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Swallow at seven in the afternoon, or even before, it was until recently a gesture associated with tourists from northern Europe or retirees who surprised the waiters for their punctuality. But that costumbrista postcard is transforming. A new generation, the Z, has turned early dinner into an act of modernity: they reserve a table at six, they ask for mocktails instead of cocktails and, in parallel, they reinvent up to the holidays with coffee. CENING EARLY. According to a report from The TimesLondon restaurants record a growth of reserves at 18:00 of 11% compared to last year, and the new national average hour for dinner is 18:12. What was previously an empty shift is now full of young people looking for tranquility, trains on time and an environment where conversation is heard better than background music. A trend that was already settled in the United States. According to The Wall Street Journalrestaurants serve 10% of their customers between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m., twice as much as in 2019. Broadway advances functions at seven in the afternoon and cinemas have replaced night premises with Matinés. Even in New Orleans, where the holidays used to start at one in the morning, the concerts now end before eleven. Why is this hurry for dinner? What began as a postpandemic anomaly has become a structural change. “Those who telework usually start and end before, which naturally leads to dinner earlier,” explained Professor Lucia Reisch, from the University of Cambridge, In The Times. The confinement broke routines and allowed many rethinking the schedules. The idea of getting home at nine o’clock after dinner began to lose attractive. For restorators, this cultural turn opens a new front. Chef Joe Laker, at his local Counter 71 of Shoreditch, London, has summarized it in the same medium: “Many of our guests now live further than before. They want to have dinner early so they don’t have to run to take the last train.” Its £ 50 menu at six in the afternoon is not only a gastronomic change, but a symbol of accessibility: haute cuisine without the requirement of a late closure. Well -being before bustle. The movement is not explained only by logistics. There is an increasing awareness that eating late affects the body. According to Voguethe Z generation is popularizing the intermittent fasting in its 12/12 version, with an ideal dinner range between 17:30 and 19:00. Dr. Joseph Antun has explained it as a circadian issue: “That period of time to digest before the nightlife is activated.” Early dinner is not only digestive: it is preventive. “Going out to eat is becoming a way of socializing without sacrificing other objectives,” said Linda Haden, from Luminina Intelligence, In The Times. That translates into visible habits: More shakes and less cocktails at the tables, Skincare routines Before sleeping and morning training without hangover. Less alcohol, more coffee. Generation Z, As Business has stressed Insiderit relates distantly to alcohol. They prefer “sober” experiences and functional drinks. It is no accident that raves are also mutating. As we have explained in Xatakain cities like Madrid or Barcelona, the Coffee Raves triumph: morning parties in cafes converted into clubs where young people dance with cappuccinos in their hand. What at other times was synonymous with rebellion – excess, Blackout, hangover – is now replaced by an equal countercultural act: stay lucid, dance at dawn and connect with others without substance. “I didn’t want to give up the fun to leave, but I didn’t want to continue turning around something that became ill,” said Lauren Branc, founder of The Oracle Project, In a report on these parties. A consumption with conscience. The background of this transformation is broader than a schedule change. According to a Capgemini report73% of consumers of generation Z prioritize sustainable products, compared to 64% global. Early dinner is just one more piece of a lifestyle where health, planet and pocket are taken care of. In other words, rest, diet, sport and money management have become pillars of everyday life. Eating before is, in that sense, strategic: less expense in posterior glasses, more hours of sleep and more energy the next day. Table for six. “Senter at 18:00 indicates the end of the working day. It is not just about eating, but about recovering time,” Analyst Peter Backman has detailed to The Times. In that seemingly simple gesture – the table at six in the afternoon – generation Z is reformulating the relationship between work, leisure and health. The early dinner, which was once associated with Nordic and retired tourists, now becomes a symbol of modernity. It is not just a menu or clock change: it is a reflection of how young people rewrite their ways of socializing, taking care and projecting the future. Image | Unspash Xataka | The Z gene has disregarded the vice that is celebrating daytime raves with coffee and “Sound Healing”