A new study out today declares that Londoners have settled the age old argument as to what we should call our evening meal. A whopping 80% say the evening meal is called dinner and not tea, which is popular with northerners.

In fact, just one in ten Londoners said they call it tea, while 10% say it is called supper.

More than half (58%) of Londoners also believe the meal you have after dinner is called desert and not pudding. Just a fifth (20%) of London residents use the term pudding, with 13% claiming it is called ‘afters’.

The survey was conducted by hotel chain, Travelodge, which operates 580 hotels across the UK, including 77 in London.

It also revealed the assumptions that we make about people based on what they call their evening meal.

Just under a third of Londoners (32%) claim that if you call your evening meal ‘supper’, you are posh. Slightly more (35%) believe that if you call it ‘tea’, you’re definitely Northern.

It’s no surprise then that the study, found that 43 percent of London residents attribute differences in what they call their evening meal to where they live geographically.

The data also revealed, what you call your evening meal can lead to problems, as 43 percent of Londoners have got themselves into a socially awkward situation due to what they call their evening meal.

Interestingly, almost one in five (19%) Londoners have asked their partner to refer to their evening meal via a different name, in order to impress their family and friends.

The study also revealed that

• Just under a quarter (24%) of Londoners think the term ‘tea’ refers to a cup of tea and a biscuit. Whilst 12% assume   ‘tea’ is a light meal between the hours of 4pm and 6pm

• Twenty-three percent of London adults expect tea to be a formal afternoon high tea with cakes and sandwiches if invited for ‘tea’

The report also delved deeper to explore how Londoners like to eat their evening meal.

More than half (58%) of Londoners have their evening meal sat at the dining table. A third (32%) prefer to have it plonked on the sofa with a tray.

A swanky 16% of London residents choose to eat at their kitchen island, while 10% admit sloping off to their bedroom to enjoy dinner on their own.

Five per cent of Londoners admit to still slogging away in the office and so have their evening meal at their desk.

Meanwhile, the average London family eats at around 7pm, with 25% claiming it is old fashioned and uncool to eat before 5pm.

In fact, over a quarter (27%) of respondents said they didn’t like the trend for feeding children separately to the adults, believing the whole family should eat together every evening.

Forty three per cent of adults surveyed reported that their evening meal was the only chance they got to catch-up with their partner and children.

When it comes to what we discuss at the dining table, work, what to watch on telly and the children’s homework are the top topics of conversation. Yet a tired 23 percent of respondents reported they spend the time moaning about how tired they are.

Interestingly, an organised 48% of London adults said they stick to a weekly evening dinner rota as it helps with the food shop and they like the consistency of having the same dish every week