The end of fine dining in Australia?

[Princess Fiona]

Or has more common sense than to spend $$$ on a fancy tablecloth at the expense of value.

I dunno, maybe I'm the only one... but after plenty of less than successful meals on board Qantas I wouldn't consider going to a NP restaurant.

You should. Far better experience than all of the meals onboard.
Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney is particularly good IMO.

 

[cove]

We had to book the early dinner next Sunday at Aria in Sydney as it was full up Sunday night due to Vivid (maybe). Our first two choices were both "no we are full".

 

[cove]

Rockpool is actually not as good as Ruth's Chris , Flemings and Mortons in Los Angeles so changing is not something that would trouble us at all.

 

[flyingfan]

You should. Far better experience than all of the meals onboard.
Rockpool Bar & Grill in Sydney is particularly good IMO.

I second this, the onboard food, even in A380 F, is only a partial facsimile of the restaurant experience. I found the Rockpool (The Rocks) food a bit hard to like for a couple of dishes, but the menu at Rockpool Bar & Grill is extensive and strong... it would take quite a fussy eater to not find something there they didn't like. For example my mum doesn't eat red meat at all yet she adores Bar & Grill for its pasta and seafood dishes.

 

[kyle]

Sad to see it go having been there a few times. It was a great experience every time.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I second this, the onboard food, even in A380 F, is only a partial facsimile of the restaurant experience.

That's the shame right? Airlines can provide good dining experiences in the air, if they want to.

 

[Homer]

I don't think it's the end of fine dining, but the common thread that I hear in the industry is that most cities can only support a handful of truly top end restaurants - think Sepia (which is closing at end of lease anyway because they've done it and don't need to keep on doing it), Quay, et al - because these are the once-a-year (or less) places that people choose for special occasions and there aren't enough people choosing this type of product to sustain any more restaurants at this level. On top of that, the margins are slim and the profits are often not very good. It takes a lot of people to put up food at that level, night after night, and the produce at that level is expensive. I know guys making a lot more - millions in fact - from charging $3.50 for coffees in busy city locations with only 4 or 5 "baristas" on the payroll. The margins are massive compared to food, particularly fine dining food. I think chefs that reach 3-hat status do so for reasons of personal achievement - reaching the pinnacle of their craft, etc - but once you've done that, and given the costs of continuing to do that, I think you reach a point whereby you just don't need or want to keep doing it.

 

[kaktusdigital]

That's the shame right? Airlines can provide good dining experiences in the air, if they want to.

In your opinion who stands out as best food in J/F ?

 

[junbugging]

In your opinion who stands out as best food in J/F ?

JAL does an extremely good job, in my experience. They do a lot of research into how perceived taste is affected at altitude.

 

[Deleted member]

Or has more common sense than to spend $$$ on a fancy tablecloth at the expense of value.

I dunno, maybe I'm the only one... but after plenty of less than successful meals on board Qantas I wouldn't consider going to a NP restaurant.[/QUOT

you know as well as anyone, that isn't what was meant

 

[cove]

Bistro des Artistes in Perth will close before Christmas following a rental /lease dispute with his landlord. This seems to be fairly common where the landlord may end up with an empty place for many,many months. This place is more of a cafe style with fairly genuine French cuisine so it can save you a trip to France while it is open.

 

[Anna]

The end of fine dining coincides with a lamentable decline in basic table manners IMO. I might start a thread about that Covering both Melbourne and Sydney :shock:

 

[medhead]

The end of fine dining coincides with a lamentable decline in basic table manners IMO. I might start a thread about that Covering both Melbourne and Sydney :shock:

Great idea. And of course it is only Melbourne and Sydney that lack table manners.

 

[Anna]

Great idea. And of course it is only Melbourne and Sydney that lack table manners.

Yes. They were settled by convicts after all :shock:

Kidding, people.

 

[medhead]

Yes. They were settled by convicts after all :shock:

Kidding, people.

I've heard South Australians say that enough to know it is not kidding.
I always think of all the straight roads in Adelaide and feel they invoke the bars of a cell. Deep down I think South Australians wish they were settled by convicts.

 

[Wong.a]

Not dying but perhaps comatose. Hopefully no more actual closures, like Marque a little while ago.

 

[Jmrocky]

The end of fine dining coincides with a lamentable decline in basic table manners IMO. I might start a thread about that Covering both Melbourne and Sydney :shock:

I think it coincides a lot with the food movement. People are less impressed with gold taps, thick tablecloths and extravagant platings than previously, and want as much effort on produce and flavour than ever.

 

[burmans]

I think it coincides a lot with the food movement. People are less impressed with gold taps, thick tablecloths and extravagant platings than previously, and want as much effort on produce and flavour than ever.

Imagine people thinking dining is actually about eating food, what is the world coming to!

 

[Awesom Andy]

Generally speaking, dining should have reasonably good food, and fine dining would build on that with the environment and services. However, quite a few places have forgotten about the food part, so no matter what the environment or services are like, the full experience just doesn't feel so special anymore. The trend these days seems to be going back to basics - focus on the produce and reasonably consistent quality, and try to build it up again from there.

 

[drron]

I've heard South Australians say that enough to know it is not kidding.
I always think of all the straight roads in Adelaide and feel they invoke the bars of a cell. Deep down I think South Australians wish they were settled by convicts.

Wasn't SA settled by those who left the Old Dart before they were caught?
Actually one was an ancestor of mine and for him it was true-had 6 wives that we know of.Never divorced or widowed.:shock: