By Marc Galdes
Copyright timesofmalta
Valletta ranks as one of the least affordable European cities for locals to dine out, according to a study carried out by an online culinary magazine. The magazine, Chef’s Pencil, reviewed 177 cities worldwide and placed Valletta 139th in terms of affordability. The study used data from a crowdsourced online database called Numbeo. The site collects data from people who input information about the price of different items and services within their city. For instance, as of September 13, Valletta had received 238 entries from 38 contributors over the past 12 months. To calculate affordability for dining out, Chef’s Pencil compared the price listed on Numbeo for a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant for one person with the city’s net salary. Numbeo’s data shows that the average price for a three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant in Valletta is €40, while the average net wage is €1,480. This means Valletta has a 2.7 per cent meal-to-salary ratio. Valletta finds itself towards the bottom of the list within the European Union, ranking only above Brașov, Athens and Dubrovnik. Luxembourg City, Paris and Den Haag were regarded as the most affordable in the EU. “While Swiss and French cities dominate the top of the list thanks to high wages, Valletta sits at the other end, where restaurant meals place a much greater strain on local budgets,” a spokesperson for the magazine said. The city did better in the ranking of the most affordable cities for cheap eats, as it ranked 126th. The study said this category gives a “better reflection of everyday eating habits”. It was calculated by comparing the cost of an inexpensive meal with the salary. Numbeo’s data lists an inexpensive meal as €15 in Valletta, resulting in a ratio of 1 per cent. Coffee and beer more affordable The capital city fared a lot better in affordability rankings for coffee and beer. Regarding coffee, the study took the average price of a regular cappuccino in all cities and compared it to the share of average income that would be spent on drinking one cappuccino a day. In this category, Valletta ranked 82nd, with its coffee averaging €2.50, resulting in a ratio of 4.7 per cent. For beer, the study calculated the share of average income that would be spent on drinking ten average-priced domestic beers per month. Valletta ranked 98th, with its beer costing an average of €4.29, resulting in a ratio of 1.7 per cent. Earlier this year, a catering sector survey revealed that Maltese people find local restaurants expensive, but most tourists consider them to be good value for money. Although restaurant prices have gone up, restaurant owners who spoke to Times of Malta said that profits have dwindled.
