The Argentinian merienda is one of the four daily meals of an Argentinian, also known as «Mate time«.
We have this merienda during the afternoon — usually between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., more or less. It can depend on the person, the most approximate time is around 5:00 p.m..
What exactly is this?
This is basically an afternoon snack that every Argentinian has during this time.
It’s not a big meal — just something light, like coffee or mate, with some cookies, or some of the famous medialunas, which you’ll see here.
We can also have mate, tea, or coffee with some of these famous Don Satur galletitas (Don Satur, which are one of my favorites by the way — and I think every Argentinian loves them). You must try them if you ever come to Argentina!
Merienda is basically like a desayuno (breakfast), it’s almost the same food, but during the afternoon. Of course, we have the regular breakfast in the morning, and then merienda in the afternoon — but the food is more or less the same.
We don’t eat a lot — just something light, like cookies, toast, etc.
Why is it so late?
We normally have merienda between 4 pm and 7 pm, you might be thinking, «That’s dinner time!» And yes — I know that in the U.S. or Europe, you have dinner around that time. But in Argentina, we normally have dinner very late — usually starting from 9:00 p.m. to even 11:00 p.m. or later.
That’s why we have merienda — because during the afternoon, we start to feel hungry. Our stomachs are empty. So we eat something small to get through until dinner.
What makes merienda special?
Merienda is one of the things I love most about Argentina. Having mate with your friends is one of the best traditions here. It’s the perfect excuse to meet up. You can say:
“Hey, do you want to come over for a merienda?”
So you can have a merienda with your friends, chat, go to the park — whatever.
It’s a great reason to get together.
You can also invite someone you’re interested in — maybe you like a girl or a guy here in Argentina — and you can say:
“Hey, let’s have a merienda!”
That’s like inviting them to have coffee or a light snack — very casual and friendly.
If you ever have a merienda in Argentina, here’s what you must try:
- Of course, mate.
- Don Satur galletitas — my favorite!
- Medialunas — a delicious classic
- You can also have tea, coffee, or even tortas, facturas, tarta de frutilla… there are many delicious options for your merienda time.
If you want to enjoy this beautiful merienda tradition in Argentina even more, you should learn Spanish. It will help you communicate with your friends and with the mozo (that’s how we say waiter). You will enjoy your time here fully with friends, with family, or whoever.
That’s why you should learn Spanish! Here my channel, where you can learn Argentinian Spanish and everything about Argentina:
https://www.youtube.com/@spanishwithnico
Thank you very much for watching this!
Please comment and tell me what you think — have you ever tried the merienda?
Let me know!
