I've noticed that a simple lunch now costs 15-18 euros everywhere, where it was still 10-12 euros two years ago. Is it just like that in my region or are you guys paying these prices everywhere too? What's the reason for it anyway - just inflation or are restaurant owners making significantly more money now?
Are you paying more at the same restaurant, or are you comparing different places? That matters, because some establishments really have gotten noticeably more expensive, while others have stayed relatively stable. The price increases come from multiple angles: food costs have gone up (especially meat and vegetables), energy costs for the kitchen are higher, and labor costs have risen because a lot of people in hospitality are demanding higher wages (rightfully so, after years of low pay). It's not just inflation in the sense of prices going up across the board - it's more that certain industries like hospitality got hit harder than others. Are restaurant owners making significantly more money now? Probably not - a lot of them tell me that their margins have actually gotten smaller despite higher prices, because costs have risen so dramatically.
The thing is: the price jumps are real and not just perception, but the reasons are more mixed than people think. I've noticed it in my area too - my favorite lunch spot went from just under 11 euros to 16.50 euros, and that was within about a year and a half. There are several factors at play here: labor costs have gone up (and honestly, that was overdue), energy prices are still higher than before, and food costs way more. Inflation was a push, but it's not the only reason.
What a lot of people don't realize: restaurant owners aren't exactly sitting pretty either. Wage costs in the hospitality industry have grown substantially, partly because the industry became less attractive overall (fewer people want to work there), partly because regulatory requirements have increased. And yeah, some places are definitely using the situation to bump up their margins - that's business. But I wouldn't say that restaurateurs are suddenly making way more money. A lot of them are actually fighting tighter profit margins right now, because their costs have gone up disproportionately.
Fact is: when you notice that the same restaurant got more expensive, you're paying for real cost increases - not just greed. But there are also crazy regional differences. You pay differently in a big city than you do in the countryside.
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