According to new data from Eurostat, households across the European Union spend more than €600 billion on catering services such as restaurants, cafes and canteens. Ireland devoted the largest share of household expenditure to eating out in 2018 at 14.4 percent, followed by Spain with 13 percent and Malta's 12.6 percent. Romania was at the very bottom of the eating out spending league at just 1.9 percent household income in 2018. Romania's spending is decreasing and it stood at 2.9 percent back in 2008.