Tax reduction: These Hanover restaurants are adjusting prices!

Tax reduction: These Hanover restaurants are adjusting prices!

In Hanover, some restaurants are taking advantage of the recently reduced VAT to accommodate their guests. At the beginning of 2026, the tax on food in restaurants was reduced from 19 to 7 percent. This step is intended to relieve the industry, which is still in a quandary after the difficult years of the corona pandemic and rising costs. In one Instagram post from “Reimanns Eck” The tax cut is presented as a thank you to the guests. Particularly pleasing: The popular straw pork schnitzel now costs 14.90 euros instead of 16.90 euros.

Restaurants and cafés show a different picture when it comes to pricing. While Björn Hensoldt from Gastro Trends plans to pass on the reduction until the end of January, not all restaurateurs dare to lower their prices. This is due, among other things, to rising costs resulting from the increased minimum wage of 13.90 euros per hour. As reported, some in the catering industry remain skeptical and consider the tax relief to be temporary. For example, there are stipulations in the two-star restaurant “Jante”, where the seven-course menu is reduced from 230 to 200 euros.

How do restaurateurs deal with this?

The use of the tax advantage is therefore not uniform. For example, Hüseyin Ünlü from the restaurant “Limmehr” and Ralph Klemke from “Meiers Lebenslust” complain about stable prices so as not to lose their regular guests. Thomas Wohlfeld from the one-star restaurant “Handwerk” is cautiously optimistic: He is currently keeping prices stable, but is watching the rising supplier costs with concern. Philipp Aulich from “Brauhaus Ernst-August” has also decided to keep prices stable, even if the reduced VAT represents a relief.

However, the effects of tax reform are more far-reaching. The Dehoga points out that many companies have come under pressure in recent years: one in ten catering companies is threatened with their existence. Critics fear that large chains in particular will benefit from the reduction, while smaller companies will have to struggle with the increased costs. The tax cut could therefore not bring the hoped-for widespread relief for consumers. Rather, it allows catering businesses to ease their financial burdens somewhat.

The look into the future

It remains to be seen whether the reduction will help in the long term. Restaurateurs need to keep a close eye on market conditions to make their decisions. Critics like foodwatch warn that the large chains in particular could benefit and the small, family-run businesses will come away empty-handed. The challenge will be to design the price adjustments in such a way that both companies and customers benefit.

However, in the general opinion of consumers there is some understanding that not all restaurateurs can immediately reduce their prices. Finally, the effects of the corona pandemic and other economic factors continue to weigh heavily on the industry. The tax cut is a move that could potentially make a difference, but the future remains uncertain.