People are cutting back on dining out due to cost of living in southern Ontario

You can’t live on bread alone, but polls and studies show that most people in Ontario and Canada forgo a little treat every once in a while to stay on budget.

According to a poll on INsauga, readers are cutting back the most on eating out and takeout due to the cost of living, with over 35 per cent of respondents cutting back more than on travel and shopping.

Eight in 10 Canadians are eating out less often due to the rising cost of living, up from 75 per cent a year ago, finds Restaurants Canada’s 2026 Foodservice Facts report. The biggest jump is in households earning $100,000 or more (78 per cent compared to 70 per cent in 2025).

Sixty-seven per cent of Canadian restaurants are also reporting lower profitability compared to a year ago and 44 per cent are expressing pessimism about 2027, according to Restaurants Canada’s latest quarterly report.

“Canadians cutting back on eating out has a lot to do with diners’ expectations changing. The trend seems to be in expecting more ‘bang for my buck,’ and this tends to go in two directions,” Jon Rennie, co-owner of Kitchener’s celebrated Odd Duck, tells yourcitywithIN.

Fun fact: at Odd Duck, there’s no tipping.

“One is cheap and cheerful, where a larger quantity of food at a low price is the desire. The other is that when diners are spending more for a meal out, they want to be wowed or blown away. Good isn’t good enough anymore, it has to be impressive. Both of these attitudes appear somewhat opposing on the surface, but they’re really seeking the same thing: perceived value.”

Restaurants Canada’s 2026 Foodservice Facts report also finds that six in 10 Canadians say they would visit a table service restaurant more often if they had more disposable income, up from 53 per cent in 2025.

That means Canadians want to dine out; they’re just finding they have to be more selective about it.

“People dine out less often, when they do choose to go out, they want the experience to feel thoughtful, memorable, and worth the indulgence. We’ve adapted by making our food program feel more intentional and experience-driven,” No Vacancy co-owner Joseph Lee tells yourcitywithIN.com.

“We introduced a more refined tasting menu for guests looking for a full dining experience, while still keeping our bar menu for people who want something more casual and flexible. That balance has been important to us because guests are looking for different ways to experience the restaurant. We’ve also focused on better presentation, more distinctive Korean-Italian inspired flavours, and dishes that feel special enough to match the energy of the room. Guests are expecting more than just good food now.”

They sure are, especially on those rare occasions they feel are worth an expensive restaurant bill. Restaurant teams increasingly have to outdo themselves with those “thoughtful, memorable” touches for important dates. Choose Michelin-level Korean restaurant 156 for your celebration, for example, and receive a Polaroid plus a handwritten note from the team as a souvenir.

“We’ve seen a clear shift in dining habits. There are more birthdays, anniversaries, and celebrations, and fewer casual repeat visits. We still have our regulars, but many guests try out new places every time they dine out, hoping to unearth some real gems in Toronto,” Minami general manager Nicholas Teehan tells yourcitywithIN.

“We launched monogrammed cotton and linen coasters this season, and the response has been great. We also provide handwritten cards signed by the manager for anniversaries, sealed with an Aburi kanji wax seal.”

Whether it’s Polaroids, monogrammed coasters, wax-sealed handwritten notes, tasting menus, presentation, bold flavours, live fire cooking or just really great ingredients, Canadian restaurants are finding ways to do more than just make good food, and to blow customers away with an impressive experience that they will not only remember for a lifetime, but feel they can’t help but share.

“We continually strive to take care of our guests, make them feel comfortable in our space, and share flavours, wines, ingredients, and dishes that excite us,” says Rennie.

“As guests become more selective about where they spend their dining dollars, we’ve found that delivering a memorable experience continues to resonate. We are busier than ever, and beyond awards and recognition, word of mouth remains one of the largest contributors to that growth.”