The Dutch choose a cheese roll while their southern neighbours in Belgium tuck into a midday feast – new research on restaurant spending confirms the stereotype that the Dutch are more abstemious at lunchtime.

A report tracking a year of anonymised bills from 6,500 restaurants in cities in Belgium and the Netherlands found that the Belgians typically spent €10 more on lunch: an average of €38.20 compared with €28.05.

ABN Amro researchers concluded there is much to gain from the “Burgundian” culture of relationship-building and culinary appreciation rather than grabbing a quick, cheap sandwich – not least, better restaurant revenues.

The findings were no surprise to Stef Driessen, co-author and an expert in the hotel and tourism sector at the bank. “We recently organised a knowledge-sharing session for hotels, several Belgian investors were there and there were rather a lot of comments on the meagre lunch,” he said.

“I recognised what they were saying…In the Netherlands, everything has to be quick and efficient, goal-focused – but if you look at what eating together achieves, it brings people together. Your telephone is off and you focus on the guests at the table.”

Sure enough, the data collected by Lightspeed, a payment software firm, showed lunch receipts in Belgian cities were dramatically higher. In Deinze, east Flanders, the norm was almost €68, for instance. The tenth-placed city in the country, Waregem in west Flanders (€42.62), exceeded every Dutch city except Zwolle, where the typical bill was just over €50.

Efficiency

It is a familiar tale to restaurant owners such as Tom Hamaekers, who has four businesses in and around Maastricht. “Maastricht is very central and close to Belgium and Germany and we notice that especially on Sunday – when the shops are open and masses of Belgians come over the border – consumption changes,” he said.

“A Belgian enjoys lunching and often drinks a glass of wine or prosecco…and Belgians also find their appearance important, so spend a lot on clothing, a nice car and going out.”

Belgians and Germans are also more likely to pay in cash, he said – although regular Dutch clients are more likely to tip.

It is not Dutch meanness, said Driessen, but rather a sense of efficiency and time pressure, especially in the four major cities. Research from the FSIN food research institute also suggested that young people in both low countries spend more on lunch, with 37% of “millennials” born between 1981 and 1996 lunching out at least once a week compared to just 7% of “baby boomers” born between 1946 and 1964.

Enjoy

That lunchtime broodje kaas is an enduring cultural staple in the Netherlands, according to Anna Uspessij, marketing manager for both countries at Lightspeed. “The more south you go, the more people dine together, lunch together, do more – whereas in the Netherlands, a lot of people have their sandwich for lunch,” she said.

“It’s not really a daily thing, but below the river starting from Nijmegen, you can already see [spending] goes up. It’s an upcoming thing that you take the time to sit and enjoy lunch – dinnertime was where you sat down.”

But the Dutch have something to learn from their southern neighbours, said restauranteur Hamaekers. “Enjoy life – and seize the day!” he said. “That’s in their DNA, and eating out is very important in Belgium…We are all thinking about being healthy, we plan everything, but Belgians live much more in the moment.”