![]() ![]() All this adds up to create, especially at the start of the evening, a slightly stiff and awkward atmosphere, which could be softened and not at all spoiled by the addition of some discreet music, or even filling rooms earlier on to create a bit more of a buzz.įinally, it’s long. The place feels like a small townhouse there is no music the first seating is at 5-5:30pm the service is reverentially polite. It’s also true to say that the atmosphere verges on the starchy. (Corkage, incidentally, is $75 per bottle – with a maximum of one bottle brought in for every two guests.) If you’re tempted by the likes of Château Petrus 1947, you can add another cool $13,200 on top of that. But bear in mind that this price excludes wine and other extras. Granted, the amount of courses is generous and you’ll hardly leave feeling hungry. (While service is nominally included, it’s so attentive, engaging and impeccable that you almost feel compelled to leave a tip anyway.) The prix fixe is the only menu offered and it is $270 per person, excluding tax at 14%. We’ll get the criticisms out of the way first. Which is: The French Laundry is the best restaurant in the world. It depends on the mood, the company, the timing, the alignment of the planets and any number of other factors that might collide to produce any given experience on any given occasion.īut now that the sensible disclaimer is out of the way, we can say what we really think. Much like trying to single out the best wine, the best painting or the best symphony. Million kitchen renovation is about more than gleaming new ovens.Let’s great straight to the heart of the issue: is The French Laundry the best restaurant in the world? ![]() By any measure, Wells' piece was a shocking rebuke to a great chef who had spent a lifetime building his reputation, and who had evidently nodded off at the wheel long enough to veer off the road. The operations, huddle with the staff, and renew the overall mission statement of each establishment. Review, the chef visited every one of his dozen or so restaurants, to inspect "When we fall short, we work even harder," he said in a public mea culpa. Reportedly deeply wounded and troubled by this. Single unpleasant incident apart from the presentation of the check."He called the service "oddly unaccommodating." At the conclusion of his review, answering the question of whether Per Se was worth the money, he responded: "In and of itself, no." In describing a mushroom bouillon, he called it "as murky and unappealing as bong water." On the prices: “It’s possible to pass an entire meal in this no-fun house without a Some of the quotes from his review have become legendary. That the food had gone downhill and the staff was arrogant. It has occupied a cherished place in the city's foodie culture since opening in 2004. Per Se is Keller’s other three-star Michelin destination,įar more expensive than The French Laundry-a restaurant where the tab for two can easily soar to $1500 and beyond. Plausible theory centers on the withering review of Manhattan’s Per Se lastĬritic Pete Wells. The man is 62 years old, the math is not in his favor. Take him 15-20 years to recoup the investment in his new kitchen. The benefit of the doubt and peg his profit margin at 5%. Like a lot of money, but 2% of the total represents $300,000. Assuming every seat is full, projected revenues would be The restaurant serves seven dinners and three With wine, we can conservatively project anĪverage check of $500 per head. Reputations and end up opening bistros to make some money, which is exactlyįrench Laundry was $310 per person. Most Michelin three-star palaces use those restaurants to forge their Margin-one or two per cent is not unusual. ![]() Restaurants, most establishments on that level operate on a very thin net profit While The French Laundry is also one of the country’s most expensive Will it take him to make that $10 million back? Far longer than you think. The case: all the work went into expanding and revamping the kitchen and wineĬellar, with a reported kitchen tab of more than $10 million. ![]() Were first announced, most observers assumed that Keller would be enlarging hisĭining room to accommodate more customers. Only 60 seats, it’s also one of the hardest tables to get. Michelin stars, and is widely regarded as the best restaurant in America. It is one of nine in this country to hold three Laundry, Thomas Keller’s famed restaurant in Napa Valley, reopened yesterdayĪfter an extensive renovation. ![]()
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