High-end Dining: Expectations and Reviews

[citanul]

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well, the most expensive French food in Paris is going to cost just as much as in the US, or more. The tasting menu at Guy Savoy is about $300 without wine. Is this better than a tasting menu that costs $100? I bet it is, but I think the curve is nowhere near linear.

Meaning, I doubt Guy Savoy is 3 times as good, however one would define 3 times as good. I think a lot of what you are paying for is the name of the place, and the ambience, and the service, etc. Just the food, which I think Sucker was referring to, is probably not 'better enough' to justify the price.

I think this is true for all kinds of ultra-luxury items. You are often not going to get good value at the top of the food chain. (pun intended [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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KBZ,

I've continued to be unclear I see. I really shouldn't post between 9pm and noon local.

When you go ot Guy Savoy, you bet your ass you're paying for the ambience, the custom made plates, the name, etc. And if you're not happy paying for those things, along with the (nonlinearly) better food, you shouldn't be eating there. If, like JA Sucker appears to be, you're somehow disgusted by the ambience, obviously paying a markup for something that causes you disutility would be silly. As my girlfriend points out "not only your tastebuds are going to the restaurant, you're going for the experience."

When you go to Tru, some of your money is obviously going to pay for the fact that they have to pay for the museum quality art on the walls. When you go to Alinea you have to pay for the fact that they custom make silverware and plates for each dish. And when you go to anyplace in a stand alone mansion, you're helping pay their mortgage, which is clearly higher than rent in some mall.

Casually throwing the word "value" in at the end of your post does you a disservice. I think that as you pay more certainly you start getting decreasing marginal return on your investment, but I don't think I've found a restaurant yet where my marginal return has turned negative - in the high end category. I've been to many places that I would definitely call overpriced, but none of them have been in the category this thread is about. (These tend to be these weird "night club + food" or "small plates" places that are cropping up everywhere.)