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Most Expensive Meal

20K views 96 replies 77 participants last post by  matchabunny 
#1 ·
What's the most expensive restaurant meal you've ever had--and was it worth it?
A few years ago, my brother-in-law treated us to Ruth Chris Steakhouse. There were, I recall, six of us, and the bill came to something like $300. Fortunately, he paid! Was it worth it? Yes, I'd say it was.
Also, my girlfriend and I ate at a restaurant in London. (Forget the name.) That bill came to 60 pounds--about $100 (the exchange rate was better, then). I'd say that was worth it.
 
#2 ·
Hotel Hershey-
Me and my girlfriend and the tab was $180 after her 20% discount (shes the garde manger there) Delicious and perfect in both food and service. The maître d', Sous Chef, and Executive Chef all came to the table to say hello and ask if we are enjoying the meal. The sous chef prepared us a suprise middle course of micro greens and duck proscuitto iirc. Awesome.
 
#3 ·
In general, My wife and I are not expensive restaurant eaters, we're hole in the wall hunters. :D The last kinda expensive restaurant my wife and I sampled was Victoria and Albert's, $300 for the two of us, but, I've been known to eat $150 worth of sushi at one sitting all by myself! Well, sushi and sake, with a couple sakes thrown in for the chefs. :D

All other expensive meals have been paid for by other people, steakhouse meals being the most expensive. Go figure.
 
#4 ·
Back in 92, when I worked in Atlanta, a few of us got together and invaded one of the concepts in the group for a "Last Night" type thing. We each ran a kitchen in the company. One of us was moving and myself and another were leaving the company. If I remember correctly between the 4 of us we destroyed 3 in house charge accounts with a total bill of around $900.00 :eek: :beer::D Gosh I miss those old IHP accounts. :cool:
 
#5 ·
Back in 1990, a party of five of us ate in a nice little ristorante called La Capannina in Torino, Italy.
Numerous courses later, after the grappa, the bill was 250,000 lira...
I've NEVER spent a quarter million on dinner before...
But in USD, that was only about $60 per person.
The big number in lira was what caught my attention.
 
#6 ·
Seriously we had the best meals 24/7 on the Oriana when we came back to the US from Australia.

The best most expensive meal?

A chinese restaurant "again in Sydney". Salt and Pepper lobster at $100 + plus the most amazing hot sour soup, mu shu pork, potstickers, sw and sour pork, and fried special noodles...worth every penny...(bear in mind this was my 11 yo daughter and me!) I think we got out of there for about 200 aud +/-.

The very best not necessarily the most pricey? A steakhouse just inland from the Gold Coast. I do NOT remember the name but intend to look it up. You pick your steaks from a cold display case, brilliant line cooks, baked potatoes the size of your head, oven roasted vegetables, avocado/smoked salmon/capers/tomato/onion/caviar/toast apps...whole grilled fish of all kinds, calamari...

I'd say under $50 (aud) per person w/o the extensive wine list.

Suprisingly not that "dear" as they call it and always packed.

It's worth booking a flight to Qld just to go there!

April
 
#8 ·
Dinners at Tru and Alinea (both in Chicago) were about the same price: $300 for two including gratuity. My husband uses those meals as a benchmark for "too expensive" now. :rolleyes:

"Expensive" to me means 'out of my budget' or 'an extravagance'. This can change with one's circumstances. When I was a struggling new teacher a $12.50 meal was expensive!
 
#10 ·
So far the most expensive meal for me was during my hospitality class "dine-out". We went to a ski resort in Alaska ("Seven Glaciers" at Alyeska Ski Lodge/Resort) and we all ordered what sounded good to us. If I'm not mistaken each person was given a $1-200 tab (not including alcohol).

The thankful part was that the tips we earned in class paid for it all (we waited tables for the class)
 
#12 ·
It was our one year after we're married honeymoon (never took the first one). Chicago, little place called Atlantique, five course meal for 2 ran with tip about $200. The kicker, the cab fare to get there and back... $100. Worth it? To see the look on her face when the gay bartender started hitting on me infront of her...yeah, it was worth it. And the food was great too.
 
#13 ·
Forgive me, but you guys are all pikers. :p How about $1,000 for lunch for three? Yeah, LUNCH. Was it worth it? It should have been, but sadly it wasn't. At that price, I want everything to be perfect, and that was not the case. Artichokes in the veg ragout were tasteless, service was just plain silly and over the top (one person to carry out the plate, another to remove the cover, a third to receive the cover, and a fourth to put the plate on the table -- well, anyway at least 3 people). To their credit, though, they did let us sit at the table until about 5pm (from 1:30), when they had to start setting up for dinner.

Oh, yeah, where was this? Per Se, Thomas Keller's first NYC outpost.
 
#14 ·
Suzanne, I'm shocked to hear that. I'd never expect mediocrity from Thomas Keller.

Dougiezerts, I'd be more likely to take that $12.50 to the supermarket and buy a nice steak and fixings for a dinner I'd cook myself. Or I'd go to Tenuta's Italian market (I lived in Kenosha, WI) and splurge on prosciutto or the like. McDonald's? Maybe once or twice a year. :rolleyes:
 
#15 ·
I too experienced Ruth's Chris here in Toronto's Shelton Hotel about 10 years ago with 4 of us dining. The tab came to $200(CAN) and we all had a steak and drink but 1 of us had to go and order sides, a downside to a la carte. Personally, not really that worth it since theres another steak house which I regular to called the Keg Steak Mansion that does the best prime rib and garlic mash, $30/plate for a 20oz serving. That restaurant is also on my list of $ dining experiences but considering there were around 6-8 of us, the tab came to $300, and we all had drinks, definatly worth it.
 
#16 ·
Most expensive meal (several times actually cause we liked the place so much) was Chouette in Wayzata, MN in 1976-1979 time frame.

Dinner for two with wine came to $375-425. Only one time was the server "snooty". All the rest of the times everything was perfect. The wine steward even recommended a house wine which was the equivalent of the best Poully Fuisse I ever had! He had a little taster's cup on a necklace around his neck and we invited him to share a snort with us!

Pepper crusted filet mignon ala bearnaise. Artichoke bottom medallions with crabmeat sauce. Appetizer plate which was a lazy susan affair half as big as the table!

Chateau Margot at $175 a bottle. Remember this was the 1970's!

Jean Claude Tindillier, one of the best chefs I ever encountered.

doc
 
#17 ·
We are not rich, but D@mn will we spend money on dinners...and living in Vegas is dangerous for this attitude :)

Three most expensive meals for us:

1) Craftsteak at the MGM...my first Kobe beef experience. WONDERFUL! Two people $350...no alcohol.

2) SW steakhouse at the Wynn. Nice to find a place that serves classical sauces for your steaks. Three people, $400.

3) Shintaro at the Bellagio. Three people $500. I think I am still paying this one off :lol:

All of these experiences were worth every dollar!

And a honorable mention...er, I mean "horrible mention" :

Capital Grille at Fashion show mall. $250 for two people and the service was lacking and the food was served lukewarm and was brought to the table while my date for the evening was in the restroom. They would not keep it in the kitchen for me while she was away. Never, ever again!
 
#20 ·
Most expensive to me is a variable term, depending on what you're spending the money on.

When we were in Sweden, before they were accepted into the EC, Stolkholm was the most expensive city in the world. At a squat & gobble hamburger place, little better than a McDonalds, we paid 16 bucks for a cheeseburger & fries.

At a neighborhood Chinese restaurant I dropped a C note for the two of us.

At a fine dining establishment in New York, 50 bucks a plate is nothing. But in a neighborhood Chinese place? I'd call that expensive.
 
#21 ·
Probably Aqua in San Francisco. $2400 for 6 people. Chef's tasting menu. I have to admit it was a pretty incredible meal, and the tuna tartare was the best I've ever had (this was Michael Mina's version, it's changed a bit at Aqua now but I hear it can sometimes still be had at his own restaraunts now). Quite a bit of that $2400 was in alcohol though. The table had essentially 2 bottles per course @ 5 courses so it adds up fast.

This was back in my internet venture capital days (i.e. money flowed like water) and was charged to the business, I certainly didn't pick up the bill myself.
 
#22 ·
Most expensive for the wife and I is at Le Francais restaurant in Wheeling. We've been there a couple of times under different Chef's and we have always gotten a superb dinning experience. The price has range from $225-275 with no alcoholic beverages.

This has been our benchmark for food and we've yet to find equal or better. The atmosphere leaves a little to be desired (they're still stuck in the 70's look) but the food is good and well prepared. I'm slowly trying different places with well regarded Chef's in Chicago and have so far been underwhelmed. We always get a good meal...it's just fallen a bit short of my expectations.

I'm certainly not rich or well off. But my wife and I do love food. We've got three lovely kids under four and usually eat at home (where we have some pretty decent meals ;)). Bottom line...we rarely eat out like we have when we were younger. Eating out once or twice a year at a nice restaurant is still MUCH cheaper than when we used to eat out a couple of times a week at lower priced places.

happy eating all!
dan
 
#23 ·
My teenage son and his girlfriend back in the 1980's had the most expensive meal on Mom once. He took his little girlfriend to a restaurant in St. Louis with $50 in his pocket. The restaurant did not post prices on the menu (should have been his first clue). Of course, they both loved steak and lobster. I got a call around 10 p.m. from him to bring MONEY, lol. I told him that they could offer to wash dishes which he didn't find amusing. I took my time getting there (letting them sweat alittle was kind of funny). I do believe the bill was over $200 if I remember right. Thank goodness they weren't old enough to drink otherwise I think I would have let him wash dishes. Ahh...another lesson of life learned at the tender age of 16, always find out the price before you order. lol.
 
#25 ·
After reading all your posts here, along with the other professionals, I would venture to say most of you could not post prices on your menu's and still have a good following. I am constantly blown away by you professionals on this forum...i.e. what you do...what you know, etc. I remain your humble grasshopper. I just wish I had the money not to care about prices.
 
#26 ·
Hi

I was invited last year at the Montréal Delta, the restaurant turns 360 degres, wonderfull view of the city, gosh just two people & 2 btles of wine, the bill was over 350 Can funds.

What a meal and ambiance, I would go back anytime :)

Code:
http://www.deltahotels.com/hotels/hotelinfo.html?categoryId=2&hotelId=35
 
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