If you order a shop salad in a bar these days, you will not be charged less, even though the price of cow's cheese has decreased by 10 denars. You should not expect that slices of bread, or popular bakery products, will become cheaper for the same reason.

For the same reasons, do not prepare less money for a portion of fried cheese, zucchini or omelette. Briefly and clearly, the freezing of the prices of some of the basic food products will not be felt at all in the cafe menus. Some caterers brief that they don't even think about calculating the lower 10 to 15 percent on some dairy products, pasta, cheaper white and semi-white bread, and finally eggs and rice, because their prices have already been established a long time ago. All the more so that such discounts do not apply to purchases made by restaurants.

According to the State Statistics Office, in January and February of this year, food prices in restaurants increased by 18,9 percent compared to the same period last year. Roasted meats and dishes made to order went up in price the most (20,2 percent), followed by bread with 20 and salads with an increase of 19,2 percent. However, the record is held by sweets whose prices increased by 31 percent in one year. It is interesting that the non-alcoholic drinks are more expensive than the alcoholic ones, by double (2 - 15,7 percent).

After years of stability, restaurant prices began to rise in the second half of last year after dramatic increases in the prices of cooking oil, chicken, potatoes and coffee. They increased even more with the drastic jump in the price of electricity and gas, which are the main elements in food preparation. The avalanche started with the pandemic and the closures, when most of the catering facilities were closed and the staff was laid off. This sector was one of the most affected, although the Government promised that the anti-crisis packages would compensate them for the damage caused by the closure.

- The measures with the frozen prices will not have any impact on the prices in the facilities that serve food. As entrepreneurs, we do not shop retail in supermarkets like other citizens, so it is not realistic to expect any visible drop in restaurant menu prices - this is the individual view of Zdravko Josifovski, a caterer given to "Sloboden Pechat". He believes that what citizens can expect is to receive a better quality service, and perhaps a slightly larger portion.

Regular visitors to bars also complain about certain catering tricks, such as not serving tap water?

- Don't be afraid to ask for a glass of water with your coffee. The waiter brings it to you with bottled water, and if you complain that you didn't order it, the answer is immediate – there is no tap water, the pipes are polluted?! Until a few years ago, no one thought of this, and now bottled water has become a regular occurrence. Of course, water is not always drinkable, but to charge 60 denars for water, as much as a small espresso costs, is not right - commented one of our fellow citizens.

Some caterers brief that there is no point in comparing the cost of preparing food at home with prices in restaurants. Also, the better the team in a certain catering facility (the cooks, the speed and quality of the portions, as well as the speed of the service), the higher the chances for higher prices. However, everyone agrees that in the interior of the country there are excellent restaurants with prices that are lower than those prevailing in Skopje.