Do you eat out in New York City's fine but very expensive restaurants? (living in, price)

[Jobless and Broke]

This question is directed at people who live in Manhattan.

The New York City media and advertising is always promoting its fine but very expensive restaurants. There is perhaps more expensive four and five star restaurants in this town than anyplace else in America. With tax, wine and desert your meal will be over $100.

While New York City has all these upscale restaurants I don't know anyone who actually eats out in them. Even back when I was making $90K a year and was not jobless and broke I never went to places like Four Seasons. They seemed stuffy and just too expensive.

If you live in Manhattan do you eat out in four and five star restaurants? Why or why not?

[Kefir King]

I don't because I cannot.
Same reason I don't shop at Cartier or Saks.

I don't waste money and didn't win the Powerball.

[urbanlife78]

nope

[mathjak107]

The 4 seasons was an experience. The food, the room , the presentation i thought was as good as it gets.

sampling the skills of the best master chefs the world has to offer is quite unique.

The portions though kind of small. They really want to get you to be able to eat everything from appetizers to desserts as if you are 4 people each course adds another 100 bucks or so to the bill.

While i think everyone who can should experience it at least once in their life i dont think i want to blow 350 bucks on dinner to ofton for just two people.

with one drink each for my wife and i the total was about 350.00

[SobroGuy]

Firstly you should not restrict your comments to those who live in Manhattan! You should restrict them to those who live in NYC. I live in the Southern Bronx and absolutely dine at the better restaurants in Manhattan on occasion...it's why you live in NYC remember! I am not rich by any stretch but the point of living in NYC is to take advantage of all the great things that the city has to offer..fine dining is one of them although you don't have to spend $400! It should be a very rare treat...spending $100 though is standard for a decent sit down meal for two with drinks.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

The porterhouse steak meal at Peter Luger will not set you back $400.

[SobroGuy]

That restaurant does not exist in Manhattan. I think the poster was referencing the fine dining in Manhattan, and not just "good eats" or "a place for steaks"..it's more than just a big hunk of meat to be fine dining.

[illcosby]

Heh, over $100? Try over $200 or $300. You're almost expected to spend as much on booze as you spend on the food.

I've dined all over the world (not NYC, that's next week) and I find the mid-range restaurants everywhere, where you can get in and out with a bottom shelf bottle of wine, dessert, and mains/apps/small plates for around $120-150 for two tend to be very similar experiences when it comes to the food. These places also use rare ingredients and skilled hands to create tasty, beautiful dishes and the focus is really on the food and drink and not aesthetic or service. Many of these places, with a spruce up and word-of-mouth celebrity sightings, could easily charge double, but they like the ambiance and current clientele too much to do that.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

That restaurant does not exist in Manhattan. I think the poster was referencing the fine dining in Manhattan, and not just "good eats" or "a place for steaks"..it's more than just a big hunk of meat to be fine dining.

I dunno. I read the post and it looks like he means people who live in Manhattan eating anywhere in NYC that's upscale.

You can also try the steak and eggs in Pastis. The serving is generous and the price doesn't approach $100 even with drinks.

[SobroGuy]

I think you continue to miss the mark....fine dining in Manhattan for dinner is never "steak and eggs." You can eat at good places, have a great meal, etc, but the real fine dining restaurants do not have "steak and eggs" on the menu for dinner.