Poll:Restaurant Meal Upper Guideline (NOT special occasion)

[Scuba]

Our usual top end excluding special occasion meals would be $100-$150 for the two of us, depending on whether and what we drink. We often bring our own wine and pay corkage rather than paying $50-$100 for an OK wine from the restaurant list. Often we will share an appetizer and order two entrees.

Eating out in So CA has gotten really expensive with most restaurants paying staff $15-$20/hour now. Even lunch at a nicer restaurant (upscale casual, not high end) will often run $70+ for two with just entree salads and iced teas, including tax & tip. Doesn’t help that taxes are 10%.

[GrayHare]

The inverted bell curve results mean something, not sure what though.

[dtbach]

I didn't read this as an "average" tab as some folks but as the most you normally would spend on a typical dinner. So even though I average around $25/person, I put down $60 as that is the most I would really consider at any place.

[audreyh1]

I also wondered. OP was pretty clear that the poll was about the upper limit per person expense someone would allow for a non special occasion.

But I suppose folks want to share what they more typically spend.

How many answered the poll with their average or typical expense instead of their personal upper limit for a non special occasion?

[marko]

Growing up, mom didn't cook. She just didn't. The best she could do was maybe toast and a hard boiled egg once in a while for breakfast.

We ate out breakfast, lunch and dinner 5-6 nights a week. Take out was considered 'eating in'.

So, even today we find it normal to eat out 3-4 nights even though I'm a really good cook at home. A typical dinner, with drinks will run the two of us about $120, tip included.

Mom also taught us that you never even look at the menu until you're half way through your first drink; then a drink with the meal and then after dinner drinks. We don't go that way every night but we do adhere to her 'first drink/menu' rule.

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Kind of hard to answer IMO since it OP talks about routing dining out but also places you'd go to but not necessarily go back any time soon unless for a special occasion.

We eat out a lot so our soft target is to try to keep our bills under $15 person which is pretty doable at "ethnic" eateries (eg. $12 fried noodles split+$6 congee split+$6 side dish split+tax/tip).

$25 per person covers us for most of the places we regularly go to.

For most nicer restaurants around town, we'll typically top out around $70 per person ($15 appies+$35 mains+$5 split dessert+drink+tax/tip).

We've done over $100 per person only a few times at home and on vacation which I wouldn't really categorize a "splurge for a special occasion" as would do it again for the right restaurant/meal/total experience.

[Idnar7]

We go to splurges with brother and sil. Twice we have spent over $300 at Oceanaire and over $400 at Frontera Grill in Chicago (they have marvelous margaritas and we each had three). Took a cab to the restaurant - must line up 30 minutes before they open to get in. Walked back to hotel after words. Great experience though still a splurge.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idnar7 We go to splurges with brother and sil. Twice we have spent over $300 at Oceanaire and over $400 at Frontera Grill in Chicago (they have marvelous margaritas and we each had three). Took a cab to the restaurant - must line up 30 minutes before they open to get in. Walked back to hotel after words. Great experience though still a splurge.

Holy smokes! 3 margaritas at Frontera! Wow! Were you sober enough to even taste the food?

[calmloki]

Our upper sub special occasion meal price would be around $140/ couple. Problem is I take little joy from that kind of meal. Probably lacking in refined palette, but I haven't found price to have a strong correlation to satisfaction. Last night we went to a kinda fancy place, good sized crowd eating there, she had a mojito, i had water and the tab for us was $78. The meals were sub par. The sliced zucchini was better than the kobe beef on my plate. OTOH, some weeks ago we went to a new place and the gal got a better mojito and a great osso bucco, the ambiance and service were great and it was just a much better deal for less money. Almost no customers, so the place may be gone when we get back next year. A little breakfast and burger place opened in town - knockout burgers and fantastic omelettes and potatoes. Complimented the chef, who was the owner. Been back 3 times and no owner on site and it has been terrible. It's tough when you can do but want to move up from that position. I'll be happy to get back to Habit Burger or In'N'Out and light well done fries.
What were we talking about?

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki and the tab for us was $78. The meals were sub par.

In Porto, Portugal, a few years back we had a superb caldo verde at a stand up counter in a bakery/deli for €1 apiece. A few days later, at the behest of the airbnb manager and since we were in the area, we visited a restaurant he highly recommended.

Paid ~10X what the deli charged, and for an inferior offering.

[Teacher Terry]

Marko, your parents must have made a lot of money to be able to afford that. Growing up we never ate out. When TV dinners came out my mom served them once/week for a break. Otherwise she was a awesome cook. I am the youngest and at age 12 she went back to work. Every Friday we got to go to the local bar for a fish fry. She was making her own money so my dad had no say in the matter. That was a big deal for us kids. Some of the amounts people spend blow my mind but I realize COL varies. I love eating out.

[Helena]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 I possibly participated in the poll under false pretenses - we (almost) never eat out, (and never say 'dine'), and regard being waited on as an intrusion and a bit of a PITA. However, like many things, it's sometimes unavoidable, but if necessary we pay as little as possible.

lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by RE2Boys Wow, I consider $20 per person when dining out a splurge and special occasion. Of course, when we travel, many times it can run that high or higher, but week to week, very rare to break $15 per person. Helps that we don't drink anything but water and never order desert (seldom even have one with dinner at home!).

Me too. Fortunately, that's $15-$20 just for food.

I don't drink [alcohol or anything else] while I "dine."


.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teacher Terry Marko, your parents must have made a lot of money to be able to afford that. Growing up we never ate out. .

It was either that or starve to death!

But not every night was formal dining...sometimes it was something like Pancake House or the local diner.

Even now though, when I suggest to mom that I cook for her instead of taking her out, she acquiesces but I can tell she's only humoring me. She'd much rather go out and meet her friends: the bartenders and waitresses.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 and regard being waited on as an intrusion and a bit of a PITA.

A bit off topic, but as noted above, my mom (age 89) eats out every day, is very outgoing and tips well.

When I go out with her to dinner, it's like eating with a celebrity: you can't take two bites without a waiter, waitress, bartender, owner, maitre'd, floor manager or another patron coming over to the table to chat.

She loves it and it's her 'entertainment' but I find it very annoying (but that's what my good stiff martini is for I suppose)

[Midpack]

I was tempted to poll what’s the highest tab per person you’ve ever spent including special occasions but excluding business meals. Our highest bill wasn’t a special occasion, but it was years ago, I can’t imagine what that place costs these days. But our top is obscene even to us - and I’m sure there are others here who aren’t anxious to disclose.

[kaudrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB Unless you are at some really upscale place it's hard to spend a hundred bucks / person even with drinks. That said I would do it w/o a thought if the items were something I wanted.

Not in DC! I put $50 pp because a $40 bottle of wine gets you there easily, even if dinner is $20 pp.

[kaudrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack I was tempted to poll what’s the highest tab per person you’ve ever spent including special occasions but excluding business meals. Our highest bill wasn’t a special occasion, but it was years ago, I can’t imagine what that place costs these days. But our top is ludicrous - and I’m sure there are others here who aren’t anxious to disclose.

I was thinking that too as I was reading through this. If you post it, I'll answer there!

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaudrey I was thinking that too as I was reading through this. If you post it, I'll answer there!

Why don’t you start that thread and or poll? I’d only answer an anonymous poll.

And I think you’d have to exclude all business dinners, I’ve been to one that was $12,000 for 12 people, mostly very expensive wines to impress NYC JV financiers. Even then, some posters will inevitably mix personal and business examples...

[scrabbler1]

I don't really distinguish between a special occasion and a regular night out because for me simply going out to eat is more or less a special occasion, something I do about 9 times per year. Either way, it costs in the $20-$25 range per person for me and my dining companion, so I answered "up to $30" because it was the best answer for me.

[audreyh1]

We can’t drink a bottle of wine between us at a meal. It takes at least two meals, and more typically three at home.

I saw couples routinely ordering and drinking a bottle of wine at a meal in France. Tourists and locals alike. I was amazed. At most I might have a light aperitif and a glass of wine with my meal.

That’s the main reason we don’t order bottles of wine at restaurants besides the huge markup. I also have a very nice wine collection at home, so I’m rarely turned on by the wine list.