Michelin restaurants - worth the hype?

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

Baldbloke

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Never been in one myself. I'm guessing value for money is not something to even be considered if your going to eat in one of these places.

I know I wouldn't pay those prices for me tea. Note also though that I refuse to go in Burger king at motorway services 'cos I think they are a blooming a rip off. So, as you can probably tell, I'm no big spender or food connoisseur anyway.

So, Michelin restaurants? Ever used one?
Was the food good?
Was there enough food on your plate or did you feel less than happy with the portions?
Did you baulk when you got the bill?
Rip off?
Worth it?
Afterwards, did you just wish you'd got a kebab from the local takeaway instead?
 
Been to the Number One in Edinburgh and it completely blew me away. Food, wine and service were incredible. Been to House of Tides in Newcastle twice now and been disappointed both times as I’m comparing it to the Number One.

I’ve got a table booked at Raby Hunt which is about 20 minute minutes outside of Newcastle and has 2 Michelin Stars so really looking forward that!

Food quantity wise, they all do tasting menus with lots of courses so you’ll end up stuffed!
 
Baldbloke said:
I know I wouldn't pay those prices for me tea.
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I think judging from this awful sentence alone perhaps fine dining isn't for you ;)

In all honesty, that's ok though. If you're not interested, you're not interested. I've been to a few michelin starred restaurants, and quite a number of fine dining places that come close. I've only been disappointed once and that was mainly around the quality of the cooking. At the end of the day you're paying for an experience. If you're not interested in that experience then no biggy. Much like I'm not interested in going to a football game, or getting hammered watching the cricket etc.

I would say it's worth doing once to broaden your horizons, but hey. I've also never come away hungry from a fine dining place. Not-only is the food so rich it fills you up, but there's always little extras like amuse bouches, palette cleansers, amazing bread etc.
 
I'm hoping to visit Northcote next year, which is Lisa Goodwin-Allens food. I've had similar level of food abroad as part of my honeymoon and the whole experience was amazing.
 
Most of the Michelin place I been to are not in the UK, I prefer the more cheap eats Michelin places. Plenty in SE Asia and they are all worth the £20 meals!

I have been to a 2 star Michelin place in Demark and it did cost a pretty penny, it was good, memorable too, but I wouldn’t do it regularly or even semi regularly. They are as much about the service, the atmosphere, the experience than pure tastebuds.
 
Michelin has several distinctions. If you go for a "Bib Gourmand" restaurant the prices won't be much more than average, the setting is generally casual and the food is excellent. If visting a new place I'll generally look out for these restaurants before anything else and cross reference them with Google/Tripadvisor or other professional reviews to make sure they're not a dud (very rare).

In terms of the starred restaurants, as already mentioned, the key is to look out for the lunch menu offers as you can end up with a fantastic experience without an eye watering price. There's a number of 2 starred restaurants in London with set lunch menus for around £40 or so, and the Waterside Inn (3 stars) does a £65 set lunch menu. It's festive season at the moment so you likely won't be able to find many offers on but when January comes I'd suggest going on the Michelin website and clicking through to a few restaurants where the price range will be stated. The lower price is usually the lunch menu price.
 
7 course tasting menu with matched wine at Galvin La Chapelle (1 Michelin star) was absolutely worth it for my 50th birthday.

Probably unlikely to ever be able to push the boat out like that again, but it was an epic dining experience.
 
Mark M said:
Been to the Number One in Edinburgh and it completely blew me away. Food, wine and service were incredible. Been to House of Tides in Newcastle twice now and been disappointed both times as I’m comparing it to the Number One.

I’ve got a table booked at Raby Hunt which is about 20 minute minutes outside of Newcastle and has 2 Michelin Stars so really looking forward that!

Food quantity wise, they all do tasting menus with lots of courses so you’ll end up stuffed!
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I've been to Sat Bains, Raby Hunt, L'enclume and House of Tides.

All of them were worth the money except House Of Tides which was very average.

I'd say Peace and Loaf is better in Newcastle.

But to the OP, it's something you have to try to appreciate just how much better they are than just an expensive restaurant.
 
Scam said:
I think judging from this awful sentence alone perhaps fine dining isn't for you ;)
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I did deliberately dumb that down a bit for effect. But dang nabbit, fella, you got me banged ta rites ;)

mattx2 said:
Yes used to regularly take advantage of these when I worked in London. Often around 30 for a 3 course lunch I thought that was pretty reasonable
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Correct me if I'm misunderstanding, please. £30 in a Michelin in the UK? Am I interpreting that correctly? If so, then I've got to give Michelin a go. I'd love to give them a try then. I thought Michelin meals wouldn't give me much change out from a couple of hundred.
I think I might need to do a bit of research then.
 
Baldbloke said:
Correct me if I'm misunderstanding, please. £30 in a Michelin in the UK? Am I interpreting that correctly? If so, then I've got to give Michelin a go. I'd love to give them a try then. I thought Michelin meals wouldn't give me much change out from a couple of hundred.
I think I might need to do a bit of research then.
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Yes, a michelin star doesn't automatically mean the restaurant charges a couple hundred for a meal. There's obviously a strong correlation between having a michelin star and price but there's plenty of restaurants that are reasonably priced

For example https://www.cntraveller.com/article/michelin-lunch-deals-london a list of the kind of deals I used to look for when I was in London
 
Only even been to one once while in Chicago, given the context I'd say it was worth it but definitely a special occasion kinda thing for me. Lot more emphasis on the service too, we were given a whole back story about the food that was being served.

Actually wanted to go to House of Tides but sounds like I should do the Raby Hunt instead!
 
mattx2 said:
Yes, a michelin star doesn't automatically mean the restaurant charges a couple hundred for a meal. There's obviously a strong correlation between having a michelin star and price but there's plenty of restaurants that are reasonably priced

For example https://www.cntraveller.com/article/michelin-lunch-deals-london a list of the kind of deals I used to look for when I was in London
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Bloomin' 'eck. Clicked on that link. Some of the prices on that are far, far lower than I had imagined. I think me and her indoors is going to have to find a Michelin nearby in Yorkshire. Gotta give it a go now.
 
Even if the meal is a good set price I can never resist the wine menu!

I really like going for a long fancy lunch. Also easier to find a booking.

I also think that “hype” is the wrong word. Only you can decide whether you think it’s worth it. You can have a great experience without a Michelin star, you can have great food without a Michelin star.
 
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