Next Restaurant
Feb 10, 2012 | 1:13 pm
#31
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,771
For those of you who aren't obsessed, Next is selling season tickets for this entire year.
The tickets will probably go on sale today or tomorrow, and be sold out within a few hours at the most.
This year's menus are:
Fernan Adria, of El Bulli, worked closely with the Next team. The El Bulli menu is 28 courses. There is only one seating per night, and tickets are $365 per person including beverage pairing.
The tickets will probably go on sale today or tomorrow, and be sold out within a few hours at the most.
This year's menus are:
- El Bulli
- Kyoto
- Sicily
Fernan Adria, of El Bulli, worked closely with the Next team. The El Bulli menu is 28 courses. There is only one seating per night, and tickets are $365 per person including beverage pairing.
Feb 11, 2012 | 4:50 pm
#32
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Near ORD
Programs: AA LT Gold, Hyatt Diamond, HH Gold, SPG Gold, PC Plat Ambassador
Posts: 739
Just snagged season tickets for a 4 top on Fridays. If you aren't in the queue already, you're out of luck. I'm sure there will be a lot of el Bulli available for resale, though.
Feb 11, 2012 | 6:04 pm
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,687
Feb 11, 2012 | 8:33 pm
#36
Moderator: Information Desk, Women Travelers, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 16,210
Frebay, I'd absolutely be interested in buying them off of you. Please PM me to let me know details (price, dates). Thanks! (I was # ~2600, so no luck for me today.)
Feb 12, 2012 | 8:17 am
#37
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,771
I got a 4-top for Sunday nights.
Not sure if we'll stay for Kyoto/Sicily (though I'd like to, the hassle of flying to Chicago kind of outweighs it in my mind).
I like Next and think Grant Achatz & co are doing something really unique and cool. But the hassle of sitting by the computer to buy tickets and lurking around for a week or two is really annoying.
And $3500 for three dinners? Someone pinch me. A friend of mine figured roughly that they would pull in about $1.6m for el Bulli alone and more for the other menus. Good work if you can get it.
Not sure if we'll stay for Kyoto/Sicily (though I'd like to, the hassle of flying to Chicago kind of outweighs it in my mind).
I like Next and think Grant Achatz & co are doing something really unique and cool. But the hassle of sitting by the computer to buy tickets and lurking around for a week or two is really annoying.
And $3500 for three dinners? Someone pinch me. A friend of mine figured roughly that they would pull in about $1.6m for el Bulli alone and more for the other menus. Good work if you can get it.
Feb 12, 2012 | 10:52 am
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,687
I got a 4-top for Sunday nights.
Not sure if we'll stay for Kyoto/Sicily (though I'd like to, the hassle of flying to Chicago kind of outweighs it in my mind).
I like Next and think Grant Achatz & co are doing something really unique and cool. But the hassle of sitting by the computer to buy tickets and lurking around for a week or two is really annoying.
And $3500 for three dinners? Someone pinch me. A friend of mine figured roughly that they would pull in about $1.6m for el Bulli alone and more for the other menus. Good work if you can get it.
Not sure if we'll stay for Kyoto/Sicily (though I'd like to, the hassle of flying to Chicago kind of outweighs it in my mind).
I like Next and think Grant Achatz & co are doing something really unique and cool. But the hassle of sitting by the computer to buy tickets and lurking around for a week or two is really annoying.
And $3500 for three dinners? Someone pinch me. A friend of mine figured roughly that they would pull in about $1.6m for el Bulli alone and more for the other menus. Good work if you can get it.
That said, I didn't find the process to be much of a hassle at all. Next posted a Facebook status update about 12 hours before the tickets went on sale, and another as soon as the tickets went on sale. I did not sit obsessing over my computer, and I still managed to get tickets.
Feb 12, 2012 | 11:20 am
#39
Moderator: CommunityBuzz!, OMNI, OMNI/PR, and OMNI/Games & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ORD (MDW stinks)
Programs: UAMM, AAMM & ExPlat, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott lifetime Plat, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 24,156
Feb 12, 2012 | 11:37 am
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,687
The guy has something unique enough that people are willing to pay in advance for it, and he books much of his revenue early in the year. It's a new and interesting idea in an industry that has a great deal of replication and failure.
If you don't like the idea of season tickets, you don't have to buy them. There were more than 8,000 people trying for 950 tickets on Saturday, so the idea appears to have been a success.
Feb 12, 2012 | 7:01 pm
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 16,934
The guy has something unique enough that people are willing to pay in advance for it, and he books much of his revenue early in the year. It's a new and interesting idea in an industry that has a great deal of replication and failure.
If you don't like the idea of season tickets, you don't have to buy them. There were more than 8,000 people trying for 950 tickets on Saturday, so the idea appears to have been a success.
If you don't like the idea of season tickets, you don't have to buy them. There were more than 8,000 people trying for 950 tickets on Saturday, so the idea appears to have been a success.
Feb 12, 2012 | 7:20 pm
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,687
If deliciousness is all you care about, you can get a delicious meal for much less than half of what it will cost to dine at a place like Next (or TFL, Momofuku Ko, EMP, etc.).
Feb 13, 2012 | 8:02 am
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 16,934
Delicious was just phone shorthand for "a wonderful experience." At the cost of El Bulli you can have a wonderful experience at Alinea for less without having to buy "season tickets."
Feb 13, 2012 | 8:30 am
#44
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Portland
Posts: 11,687
I see what you mean. I guess it's just a question of what each of us values. I also want to try the Sicily and Kyoto menus (I'm particularly looking forward to Kyoto). Since I was unable to get tickets to Paris, Thailand or Childhood, I'm thrilled to have been able to get tickets to all three of this year's menus. Alinea is a great value, too, but it's only somewhat less expensive than El Bulli (which includes wine) and it's more expensive than Sicily and Kyoto.
Feb 13, 2012 | 8:40 am
#45
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,771