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)
These numbers are trending up as costs go up, and owners are pretty ruthless about staying on top of labor and materials and discounts (https://fransmart.com/dan-rowes-tips-for-learning-the-recipe...).
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.
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.
Lunch specials fortunately are still under $15 at our favorite places, but only on weekdays.
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.
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.
For the restaurants, their rent is pushing like €250-300/m^2 (or much higher in some locations, much lower if you drive more)
I was also a bit confused about why beer was cheaper than water at some restaurants. That one threw me for a loop.
However some places like Ibiza are super expensive. 15 euro for a beer or 22 for a mix.
And yes bottled water is often more expensive in the supermarket than wine or beer too. In a restaurant you can often get tap water for free.
Take into account that wages here are much lower than the US though (probably less than half) and lower than nothern europe too.