[Food] Restaurant 2018

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

BensGrandad said:
I know that I am old and probably out of touch but I cannot for the life of me see how any meal could warrant a £100 per head irrespective of who the chef is and what food he/she has cooked

big nuts said:
The wine would make up a hefty percentage of this.

Depends on the establishment. Most high end (say, just for example, anything with one or more stars) places will have a tasting menu where food alone will be £90 - £140 pp. Of course, there are only about 175 restaurants in the UK with one or more stars, so it's a tiny % of the catering induestry where you'll pay £100 a head just for the food - but they definitely exist.

I think The Araki currently has the most expensive set menu - £310.

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

big nuts said:
Typically a 400% mark up from cost. It’s a huge profit.

You should eat in restaurants that don't do this then! Nowhere I've eaten in the last several years applies anything close to a 400% mark up.

I know of several where they charge a fixed £/bottle uplift. The cheapest is £10/bottle. In the offy at £10? It'll cost you £20 in the restaurant. In the wine merchants at £75? It'll cost you £85.

BensGrandad · Nov 30, 2018

Goldstone1976 said:
Depends on the establishment. Most high end (say, just for example, anything with one or more stars) places will have a tasting menu where food alone will be £90 - £140 pp. Of course, there are only about 175 restaurants in the UK with one or more stars, so it's a tiny % of the catering induestry where you'll pay £100 a head just for the food - but they definitely exist.

I think The Araki currently has the most expensive set menu - £310.

that is my point the best available food on sale does not warrant such a price even the best caviar using sturgeons roe.

big nuts · Nov 30, 2018

Goldstone1976 said:
You should eat in restaurants that don't do this then! Nowhere I've eaten in the last several years applies anything close to a 400% mark up.

I know of several where they charge a fixed £/bottle uplift. The cheapest is £10/bottle. In the offy at £10? It'll cost you £20 in the restaurant. In the wine merchants at £75? It'll cost you £85.

I’ve seen £10 bottles priced at £20 and feel that’s pretty reasonable. A £75 bottle for £85 and I’d suggest that’s a very high risk business model.

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

BensGrandad said:
that is my point the best available food on sale does not warrant such a price even the best caviar using sturgeons roe.

I know that was your point; I was mostly correcting the other poster's assertion that the wine will make up a hefty proportion of £100 per head dinners. Generally, he's right, it will. But there are at least 200 UK restaurants where £100 is at the bottom end for food alone.

Beluga 000 is £370 for less than 2 ounces!

You're paying for ingredient quality and cooking skill/time when you dine at those prices. Some sauces take 4 days to prepare. Whether it's worth it is entirely a personal choice - for you, it isn't; for me, sometimes (maybe once a month?) it is. :shrug:

That said - I've not eaten at The Araki. For two reasons: 1 I can't believe it's better than Sushi Tetsu; 2 I'm not prepared to pay £310 a head to find out.

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

big nuts said:
I’ve seen £10 bottles priced at £20 and feel that’s pretty reasonable. A £75 bottle for £85 and I’d suggest that’s a very high risk business model.

I'd agree. The place I'm thinking of doesn't go any higher than £85/bottle. I imagine they have very limited stocks of wines at those prices!

dazzer6666 · Nov 30, 2018

Goldstone1976 said:
Depends on the establishment. Most high end (say, just for example, anything with one or more stars) places will have a tasting menu where food alone will be £90 - £140 pp. Of course, there are only about 175 restaurants in the UK with one or more stars, so it's a tiny % of the catering induestry where you'll pay £100 a head just for the food - but they definitely exist.

I think The Araki currently has the most expensive set menu - £310.

Kitchin in Edinburgh (1* I think) does a great value menu at £75......it’s three ‘official’ courses but interspersed with other surprises. Wonderful food, locally sourced. Wine mark-up is typically horrific of course [emoji23][emoji23]....bog standard/reasonable wines were c£20 a 250ml glass

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

dazzer6666 said:
Kitchin in Edinburgh (1* I think) does a great value menu at £75......it’s three ‘official’ courses but interspersed with other surprises. Wonderful food, locally sourced. Wine mark-up is typically horrific of course [emoji23][emoji23]....bog standard/reasonable wines were c£20 a 250ml glass

Yep. Eaten there - it's great. A 3 course menu (even with a couple of extra nibbles) is really a "set" menu rather than a tasting menu though. Kitchin do their proper tasting menu at around £120.

dazzer6666 · Nov 30, 2018

Goldstone1976 said:
Yep. Eaten there - it's great. A 3 course menu (even with a couple of extra nibbles) is really a "set" menu rather than a tasting menu though. Kitchin do their proper tasting menu at around £120.

Yep....planning on going back and trying that next time.....trouble is my trips up North are usually at quite short notice, and it’s difficult to get in !

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

dazzer6666 said:
Yep....planning on going back and trying that next time.....trouble is my trips up North are usually at quite short notice, and it’s difficult to get in !

You might want to try Martin Wishart in Leith on your return. Also 1 star. Also hard to get into on short notice...

Machiavelli · Nov 30, 2018

Can I also mention Fourth & Church, for those that drinking good wine cheaply is important. They have about a quarter or third of Butlers' range, and will charge you just £10 on top to drink in. That does make the £75 bottle set you back £85.

dazzer6666 · Nov 30, 2018

Goldstone1976 said:
You might want to try Martin Wishart in Leith on your return. Also 1 star. Also hard to get into on short notice...

Yes, that’s on the list too (daughter is a bit of a foodie living up there and chooses somewhere - that I pay for, naturally - whenever I’m visiting). Kitchin has opened a new place in the City as well, more gastropub style.

Goldstone1976 · Nov 30, 2018

dazzer6666 said:
Yes, that’s on the list too (daughter is a bit of a foodie living up there and chooses somewhere - that I pay for, naturally - whenever I’m visiting). Kitchin has opened a new place in the City as well, more gastropub style.

Oh? I didn't know that - thanks.

dazzer6666 · Nov 30, 2018

Goldstone1976 said:
Oh? I didn't know that - thanks.

https://scranandscallie.com

Weststander · Nov 30, 2018

big nuts said:
Sounds pretty reasonable to me. I always see these places as a treat so expect to pay the going rate which is quite often approaching £100 per head.

My last meal was £315 for me and the wife in the Gingerman. We were there for over 3 hours and went for the tasting menu with wine. We also had a fair amount to drink.

We eat at The Gingerman and the bill is typically £150 plus, including drinks and it’s not a rushed event.

You must have consumed a lot of highly priced drinks?

Their food’s been great for many years and it’s cosy, unpretentious place.

big nuts · Nov 30, 2018

Weststander said:
We eat at The Gingerman and the bill is typically £150 plus, including drinks and it’s not a rushed event.

You must have consumed a lot of highly priced drinks?

Their food’s been great for many years and it’s cosy, unpretentious place.

6 course taster menu with accompanying wines. Add in the tip plus some additional drinks then you have your bill.

Weststander · Nov 30, 2018

big nuts said:
6 course taster menu with accompanying wines. Add in the tip plus some additional drinks then you have your bill.

Same menu for us, £120 for two, some beers and glasses of wine, tea/coffee and always tip.

Perhaps you’re opting for the Wine Pairing and other nice drinks.

I know the Gingerman is not the cheapest, but it’s good value for high end dining.

big nuts · Nov 30, 2018

Weststander said:
Same menu for us, £120 for two, some beers and glasses of wine, tea/coffee and always tip.

Perhaps you’re opting for the Wine Pairing and other nice drinks.

I know the Gingerman is not the cheapest, but it’s good value for high end dining.

Absolutely, it’s been consistently top quality for c. 20 years.

We had from memory 3 additional drinks each one glass of Ridgeview and two other glasses of red. I’d have to check my bank statement but pretty sure it was around £315.

It was a special occasion and we did go for it. Typically it’s around £200 when we visit there.

Weststander · Nov 30, 2018

big nuts said:
Absolutely, it’s been consistently top quality for c. 20 years.

We had from memory 3 additional drinks each one glass of Ridgeview and two other glasses of red. I’d have to check my bank statement but pretty sure it was around £315.

It was a special occasion and we did go for it. Typically it’s around £200 when we visit there.

Not for any particular health or cost reason or anything, I don’t drink a vast amount of booze with meals. Leaving it that to the (infrequent these days) occasions I’m out just for drinks!

Herr Tubthumper · Dec 1, 2018

BensGrandad said:
I know that I am old and probably out of touch but I cannot for the life of me see how any meal could warrant a £100 per head irrespective of who the chef is and what food he/she has cooked

I used to think the same. In fact many years ago I used to mock a colleague who would dress up and spend the occasional Saturday night with his wife eating a four hour meal consisting of minuscule portions which cost a small fortune; I could not see any point to this and didn’t understand it. The wife was the same. Fast forward to now and it’s an extravagance which I’m fully signed-up to, understand a lot more and get a lot of enjoyment from.

That said my 18 year old self would be utterly appalled at what I’ve now become :lolol:

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