Budgeting for food in Western Europe

It hard to say without knowing exactly where you are going - big cities, small towns - your dining style - fine dining or picnics from grocery store - or food preference - local cuisine or American style (always beef).

I can only tell you about my experience. I travel mostly in Germany, stay mostly in small towns (only 15% of my nights have been in cities over 50k population). I tend to like local cuisine. I eat Currywurst, Schnitzel, and Käsespätzle. I rarely eat beef in Germany. I stay at lodging that includes breakfast, so I don't include that in my daily food budget. I mostly eat in sit-down restaurants. Sometime I am on the go and have a sandwich and drink at the Bahnhof for lunch, but a restaurant meal in the evening. If I have a bigger meal at lunch, I'll often have something simple (open faced sandwich, or something light) for dinner. I usually have a beer as a beverage at lunch and dinner.

I've tracked my expenses over the last 10 or so years, and my food expenses (lunch and dinner, with beverage and tip) average 20€ a day.

I am in the CT of Italy. Standard breakfast of coffee and pastry is about 2-4€. Lunch of salad or pizza would cost 4-8€. Gelato is 2-3€ for a single scoop. A glass of wine will cost 4€ or more. Tourist menu at a local casual restaurant is 13.5€. I am spending about 20€ a day, including 10€ a day for breakfast at my hotel. For most people I would budget 30€ per day for food in Italy. It can cost less or a lot more.

I usually stay in places where breakfast is included, and like Lee, have at least one sit-down meal per day, so the budgets already posted look good. I also budget €5-8 per day for snacks/water, an hour sitting in a piazza somewhere. I tend to "eat skinny" when I have long travel days (picnic on the train, for instance).

As noted, if you're not staying in a business-class hotel, breakfast is usually included in Germany.

I lived in Germany for several years, but if I was out and about for a weekend trip, I would usually only have sit-down meal (apart from the usually-included breakfast), and have a snack for the other meal. A typical on-the-go snack, like a bratwurst, kebab, pommes, salad, currywurst or goulash usually costs no more than €3-5. Usually very filling too.

Food and drink are generally not very expensive in Germany. For your basic sit-down type restaurant, including drinks, you rarely pay more than €30 per person, and often much less. Go a little fancier, though (usually indicated by more modern decour), and the price quickly increases. At the high end, you can easily excede €150 per person, but something between €50-75 would be more typical.

As others have stated, it can very greatly, but the two of you can eat basic but good meals for ~50 euro/day, figure more if you want to splurge in Paris or Italy. I always point out as well that you can easily figure what you might spend in the US, and that will be more than enough for Europe. Your meal price will be the price, not a base to which you add 5-8% sales tax and then a 20% tip. If you typically enjoy a glass or bottle of wine, it is much cheaper there, beer can vary, sometimes less, sometimes about the same.

Many hotels (more common than in US hotels) include breakfast. This can save a lot. Lunch can be anything from cheap street food (there are 4Euro sandwiches around), to a tourist menu (3 courses, 12ishEuro) to a fancy place (sky's the limit). Water costs a couple euros, wine is a bit more. Depends on the location, in Spain there are plenty of 3-4Euro wines. Dinner is the same as lunch, just a bit more expensive. Just like in the US, food is more expensive very near tourist sights. A food cart next to the Eiffel Tower will obviously cost more than one even a few blocks away, and one well off the beaten path will be cheaper still.

You can go into grocery stores or food markets and pick up snacks for cheaper. Groceries often have pre-made food, and there are delis around as well (pick up a salad and have a picnic!). Train stations often have small groceries catered to travelers with small packages of things like yogurt, salads, sandwiches you can bring with you. Often, I will eat lunch in this cheaper manner and save for a nicer dinner.

I think 30E per person per day is pretty safe.

Most hotels in France do not include breakfast in price.. they offer it.. but at an inflated price. Take breakfast out unless it is specifically included in rate.

I budget roughly 40 euros a day for meals. I eat lunch on the run usually( something take out from bakery or deli.. or grocers).. since I am busy sightseeing, I do have a mid afternoon café stop.. and I have a sit down meal ( usually dinner, but sometimes lunch ) once a day.

I will spend roughly 5-7 euros for breakie, 10-15 lunch, and 15-25 dinner. Obviously it varies from day to day.. sometimes I cheap out for lunch ( a sandwich can run 5 euros, and a can of juice or pop from a corner store for a euro or two) so that I can splurge and spend more on dinner.

When I was younger and poorer I definitely got by on less.. we didn't eat meals in restaurants usually.. just cafeteria type places, fast food, bakeries.. and grocers take out. Now that I can.. I have more flexibility.. I have spent 100 euros on a meal. but that's a rare treat.. ( like once per trip ) .. so really what you spend is up to your personal tastes.

Just budget what you would budget for a trip in the US (or wherever you're from), eating in the same level of restaurant as you would here. Only you know what level of restaurant is your comfort zone.

If you live in a big city, I think there will be no sticker shock (dining here in Seattle can be expensive). Luckily, your dollar goes a little further this year. Guidebooks will indicated a rough price range for any restaurant listed there, as well as menus should always be posted outside, so you don't get a surprise after you sit down. In Paris, for instance, I have often chosen a fixed-price, 2- or 3-course dinner menu around €35 euros. See also general dining strategies at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/sleeping-eating. Among your three countries, hotel breakfasts have traditionally been most generous in Germany, but larger French and Italian hotels have increased their breakfast offerings, in the spirit of competition.

Lee's cost is about what I spend in Germany. Be sure to watch the snacks as they can get out of control.

When traveling, we load up on breakfast, eat a light snack for lunch and a larger meal around 4:30 p.m. Saves big money not eating 3 big meals daily.

We often will intend to eat at famous restaurants when we hit a big European city. We'll look at their menu out on the sidewalk, and most often not like the foods offered or not like the pricing. We more or less roll with the flow on meals--not planning ahead.

We just don't spend mega bucks on meals, and we don't eat out all the time at home. The funds we save by not eating out pays for our big vacation trips.

I think the first few responses are on the low side, I budget a bit more. Typically restaurants charge more for dinner than lunch for the same meal so if you want to splurge at a fancy place yet save a little that is a good strategy. I also found that relying on a guidebook such as Rick's will get you a predictably better meal than you might find on your own. Just because a place is crowded doesn't mean it has good food.

Don't forget a key distinction. When you're at home, your hotel budget is zero, so when you travel, every dollar spent on accommodations is in addition to rent or mortgage. But when you're at home your food budget isn't zero. So, subtract what you'd spend at home, to account for the true extra cost of eating on a trip to Europe. Depending on how many restaurants you go to in Europe vs. at home (compared with supermarkets, snacks, etc), the cost may or may not be that different.

Food costs are also easier to adjust on the fly. If a restaurant's posted menu shows higher prices than you want to pay, you can simply go to another one, or go to a supermarket and get your meal there. I agree that Rick's listings are very good for estimating what places will cost - with the proviso, of course, that they were accurate at the time of publication, so don't count on them to the exact penny. But if he says a restaurant has €8-15 starters and €15-30 main courses, I usually find that to be accurate; I can then plan if that's what I want to spend for that meal, or not.

I used to plan to eat in specific restaurants when traveling through Europe, and either I end up not liking the menu or I find the prices out sight. We try to de-emphasize eating big, expensive meals in Europe.
We eat heavily at breakfast, and just drop into a grocery store around 1:00 p.m. for a snack. We'll eat our big day's meal about 5:00 p.m. That way, we know we're getting by as cheaply as we can (on food), and we don't set any specific budget for our trip.