Some years ago I worked for an organisation where people from across the planet came together for a few days. It produced tremendous arguments between the USA contingent and everyone else as the Americans wanted to eat so early

When we stopped work at 17.30 the Americans wanted to go back to the hotel to dine. Everyone else wanted to waste an hour on the internet, go swimming go shopping or just do nothing.

At least the South Americans followed the Castilian practice of an early dinner at 22.00, suits me!

This seems really odd to me. As an American, I don't know anyone who eats dinner that early UNLESS they have small children. I'm sure there are some who do, but it can't be typical. I have also read somewhere, if I recall correctly, that the average dinner time in the US is around 6:30 (18:30). However, I have noticed when I'm traveling for work that many people do want to just eat dinner and go back to their hotel rooms after the work day -- often to call their children before bed time or just to relax and have the evening to themselves. Perhaps that is more of an American custom. And I will say, never in my life on a work trip, have I met someone who wanted to go swimming between the end of work and a group dinner!

I also find it interesting how comparisons are always "the Americans" vs. "everyone else". In a lot of cases these comparisons are actually "Some or most of Europe (but not all)" and everyone else.

I'm not saying this is an expert article, but it's at least interesting:
https://www.thedailymeal.com/1310452...-around-world/

According to this, dinner in the US is typically much later than several European countries.

All that said, I do believe in adapting to the customs of the country you're visiting, even for work. When in Spain, I would typically eat dinner around 9 pm/21:00.

I’m American, and I have to eat dinner by 5 or 5:30 at the latest. That’s just how I am. However, I wouldn’t extrapolate that to make a conclusion about all Americans. In fact, most of my American friends find my dinner timing quite frustrating. If I have an event dinner, I might even need to pre-eat ahead of time to avoid getting hangry. I often eat dinner before Mother even eats what she calls her “lunch” between 4 to 7 PM :-) (note that she doesn’t eat a meal after that, so it’s just semantics).

Also American, and I would find that frustrating if you were a co-worker who was traveling with me. Over the years, I've learned that I can appease most of my early colleagues by suggesting a 6 pm dinner, leaving the hotel at 5:45ish. It's a fair compromise for the early eaters like you and not so early for the rest of us that we're still full from lunch. My other trick is to suggest meet in the hotel bar for a drink before leaving for dinner...when you have a group that always lasts longer than people expect.

Interestingly, for many years I would have been horrified by a pre-7 pm dinner time. It was common when I was commuting to an office that I wouldn't get home until after 7 pm and my body adjusted. Now I've settled into a "between 6 and 7 is fine" schedule.

I also have used that trick, and I am still horrified by pre-7 dinners. :)

Late | Early
 

It depends. When I had lunch figures in. If I'm at a bar | restaurant with a happy hour [e.g.: 16:00-18:00] when appetizers are discounted, I will stuff myself with the appetizers. This includes venues like Beer Club Popeye in Ryogoku, Tokyo. :D

I eat quite late on work days (7-10pm start), but much earlier (6-8pm start) when I'm on vacation and not finishing work so late. I also adjust a little depending on the local customs of the country I'm in.

That's interesting, I think I'm the opposite. But I'm also a remote worker, so I get a little bored between the time I close my laptop and eat dinner. And its worse at this time of year when sunset is 4:15 pm.

With this thread in mind, I paid attention to when we ate dinner while on vacation over the last 5 nights: 7:30 pm, 6:30 pm, 8:30 pm, ~8 pm (long wait for service so I can't be exact), 7:30 pm. I will say the 6:30 and 8:30 were both determined by when a reservation was available. But safe to say I eat a little later when on vacation.

Rarely do I eat dinner before 7. If I had my druthers dinnertime would be 9 ish but US working hours disfavor chonotypes like mine.

As I get older, I can cope with eating earlier than I used to. I always used to eat after the theatre, for example, so around 9:30-10pm, but I can't cope with that anymore. Instead I'll eat pre-theatre at 6pm. The advantage is that I'm not particularly hungry then so I don't order nearly as much: the key then is not to have a snack on getting home at 10:30!