For a “legendary” Hard Rock Cafe burger, washed down with a pint of local lager, Latin America is the ideal location. Three pals could drink and dine in La Paz, Bolivia, for the same price as a solo customer at the rock ‘n’ roll-themed venue in Dubai.
The burger and beer combo is only £10.50 in the Andean administrative capital, compared with £31.50 in the UAE’s tourist hub.
Copenhagen is almost as expensive as Dubai: in the Danish capital, the bill comes in at £31.
The inaugural Hard Rock Index provides a proxy for the living costs for travellers to destinations across the world.
London – where the original Hard Rock Cafe opened in 1971 – is joint third most expensive, at £26.
Three other European cities share the same price for processed meat and lager, £26:
Brussels, Barcelona and Manchester take the next three places.
The survey of two dozen Hard Rock Cafes was conducted by The Independent using online menus. Importantly, the data does not take into account sales tax applied to menu prices – as is the practice in the US – nor tips. In continental European locations, diners can leave no gratuity without a problem, while in the US at least 18 per cent is expected. So the figures flatter American venues.
In the US, the most expensive cities are New York and San Francisco (£22). Tax and tips would be likely to increase the cost by at least £5.
Tampa in Florida is £21 (though dining at the airport costs £3 more), while New Orleans is a relative bargain at £20. Lowest in the US is Niagara Falls at £19.50 (or £4 more if you prefer not to be harangued by the waiter for failing to donate the appropriate gratuity).
Back in Europe, Innsbruck (£20.50) and Prague (£20) are well ahead of Warsaw (£16.50).
Singapore (£19) is the most expensive Hard Rock Cafe sampled in Asia, with Bali only £15. This is also the price at the sole Egyptian contender, Sharm el-Sheikh.
Panama City will serve the popular comfort feast for £13.50.
While La Paz is the clear dinner winner at only £10.50, other South American locations may be even cheaper.
Branches of the Hard Rock chain in Cartagena (Colombia), Ushuaia (Argentina) and across Brazil do not quote prices on their online menus, possibly due to high inflation.
Dubai, besides being priciest overall, was also the location with the most expensive beer (£12). You could drink four times as much for the same price in Bolivia’s high-altitude metropolis. The burger cost the most in Copenhagen (£22).
The only place researched that also offered quinoa burgers for vegetarians was, once again, La Paz.
Hard Rock Index: How much for a beer and burger dinner?
- Dubai £31.50
- Copenhagen £31
- London £26
- Dubrovnik £26
- Reykjavik £26
- Venice £26
- Brussels £25
- Barcelona £24
- Manchester £23
- New York City £22
- San Francisco £22
- Lisbon £22
- Tampa £21
- Innsbruck £20.50
- New Orleans £20
- Prague £20
- Niagara Falls £19
- Singapore £19
- Cabo San Lucas £17
- Warsaw £16.50
- Bali £15
- Sharm el-Sheikh £15
- Panama City £13.50
- La Paz £10.50
Prices converted at mid-market rates and rounded to nearest £0.50
Source: Individual cafe online menus
