In Czechia, eating out during the workday has become a growing luxury.

According to the latest Edenred Restaurant Index, the cost of lunch has risen steeply across the country – and nowhere more so than in Prague.

The average lunch menu in the capital now costs 220 CZK, making it the most expensive in the country. Just behind is Brno, where employees pay 208 CZK for a midday meal.

Meanwhile, cities like Zlín, Ústí nad Labem, and Olomouc remain on the more affordable end, with prices up to 55 crowns lower.

The national average for a lunch menu now stands at 196 CZK, highlighting a steady climb in prices that has outpaced wage growth. Since 2014, lunch prices have jumped by more than 130%, while average salaries rose by roughly 82% over the same period.

Back in 2020, workers in Prague paid just 149 CZK on average for lunch. In cities like Ostrava or Jihlava, it was even cheaper—hovering just over 120 CZK. But the most dramatic comparison goes further back. In 2014, Prague diners paid only 98 CZK, while in the Pardubice Region, lunch cost a mere 75 CZK. In a decade, the price of lunch has more than doubled across Czechia.

“It wasn’t that long ago that a lunch menu under 100 CZK was standard across the country. Now, that price is almost unimaginable in most places,” says Aneta Martišková from Edenred. She adds that the price hike has had a visible effect: the number of people eating out for lunch has dropped by 21% in recent months.

Despite the fall in customers, prices are expected to continue rising. Economic pressures, ingredient costs, and energy prices are pushing restaurants to adjust their lunch menus accordingly, Martišková warns.

The gap between the capital and other regions also seems unlikely to close soon. While Prague’s business districts sustain higher prices, cities like Zlín remain more affordable, partly due to lower operational costs and different consumer habits.

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