For years now, consumers have had to dig deeper in their pockets to afford eating out and the past 12 months have spared no one.
According to the 2026 Hospitality Operator Report, commissioned by Econolease which surveyed more than 250 Canadian foodservice and hospitality operator, 80 per cent of respondents said they increased menu prices once again this year.
About half of the restaurant owners surveyed plan to increase menu prices again next year due to increasing financial strain caused by economic uncertainty, labour shortages or rising wages, declining consumer spending and tariff or supply chain disruptions.
Montrealers told CityNews that they were concerned about prices going up.
“I do hear my friends, or I hear people around me say that it’s tough to always go out and spend money on food all the time and it’s not convenient anymore,” said one Montrealer.
“Food is a huge thing in Montreal, I feel like it’s such a huge cultural thing for us and anyone who visits always says we have such good food, such good places to go eat and I don’t know if it’s going to stay the same.”
“If ever I would want a drink I would tell myself yes today the next time no, just to make sure I’m not always spending just to spend and just watch my budget and everything,” said another.
Some said they have already started to change their dining habits.
“It’s really sad, but I don’t mind the increase in price if the quality is there,” said another Montrealer. “But unfortunately the quality is not adjusting to the increase of the price.”
“Personally, I just started going less to restaurants and I had this mindset where I would rather spend a good amount at one good restaurant instead of going to multiple restaurants a month. I guess it’s just my way of managing the money thing.”
Restaurant owners say they’re trying not to pawn off the costs on consumers.
“There’s just a certain maximum price that you can increase before people stop coming,” says Jean-Daniel Nadeau, owner of Brigade Pizzeria.
“We’ve been increasing for a few years we’ve been trying to make it happen and what happened is a backlash and if people stopped going to the restaurants, we’re not better off,” Nadeau said.
Some restaurants are adopting different ways to help make it easier on their clients’ wallets and make ends meet.
“We create what we call the menu bouillon, which actually the portions are smaller but very tasteful and we charge them for the main course less than $20 and for the appetizer just less than $10,” says Alain Creton, a veteran owner of Chez Alexandre with five decades of experience in the business.
Creton says his menu is working quite well, with 50 per cent having turned to his new menu.
“If we pass one or two years having less profit, so what? I still enjoy the customers and I want to have them all the time,” Creton said. “I don’t want to keep them away because the price is too high.”
Meanwhile, Nadeau says he has shifted to a more take-out style of restaurant and has gotten rid of table service altogether.
“We’re focusing on something that’s a little faster, trying to get more rhythm, trying to get more people through the door instead of counting on a few people and raising the check. So, we believe that reducing the price is actually going to help us bring more people in, therefore balancing things out.”
Despite the ever-increasing pressure of owning a restaurant nowadays, the report shows 83 per cent of Canadian operators still feel optimistic about the year ahead.
“It’s been a nightmare since 2023, for us it’s been a rollercoaster of things that happened, especially in this location, so am I optimistic? I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” Nadeau said.
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