Salt Lake City restaurants see major price hikes since 2020

• The cost of restaurant food is up 3.8% in the West compared to last March, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The big picture: Many restaurants say they've been forced to hike prices because of rising labor and ingredient costs, reduced customer spending and thin profits.

• Yes, but: They're hitting a pricing ceiling on how much they can charge.
• Restaurants that raised prices more than 10% last year saw profits dip, according to a James Beard Foundation report released earlier this year

How it works: We've felt sticker shock while dining out lately, so we decided to quantify just how much prices have gone up.

• We analyzed Yelp and Google reviews and online menus to compare 2020 prices with today for a dozen go-to items at some of the city's busiest restaurants and bars.

Here's what we found:

The steepest hikes

🍔 Lucky 13's burger: $7 → $12 (+$72%)

🍩 A dozen Banbury Cross Donuts: $9.98 → $16.48 (+65%)

🍅 Caffe Molise's lasagna: $15.95 → $26 (+63%)

🌭 J. Dawgs' beef hot dog: $4 → $6 (+50%)

Solid jumps you'll notice

🍳 Park Cafe "double play": $8 → $11.50 (+44%)

🍦 Normal Ice Cream cone: $5 → $7 (+40%)

🌮 Chunga's taco combo: $8.50 → $11 (+29%)

🍕 The Pie Pizzeria cheese pizza: $12.99 → $15.99 (+23%)

Smaller bumps (but still up)

☕ Rose Establishment latte: $3.75 → $4.50 (+20%)

🍟 Beer Bar large fries: $5.50 → $6.50 (+18%)

🍺 Fisher Brewing Company pint: $5 → $6 (+17%)

🌶️ Red Iguana mole negro: $17.79 → $18.99 (+7%)

What they're saying: After a low-key dinner and margaritas at a local restaurant with a couple of friends came to almost $150, reader Matt M. told us he woke up the next morning with buyer's remorse.

• "The cost was way too high for what we got out of the meal," he said. "It has me reconsidering how often I dine out anymore."