Dinner for few: Australians eating out less as fuel crisis deals biggest blow to consumer confidence since Covid

Experts say ‘cautious consumption’ shows households bracing for return to extended period of financial pressure experienced during pandemic years

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Australians are choosing chicken schnitzel over more expensive rib-eye steak, avoiding entrees and sticking with tap water rather than a glass of wine amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the fuel crisis and war in Iran.

As soon as the numbers on the petrol bowser started climbing last month as the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the customer response was swift.