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ARCHIVED - Grubs up: Menu del Dia prices shoot up all across Spain
The average Menu of the Day meal in Spain has increased by 9%
The ever-popular Menú del Día, or Menu of the Day, has been feeding budget-conscious families and holidaymakers across Spain for as long as anyone can remember. Usually offering bread or a salad, a choice of starters and mains, a drink and even a dessert to boot, 10 euros has traditionally gone a long way to filling us to the brim.
Sadly though, it seems the days of cheap meals are on the way out, as rising inflation, as well as higher running and produce costs, are forcing Spanish restaurants to hike up their prices, and the average cost of the value-for-money Menú del Día in Spain is now 12.80 euros, rising to 14 euros in cities like Barcelona and Madrid.
This is a 9% increase on 2016 according to Hospitality of Spain and Edenred, who recently carried out a survey of 611 establishments around the country.
Unsurprisingly, the big cities have increased the most, with the average budget-friendly menu going from 11.90 euros five years ago to 13 today.
Barcelona is the most expensive capital to eat a Menú del Día, where the bill will set you back 14, followed closely by Madrid at 13.90 euros. Palma de Mallorca completes the podium set at 13.60 euros.
Next up is Bilbao, where the daily menu now costs 13.50 euros, just ahead of Murcia (13 euros), Zaragoza (12.80), Valencia (12.60), Malaga (12.50), Seville (12) and Las Palmas (11.50).
While the war in Ukraine has certainly heaped more pressure on the hospitality industry, inflation was taking its toll well before this, and 37% of the bars and restaurants surveyed admitted to having raised their prices by 5%. Another 30% said they have been forced to up their charges by 10%, while 7% of venues have tacked an extra 15% on to their bills.
Interestingly, one in four businesses claim not have altered their prices at all.
Inflation, the main culprit
Many products essential to running a successful bar or restaurant have shot up in price in recent months and in order to keep their heads above water, smaller establishments have no choice but to pass this cost onto their customers. Cooking oils, for example, have risen between 42.5% and 96.2%, while other key ingredients for a Menú del Día, such as milk, bread, eggs, pasta, poultry and beef have all jumped by more than 13%.
Will the higher costs put people off trying out the daily menu in restaurants in Spain? Somehow I don’t think so. Even at its most expensive 14 euros, three or four courses of delicious food as well as a drink and a pleasant afternoon out still sounds like a bargain to me.
Image: Flickr
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