official origin. Aguirre noted that when she mentioned Fraga during her research, many people reacted with shock. She stated, 'It says a lot about us Spaniards; we forget very quickly.' She views the menú as a reflection of Spanish society's evolution and says nostalgia for the practice is growing as it fades.

In 2009, chef Ferran Adrià declared the menú del día dead. He blamed changing habits, economic downturns, and bistro-style restaurants charging €20 to €30 for simple meals. Seventeen years later, Aguirre argues the tradition is in trouble but not finished. The standard structure remains a starter, a hearty main, and a choice of pudding or coffee, with bread and a drink included.

Rising energy and food costs make it harder for small, family-run restaurants to maintain a rotating daily choice. Many patrons now opt for quick lunches, bringing food from home or microwaving supermarket ready meals. Some restaurants have responded by serving a single 'dish of the day.' Others have added Latin American staples to reflect Spain's changing demographics. Aguirre accepts these shifts, noting that the menú has always mirrored the society that eats it.

Aguirre describes her ideal venue as one serving simple dishes like vegetable stew, hake in green sauce, or baby squid in ink, followed by leche frita or rice pudding. Her tests for a good restaurant include a regularly changing menu, non-frozen chips, and a chorus of regulars. She looks for a chalkboard free of words such as avocado, burrata, tartare, truffle, or sourdough bread. Bonus points are awarded if the owners' child is doing homework at a table at the back.

For Aguirre, the loss of the menú represents more than just a cheaper meal. She describes it as a meeting point where families with limited means can eat out and people living alone can find company. She added that the true privilege of the menú lies 'not just in being able to pay for a meal, but also in having the time to enjoy it.'