€16 for a potato salad at a beach bar in Huelva, Spain

The beach bar in Huelva charging €16 for a potato salad, bread not included

How much does it cost to eat at the beach in peak season? A beach bar on the coast of Huelva, in southern Spain, has set the bar high: €16 for a potato salad, €16 for a burger and €10 for a few slices of tomato with olive oil. No drink or bread included. The menu, posted on a digital menu platform, has reignited the debate over seasonal restaurant prices.

The prices quickly sparked a clash of opinions. Some see them as the logical consequence of supply and demand: sea views, the breeze and the summer atmosphere come at a price, and anyone who doesn't like it can go elsewhere. A ten-minute walk inland, you can eat at bars where the locals go, at prices that bear little resemblance. Others, however, see it as a symptom of a beach restaurant bubble that will sooner or later have to burst. The temptation to overcharge tourists is real, but the bill is ultimately paid by local customers too, who watch their coastline turn into a shop window for privileged wallets.

The free-market argument runs up against stark arithmetic: a family sitting at this beach bar ordering a starter, a main and a drink easily tops €50 per head. A meal that, at the roadside bar next door, would cost half as much. Is it a beach bar or a Michelin-starred restaurant? The question remains open.

At this rate, the cheapest option will be bringing the potato salad from home. Of course, with no sea views and no Instagram photo. The potato salad, at least, will come at supermarket prices.