Nov 3, 2026
If your last restaurant bill gave you sticker shock, you’re not imagining it. Eight in 10 Canadian restaurant owners say they’ve already bumped up menu prices in the last year — and 6 in 10 plan to raise them within the 12 months.
This isn’t simply a cash grab. Operators face climbing food, labour and rent costs. As a result, margins improved for fewer Canadian operators than U.S. operators (42% versus 64%) and declined for more (27% versus 16%), according to data from the Hospitality Operator Report 2026 by EconoLease, a commercial kitchen equipment financing company.
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So if you’re not ready to give up your favourite dining spots, the question isn’t whether you should eat out at all. It’s how to get more value each time you do.
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Why are Canadian restaurants raising prices again?
EconoLease data reveals that operators are passing a growing pile of rising costs onto customers.
Food and beverage costs topped the list of fastest-rising expenses at 64%, followed by labour at 55% and rent at 32%, respectively. Over the past year, 40% of operators estimate their overall costs rose either 5% to 10%, while 38% estimate the figure to be 11% to 20%.
Where you live matters. Western operators were more likely to have already raised prices, while those in Ontario are more likely to be planning increases over the next 12 months.
Canadian operators raised prices more often than their U.S. counterparts (80% versus 68%), yet fewer of them saw margins improve (42% versus 64%). Most of those gains were slight, and 27% of Canadian operators said their margins shrank, compared with 16% in the U.S.
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Are restaurant prices rising faster than groceries?
They are, and that gap matters for your budget. According to Statistics Canada, the federal statistics agency, restaurant food prices increased by 3.1% year over year in September, ahead of grocery inflation at 1.7%, a gap of 1.4%.
As restaurant prices keep climbing faster than grocery prices, every meal made at home saves you more.
Who is cutting back on dining out?
Pretty much everyone. According to the Foodservice Facts 2026 survey for Restaurants Canada, the national foodservice industry association, 80% of respondents said they’re eating out less because of the cost of living, up from 75% a year earlier.
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Lower-income households are still the most likely to cut back, with 87% of those earning under $50,000 saying they’re dining out less, along with 81% of households earning $50,000 to $100,000. The sharpest change, though, came at the top. Among households earning $100,000 or more, 78% are eating out less, an increase from 70% in 2025. As consumer and retail analyst Bruce Winder told Global News, diners increasingly feel “you’re getting less and paying a lot more.”
However, 61% of respondents said they’d visit table-service restaurants more often if they had more disposable income, up from 53% last year.
What to do now
Unlike rent or a mortgage, dining out is an expense you can cut immediately. But if you still enjoy eating or ordering out, consider these six moves:
- Set a monthly dining budget and track it with your flexible spending
- Go at lunch or happy hour, when many restaurants offer lower-priced menus
- Pick up your order instead of using delivery, so you can avoid app fees and a second tip
- Join loyalty programs at places you already visit and check their apps for deals
- Trim the extras — drinks, appetizers and desserts quickly inflate the final bill
- Check your receipt for automatic gratuities or service charges before adding a tip
Pick the outings that matter most — like birthdays or key catch-ups — and focus your spending there. Then cut the routine takeout that adds little.
Survey methodology
EconoLease/Leger: an online survey through Leger’s LEO panel of 250 Canadian foodservice and hospitality operators and owners, in field from June 22 to July 6, 2026. No margin of error applies because it’s a non-probability sample; a comparable probability sample would carry ±6.2%, 19 times out of 20.
Restaurants Canada: conducted by Angus Reid in May with 1,500 Canadian participants. The margin of error isn’t published, so per the guide this should be flagged with a Word comment.
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Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors.
