It is very easy to notice cultural differences when traveling. I find, though, that I am very unsure what is the appropriate scale of my observations of Seville — is something a Sevillan peculiarity, or maybe its Spanish or Continental or European? Whatever the correct generalization may be, the service in Sevillan restaurants is quite different from American ones. I wonder how much of this is driven by cultural values and how much by the economics.

Here are two observations: 1. Waitresses and waiters get paid a decent wage rather than depending on tips and 2. Sevillans spend a long time talking in restaurants. In the States, it is to the economic benefit of a waitress to move people through her tables as quickly as possible in order to accumulate as many tips as possible. This motivation is not significant in Seville due to the aforementioned wage levels and the minimal amount of tipping. So did the different economic restaurant calculus develop because of the culture, vice versa, or are they independent? I lean toward the last answer, but what do I know.

Of course, I ignored the owners of the restaurant in the above discussion. They always do better financially by moving people through the restaurant quickly. But are they strong capitalists? — probably not. There are other differences possibly caused by the different economics. The smaller number of patrons is offset by a diminished staff. There is neither hostess to seat you, nor busboy to clear the dishes or fill water glasses (no water glasses to be filled anyway). The waiter or waitress handle a larger number of tables. They do not hover around you asking questions about the meal. Instead, you signal when you need something. All of this makes for a very different dining experience.