Two months after the German government lowered the VAT rate for restaurants from 19 % to 7 %, the expected benefit is hardly visible for diners. A joint study by the “Tagesspiegel”, the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” analysed order‑data from the payment provider Orderbird covering 1 October 2025 to 25 February 2026 and cross‑checked menu prices listed on Google Maps.
Across a nationwide sample of 2 749 restaurants, only 9 % reduced their prices, 17 % raised them, while a striking 74 % kept prices unchanged since the new rate took effect. A separate review of 190 menus available online confirmed a similar distribution.
In Berlin, the pattern is comparable. Of 346 restaurants examined, just 13 % lowered their prices. Only eight eateries-2 % of the sample-applied the tax cut so that at least half of their customers benefit from lower prices. Sixty‑eight percent held prices steady, and 19 % increased them.
Owners attribute the limited pass‑through to rising costs for staff, ingredients, and other supplies. Accordingly, they view the reduced VAT as a tool for “price stability” rather than a means to drive further price hikes.