To go to an extremely expensive restaurant

[Fantaorage]

My adult DC and I both have big birthdays coming up and are foodies. We're not wealthy by any means, and we're far from posh / sophisticated / dressy up. I'm wondering whether to blow around £500 on a meal for 2 in a local 2 Star Michelin restaurant. We eat out reasonably often, but I don't think I've ever spent more than £40 per person before, and I usually spend half that. Neither of us are keen on wine, so we'd probably just go for water and not increase the bill that way. The £500 would just be food and tip for 2 people, with a sampling menu. I'm wondering how many of you have done that and whether you think it would be worth the cost for a once in a lifetime meal at a top restaurant, or whether we're likely to feel self-conscious among posher fellow diners and obsequious waiters, and to regret spending so much money!

My DH and I aren't wealthy, and don't spend much on expensive or unnecessary things as a rule, but we do go to Michelin restaurants when we can - it's our only real extravagance. We have done this on a number of occasions and it's usually worth every penny. We have even been to one 3 restaurant (not in the UK) and it was an amazing experience. I would do it!!

Do it. We ate in Tom Kitchins restaurant in Edinburgh for my 40th and it was sublime and so worth it.

Without wanting to sound like an absolute knobhead, I have to say, we’ve gone off Michelin Star food. We did it 2-3 times a year for years and whilst it was…enjoyable, it was a big bill, a long drawn out process and always followed by indigestion!
We now go to the restaurants we love for the food we love. Some are £££££, some are hole in the wall cheap as chips. We enjoy them all equally…and no indigestion 🥰

Looks like I'm the only one,but I can't even imagine how a meal for two people costs £500!did you say it's not the wine even?I'd just fly to Paris and have lunch somewhere nice enough for that money I think.£500?

Another one saying go for the experience.

We once ate lunch at the hand and flowers (mentioned by another couple of pp's) and it was absolutely incredible.
Years ago, but we've never forgotten it.

I would recommend the experience.

And with the two choices you're considering, personally I wouldn't do the French one because I'm not keen on offal, and wouldn't want andouille or fois gras or..... Just no.

And I do also love French cuisine, but wouldn't want to risk being served testicle 🤢

I get what you're saying ... but the same meal would cost the same in Paris!

If you're going mainly for the Paris visit, fair enough. If you're after award-winning food, not the answer.

ETA: I have done day trips to Belgium for moules marinière, though. Don't know if it's still a cheap mainstay dish over there - back in the day, it was. The same thing was really expensive in London and never as good! Also: Belgian chips 😋

Also, I've been to Six by Nico twice, and it was lovely but felt very overpriced and not anything near as amazing as the hand and flowers.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm thinking the same. With wine it might be more acceptable, but I don't really care about food and have a small appetite sadly so it's probably just me lol I'd actually cry spending that on food.

@Fantaorage If you can afford it and think you won't regret it, then fuck it, go for it.

Go!

Funny isn’t it how sometimes the best food can be found in the most unexpected places. I still rave about this 12€ dish ten year’s on.

We’ve eaten at various places near us as we’re lucky to have multiple within 20/30 minute drives.

Never done tasting menu as my other half is much fussier than I but ala carte menu in each venue has blown us away and the service is head and shoulders above what you’d get in a mainstream restaurant.

Well worth the money for a big birthday!

We are off to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks, would love to have the name of the restaurant please. X

That’s a really hard one OP.

its a HUGE amount of money to be disappointed, but I get the idea of the experience and the opportunity.

I am a worrier. So I would be reading every review locally and looking for deals.

we did six by nico as a Black Friday lunch. I think we paid £99 for two.

It was not, for us, a patch on a pub we stumbled upon in the Lake District where we spent double, but wow. 🤩

Taste, preference, menus, so much to consider but an exciting idea.

We treated ourselves to dinner at Moor Hall which was awarded 3 Michelin stars either last year or the year before and whilst we enjoyed the experience there was an awful lot of theatre over substance. The canapés prepared and served in the bar before we moved into the restaurant itself were divine but the rest of the meal was nothing extraordinary and when we paid the bill we felt that our hard earned money could have been better spent and that parts of the menu were no better than food we’ve eaten in restaurants with less stars and those without any stars at all over the years.
A month later we were in Fowey, Cornwall and ate in Narla by Charlie Walter’s who was a finalist in Masterchef the Professionals a few years ago. The food we had there was truly amazing and the meal cost considerably less than the one we had at Moor Hall.

£265 each and another restaurant that's into sea buckthorn!

The Abbey Inn at Byland is also his and also superb. We are at the Gen Tarleton at Christmas with the family and it was really lovely.

Do it! We would rather not go to big standard chain types on the regular so we can experience the finer places. DH and I don't drink etc but are real foodies. I would prefer to go somewhere that does something different rather than classic.
Where are you considering? Just because I'm nosy!

Where do you tend to eat that means you usually only spend £20?

Sometimes stars can be amazing and sometimes it’s a bit of a disappointment.

Choose a vibe that matches how you like to feel, formal or a bit more relaxed. They aren’t all stuffy

Beware of a hard sell on the wine - don’t allow them to make you feel uncomfortable about buying a cheaper bottle - if it’s not good and it’s on their menu they are letting themselves down. We asked for a wine list once (shouldn’t have had to ask imo) and we got the sommelier instead who suggested we try a £250 bottle with our dinner! (We hadn’t asked for a recommendation) We both laughed and asked for the wine list (again!) And chose our own wine! Maybe set a wine budget. And don’t be embarrassed to ask for tap water either (if that’s what you want.) Hope you get a good one!

We have dined at The Waterside Inn a few times, took the children with us. Worth every penny, amazing food and a wonderful experience. My handbag even got its own stool to sit on 🩷

What's the name of that place i amsterdam please? I ate in a tiny, expensive place a few years ago & can't for the life of me remember what it was called

Similar.

We have also stayed at Le Manor twice. The first was for one night and we had the tasting menu and, yes, the flavours were out of this world. The second time we stayed two nights. Once again we had the fabulous tasting menu on the first night but the second night we went a la carte and we were still blown away by the meal. Also there was nothing in the least bit stuffy, snobby or pretentious about the place. Everyone so friendly and welcoming.

Fast forward a few years, for DDs 21st we went to a restaurant in the NW which I don't think is Michelin starred but is very well regarded and regularly in lists of best in the region / country. Marvelous meal and excellent service without being obsequious.

Go enjoy yourselves life’s too short oh and happy birthday both !

I have only once ever done this and as with other posters it was amazing and I did not regret it in the slightest. I booked it for my birthday as a treat to myself as DH would not have thought of it.

It wasn’t a place with stars but it was a very niche farm to table place that you have to make effort to get to with a set tasting menu with some high concept food, paired flight of wines and only one small sitting per night on limited nights of the week. People had made an effort but they weren’t super dressed up.

It wasn’t just food it was the whole experience with exquisite service and explanations of how the food was sourced and cooked and the flavours blew me away. It was worth every penny although it was an indecent amount for one meal.

Have also been to Michelin starred places in London including the River Cafe long ago and went to some very foodie places with starry chefs on a recent trip to Bologna and those were also memorable experiences.

Some people will not get it. I would never in a month of Sundays tell my mother in law about this as she would consider it a terrible waste of money. She has some kind of concealed eating disorder and is a nightmare to take anywhere due to her extensive range of intolerances and preferences. We would never take her out for a meal as it would be ruined by all the drama but it’s horses for courses she is thrilled by crafty stuff that I hate. She probably feels the same about a meal out as I do about a pottery workshop.

If you love the experience of trying new food then that’s as valid to me as paying for expensive gig or theatre or sport tickets. I hope you have an amazing time and make treasured memories

https://restaurantjericho.com/food

It was this place I went to
I conjure a memory of the tomato water and the silage ice cream taste and smell just sitting here and it was so nostalgic for me growing up in a farming community.