White Truffle Extravaganza at Alain Ducasse / Paris
 

A few years ago four of us were at Alain Ducasse in Paris for their annual white truffle extravaganza -- every course featured an abundance of white truffles (in the case of desserts, only figuratively). Our meal, including some very good but not overly extravagant wines, totalled around US$3,500. It was the best dining experience of my life, without question. ^ ^ :)

I spent $400 USD at a dining establishment at Champ D' Elysee in Paris. Though I couldn't remember the name of the restaurant. It doesn't help to remember considering how poor my French is. :(

A couple years back (late 2001) my wife and I bought dinner for a friend at Alain Ducasse New York. My wife had the white truffle tasting menu. It was $2400 including tip for the three of us; a couple dollars short of $2000 pre-tip. A friend took me to lunch at Pierre Gagnaire and it was $1300 for lunch for the two of us. That would be my most expensive lunch. Well, he paid $1000 for lunch, I paid the $300 for cigars and cognac after lunch.

Park Hyatt Tokyo
 

Celebration of a major sales victory - 13 people, cocktails, many course dinner, cognac and Cuban cigars = US$15,720 Terrific view of Shinjuku - free

Non-business dinner - Prix fixe dinner in the Grill Room at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore (plus cocktails which were not included) = US$480 35th wedding anniversary. Followed by a rickshaw ride - S$20

Both great meals.

bb

$1200 for dinner with a few friends over the holidays last year.... thanks double skymiles

This is small potatoes by comparison to some, but it was the best AND most expensive meal I've ever had: $1020 at the French Laundry for four people. It would have been significantly more if we'd paid the restaurant's price for the bottle of '91 Chateau Margaux we enjoyed with our meat courses. The wine had been our wedding present to the other couple ten years previous; the sommelier opened it for us in exchange for the restaurant's $50 corkage fee.

I still can't believe we paid fifty bucks to have them pour our own bottle of wine for us. Sheesh. What a bunch of maroons.

Most expensive: 1300 Euros for 2 (New Year's Eve 2003) at La Tour d'Argent in Paris. However it was far from being our best meal!! :td:

That's not too far off the standard. We paid $45 corkage at Cafe Gray in NY the other night for a rare Aussie "old vines" Shiraz we brought back from the Barossa that my brother wanted to taste. The rest of the tab was about $225 per person all in which is certainly not anywhere near the highest that you can run up in the Time Warner Center nowadays.

You got a table at FL. Be grateful.
;) :D

You'll scoff...
 

or worse, won't pursue to the end of my rant.
R and I had our first ~$20 hamburgers, and ~$80 hotel dinners in London some time early last year.
"WELL, DUH!," you're shouting--or you will, once I tell you we were staying at the St. James Buckingham Palace--"what ELSE would you EXPECT in that neck of the woods, given the dollar's very apparent decline against the BGP even back then???? And anyway you weren't exactly at the very bottom of the wide range of accommodation rates London offers, were you?
>sheesh!<"
And you'd be right.
My point: yes, yes, $20/$80 are not exactly budget-busters in and of themselves. But those meals were simplicity itself, basically "a" hamburger, and "a" chop. Tasty, I suppose, but certainly nothing over the top, cuisine-wise. In that sense they were our Most (unexpectedly) Expensive Dinners.

Dinner at Petrus in the Island Shangri-la Hotel in Hong Kong for US$2,000+ for two people around 1998. Rough breakdown was:

Food - US$250
Krug Grand Cuvée - US$300
1985 Petrus - US$1,200
Tip - US$350

How was it? Food was good, wine was sublime. Presentation also fantastic. Loved the proper decanting of the bottle with a candle. Would I do it again? Probably, but I would perhaps sooner open the wine at home and with the savings buy a second bottle!

You're not wrong ;) I know wine/champers is over inflated at a restaurant but you can buy Krug GC for less than $140/bottle in my local supermarket!

Me too. At the first one in Manila. :)

Aureole in NYC to celebrate a 30th birthday. Bill was $415, tip included. Everything a good meal should be - Sommelier was wonderful, meal exquisite and service outstanding.

great thread - I'm a relative lightweight in comparison to some people here. I've had a couple $150 dinners (neither paid for by me :D) but that's like a fast food bill compared to some dinners mentioned here

Don't get me wrong, but your local supermarket does not compare to the Petrus Restaurant at the Island Shangri-La in Hongkong.

It is one of the most fascinating places to dine on planet earth.
Do the Virtual Tour...

http://www.shangri-la.com/hongkong/i...x.aspx?ID=1387

You're right. I forgot to mention that I'd gladly pony up $50 any time to have the French Laundry sommelier open a bottle for me. That expense signifies that I'm sitting in the French Laundry, being fed Thomas Keller's amazing food.

I was aware of that ;)

Call it a light hearted comment :)

$400 for lunch at Harry's Bar in Venezia and most recently >$600 for lunch at Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower.

Both were titillating experiences for the palette and not to mention relaxing for the soul. Can’t wait for our next trip to return the scene of the crimes!

I think you got a pretty good deal on the wine considering where you are dining!! I have seen Krug GC priced more than that at humbler restaurants and the $1200 for '85 Petrus sounds like a steal..... I think that vintage would have cost more "retail" considering it is a Petrus and it is an 85.....

well since i don't have an expense account the most i ever spent for dinner for two was about $160. :p

Saturday night at Au Crocodile in Strasbourg at €200 prix fixe per person degustation menu was certainly not the most expensive dinner we have ever had but I believe that it was the most expensive "official" FlyerTalk Do dinner to date.

:D I am happy you enjoyed it.

It was great, as all can see from milepost 86 at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=443707&page=6 and then further on in the thread for other reactions.

Not going to win the top $$$ but....
 

My wife and I enjoyed Valentine's Dinner 2000 at the Cliff House in San Francisco. We went to Sutro's Restaurant and enjoyed a full meal with Appetizers, drinks (wine mostly), entrees, dessert etc. Our bill was almost $500 for the evening. (And worth every penny!!!)

Each time I dine at Nobu in Las Vegas, it is hard not to spend at least $250 per person.