Cost of eating out this Christmas continues to rise, as hospitality groups feel the pressure
- Christmas dinner at restaurant and pub chains rises 4% to £36 per person
- Two-third of outlets increase their prices by an average of 9%
- Visits to food service groups drop by 27 million from January to September
- One-fifth of stores remove two-course dinner options to increase customer spend
The cost of Christmas has continued to rise this year, as new figures from Meaningful Vision reveal that the average price of a three-course festive dinner in restaurant and pub chains across the UK has increased to £36 per person.
Taken from analysis of price data at 5,000 locations owned by the country’s top hospitality groups, that represents an overall increase of 4% versus last year – but price rises slowed substantially on the 10% increase recorded during 2024.
The majority, 65%, of outlets have upped prices on their festive menus from 12 months ago, with an average hike of 9%. However, tough competition meant 20% have maintained and 15% have lowered their prices this Christmas.
Menus in restaurants and fast food outlets, specifically, rose by an average of 7% compared to 2024 – higher than the Office for National Statistics’ 5% rate of inflation on food and beverage items.
Prices are being forced upwards by a combination of rising costs – including higher labour costs – and consumer caution. Meaningful Vision said visits to food service outlets declined -0.4% between January and September, equivalent to 27 million individual transactions. For pub groups and casual dining chains, this means an average of 300 fewer visits every month per location, but for independent operators the decline is likely to be even higher.
In response, around 20% of restaurants have removed their two-course dinners for Christmas 2025 and now only offer three-course options – typically up to £5 more expensive. Some outlets have also removed free drinks as part of their Christmas packages, offering food only.
Maria Vanifatova, CEO and founder of Meaningful Vision, said: “While the cost of eating at a restaurant or pub has increased this Christmas, the year-on-year difference is slightly less stark than we saw in 2024. A big reason for this is the pressures many hospitality providers are under in the form of rising costs, lower footfall, and more competition – that has forced more than one-third to maintain or cut their prices.
“That said, the majority of restaurants and pubs have raised their prices by more than inflation. At the same time, we are seeing more hospitality providers find other ways of increasing bill values and driving higher revenues, such as removing two-course options and some of the additional items that would typically be part of Christmas packages – such as a free welcome drink.
“Revenue figures for the industry as a whole may appear positive, but that mostly reflects inflation. Real like-for-like numbers show the market is under pressure and it will be a tough trading period for many restaurant and pub groups this Christmas.”