Wow here in Spain it's nothing like that. We still go out for dinner a few times a week (especially around lunch time when most restaurants have a 3-course menu for €12-14)
I once read somewhere that franchise or investor-backed restaurants in the U.S. were often categorized by AOV per diner, with menus tailored to hit these targets: Pre COVID it was $10 (quick service restaurant/QSR aka "fast food"), $20 ("fast casual" like Chipotle), $50, etc.
Customers are really turning against the ever-increasing price of going out to eat, with the perception that quality isn't improving. Tipping is another issue that really rubs people the wrong way.
It's a joy to visit countries like Spain or Taiwan or Japan where costs to eat out are very reasonable, quality is good, tipping is nonexistent, and you don't feel like you're being hustled out the door to improve some cold turnover metric.
We used to eat out a lot. COVID changed it. What changed? We were forced to really learn how to cook properly, then we saw how much money we were spending eating out, and how much healthier and to-our-taste we could make our own cooking.
When things went back to normal, the prices to eat out had jumped so high, it simply wasn't worth it. $15 of fast food to feed both of us turned into $35-40. A $45 dinner out at a restaurant (taxes and tip included) turned into $60-75 meal. Tip expectations had gone from 15%-18% to 20-25%. Add beer or wine or a cocktail and we're instantly at a $100+ night out.
At home $10 of protein, $5 of vegetables and other ingredients and a good youtube video with a recipe, $15 bottle of wine and we were all set.
One of the biggest shifts in pricing we've seen is Chinese restaurants. Entrees that were <$15 before are now around $20 or a lot more for fish dishes. It's not unusual to have an $80 takeout bill.
Lunch specials fortunately are still under $15 at our favorite places, but only on weekdays.
Oh here prices haven't really gone up that much. A 3 course menu would now cost 12-14€ where it was 10-12. An entree from takeaway would be €5 or so.
The only exception is Uber eats. I notice that most takeaways charge more than on the local takeaway app (Glovo). Probably because most tourists don't know Glovo they are used to spending more.
I'd normally never use Uber (we also have a local alternative for the ride service called Cabify) but I got a free Uber one promo so I tried it out. But with the higher pricing the free delivery is so not worth it.
$14US in Seattle will barely get you a side of fries. A popular place near me (not fancy!) lists their pretzel+dip appetizer for $17US, or €14.50.
With these prices, restaurants and eating out in general has become completely inaccessible to a huge swath of people. And even for those who can afford it, it’s a less frequent treat. It has a noticeable impact on the liveliness of the city and the social vibe, from my experience.
This has been long-term problem for Seattle. I moved here after Portland where the restaurant culture is fantastic. Food is wonderful and inexpensive in Portland so I enjoyed going out. Here in Seattle, it's prohibitive and the quality to cost curve is bad so I make delicious inexpensive food at home.
