Where in Europe can you eat and drink out for the least this holiday?
A summer price roundup by Flemish daily HLN maps where a restaurant meal and a beer cost Europe's least — south-eastern and central Europe, led by Bulgaria and North Macedonia, with Portugal the Western European bargain.
In 30 seconds
- An HLN roundup ranks European countries by the cost of a restaurant meal and a beer, placing Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Czechia among the cheapest.
- Portugal is typically the most affordable Western European country for eating and drinking out; Switzerland, Iceland and the Nordics the most expensive.
- Eurostat's price level index for restaurants and hotels places Belgium above the EU average, reflecting VAT, wages and rents.
- Belgian horeca charges 12% VAT on food and 21% on drinks, on top of relatively high labour costs.
The story is a service-journalism comparison of how much a restaurant meal and a glass of beer cost across European countries, prompted by a roundup in Het Laatste Nieuws (HLN). It draws on Eurostat's comparative price level index for restaurants and hotels and on crowd-sourced platforms such as Numbeo. Named entities: HLN (Flemish news outlet); Eurostat (EU statistics office); Statbel (Belgium's federal statistics office); Numbeo; and destination countries Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Czechia and Portugal at the affordable end, versus Switzerland, Iceland and the Nordics at the expensive end.
Background
Central and eastern European countries have long been cheaper for tourists because of lower wages and prices, a gap that opened after the post-1989 transition and EU enlargement from 2004 onward. That gap has been slowly narrowing as incomes converge upward, and eurozone accession — Croatia in 2023, Bulgaria from 2026 — has periodically raised questions about whether adopting the euro nudges everyday prices higher.
What to do
Eat where locals eat and order the fixed-price lunch menu; expect to pay for bottled water in the south; check for cover charges and included service; decline 'pay in euros' on card terminals in non-euro countries; and compare specific prices on Eurostat, Statbel or Numbeo before booking.
Impact
Regional — The Belgian angle is secondary but concrete: Belgium's horeca sits above the EU average on Eurostat's price index, shaped by 21% VAT on drinks, 12% on food and high labour costs, which is why the contrast with south-eastern Europe feels so sharp to travellers from Brussels, Flanders or Wallonia.
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This story was assembled from verified evidence, with its sources and reasoning recorded as it was written.