Fine dining is cheap in the UK?

[Anonymous]

Traveling to London this summer and booked a 2 Michelin star Indian restaurant in London. Was shocked that a full course dinner was only 125 pounds. This seems insanely cheap to me compared to how friggin expensive it is to dine out these days in the US. It costs almost $100 per person now to simply go out to something like Pike and Rose for a lower key meal nowhere near on the same level. Has London started to get cheap now? The tube is still insanely expensive, I'll give you that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Traveling to London this summer and booked a 2 Michelin star Indian restaurant in London. Was shocked that a full course dinner was only 125 pounds. This seems insanely cheap to me compared to how friggin expensive it is to dine out these days in the US. It costs almost $100 per person now to simply go out to something like Pike and Rose for a lower key meal nowhere near on the same level. Has London started to get cheap now? The tube is still insanely expensive, I'll give you that.

When the pound was $2.60, no, it wasn’t cheap. Now that the pound is cheaper, it is cheaper for Americans. And the tube might be more expensive, but to me, it’s worth it because it’s about 1000 times more clean, functional, safe, and less soul sucking than the mta. My kids were aghast at the train when we moved from central London to manhattan. The real question is how is it so stinking cheap in places like Seoul? Those trains are much better than the tube, and the fare costs like one us dollar.

[Anonymous]

What restaurant?

London isn’t cheap, but it’s also not expensive.

[Anonymous]

125 pounds for Indian food is expensive. Indian food is pretty cheap. Lots of rice and vegetables, low on meat. Is this for a single person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:125 pounds for Indian food is expensive. Indian food is pretty cheap. Lots of rice and vegetables, low on meat. Is this for a single person?

Have you experienced high -end Indian cuisine? It is expensive ingredients and very labor-intensive. Nothing cheap about it.

[Anonymous]

Where are you eating for $100 per person at pike and Rose? Melina, Julie? They are good but not Michelin star.

[Anonymous]

Love Indian food, but it is not fine dining. 125 pounds would feed a village. Indian food is rice, dals vegetables, potatoes, naan, dosas. Some meat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What restaurant?

London isn’t cheap, but it’s also not expensive.

Agreed, we were able to find some good restaurants that were reasonable. Lots of ethnic foods like middle eastern, Chinese and Indian were reasonable. No need for those to be Michelin star.

[Anonymous]

I’m from London, I think restaurants seem similarly priced in both places (of course you can get cheaper or more expensive food in each). It often feels better value to me in London, or perhaps I should say: it seems surprisingly expensive in DC because of the extra charges you get here - the tax, the service, etc. Since tax is always included in the UK and service is around 12%, the number at the end is closer to what you saw on the menu.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love Indian food, but it is not fine dining. 125 pounds would feed a village. Indian food is rice, dals vegetables, potatoes, naan, dosas. Some meat.

It can be fine dining like any cuisine. There are some incredible high end Indian restaurants in London (Gymkhana, Benares, etc). It isn’t the same as eating simple Indian food. Just like there is also Italian fine dining and simple Italian food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love Indian food, but it is not fine dining. 125 pounds would feed a village. Indian food is rice, dals vegetables, potatoes, naan, dosas. Some meat.

Incredibly ignorant comment. Look at the food of the Muglai court. Beautiful intricate dishes fit for the most powerful emperors in the world. It is quail, muntjac, pink shrimp etc.

[Anonymous]

It isn’t cheap, but high end is usually better value in London at the moment. The quality is usually significantly better for a given price point.

[Anonymous]

I have also found dining (not the very top, but close) to be very affordable in both Paris and Tokyo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where are you eating for $100 per person at pike and Rose? Melina, Julie? They are good but not Michelin star.

I mean yes, exactly, that's my point. $100 per person essentially at places like Melina or Julii after you add in salad, appetizer, entree, drinks, and tip. They're solid restaurants, but they're nowhere near 2 Michelin star level like the restaurant in London for only 125 pounds (and no tip!). And Melina/Julii aren't even in a major world city like London.

Dining in the US is so crazy expensive now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love Indian food, but it is not fine dining. 125 pounds would feed a village. Indian food is rice, dals vegetables, potatoes, naan, dosas. Some meat.

What a bunch of ethnocentric bullshit*t. Italian food or French food really isn't 125 pound worthy.