How important is fine dining on your trips?
 

Just wondering...

How important is fine dining and meal planning in general for your travel plans?

My husband and I do not place much emphasis on dining... we have simple tastes and are quite easily pleased, although we do enjoy the odd higher-end evening out while on vacation. We tend to stop when we are hungry rather than plan ahead to the next meal. I think ambience (charming terrace with nice view, or beach-side cafe) is higher on our scale than actual food quality, or the fame of the chef. We have made some reservations while on vacation, but very rarely... for special occasions or when we were with a larger group.

We are planning our first Europe trip and would like a really nice celebratory dinner at a lovely spot in Paris... and recommendations for a magical evening without breaking the bank? Looking for $$$ rather than $$$$ for a special evening.

Do you plan in advance, or eat on the fly?

We are self-admitted foodies and pre-plan many of our meals (mostly dinners) whenever we are visiting locales noted for having great restaurants, especially those establishments where you have to make reservations weeks or even months in advance. As such we have enjoyed meals in some of the finest Michelin 1, 2 and 3) star restaurants as well as critically acclaimed but non-Michelin star restaurants in many cities all over the world.

Other times we seek recommendations from hotel concierges or do thorough research on our own to identify top rated restaurants. This too, has afforded us the opportunity to scope out and enjoy some really fine meals.

We've even eaten "on the fly" (to us that means choosing a restaurant based on how it looks from the outside and perusing its menu before actually requesting a table) and many times have been incredibly lucky and discovered some really memorable restaurants we would have otherwise missed.

Of course, we've been disappointed a few times but when that happens and we chalk it up to experience.

When it comes to dining out we never concern ourselves with cost. I have no qualms about about spending what some people consider to be an obscene amount of money for a truly extraordinary meal but I also equally enjoy less costly meals as long as the quality is there.

Another facet of our restaurant choice, especially when traveling, is that it is sometimes difficult to have multi-course fine dining meals overnight of the week without getting "taste sensory" overload so we will sometimes opt for simple (and smaller) meals.

For us, life is much too short to eat poor quality meals.

Lastly, we usually find the better restaurants tend automatically to have that "ambiance" you mentioned so that in itself is not a major factor for us when choosing a place to dine - it's already part of the package.

Happy dining!

Although we will choose a fancier restaurant for a special occasion meal, we usually prefer, whether at home or away, neighborhood ethnic places.

<We tend to stop when we are hungry rather than plan ahead to the next meal.>
Huh? I love food, but even I take a break between meals. Except at Chelsea Market.

<I think ambience (charming terrace with nice view, or beach-side cafe) is higher on our scale than actual food quality>

I think our approach to food and eating is the opposite of yours, OP.

It's not important. I'd rather spend my money on other things.

I find meals are the most challenging part of a trip. Like Abram, I enjoy a special meal in an upscale restaurant occasionally but usually I prefer an ethnic or cafe style meal. It is often difficult to find a suitable eatery when I’m hungry and I get quite exhausted and cranky if I don’t eat at regular times. We don’t generally have a car when travelling which complicates matters as we are limited to something within walking distance of where we are staying or exploring. I’ll settle for fast food if I have to, rather than ante up for something pricey at a fancy restaurant when I’m not in the mood.

It really depend on the situation I guess, and on what traveler type you are. I know people that plan everything in function of their daily meals. I prefer to do it on the fly, but if I'm in a "gastronomically inspiring place" I'd rather be flexible ;) In any case I always prefer fresh local food.

So a couple of questions regarding dining, especially in Paris. Is is recommended to have reservations for a fairly decent (midrange, not astronomical) restaurant for dinner?

And for more casual evenings, can you walk into cafes without reservations or long line-ups?

We tend to be a bit more on-the-fly menu perusers.

I am not averse to street-food(sometimes really enjoying a hot-dog at a park while people watching).

It is interesting to hear all the diffent views, which is what makes this forum so entertaining.

I have only been in Paris to one Michelin starred - 'Le Pergolèse' the food was great.
My wife went to 3-4 others, among which the 'Il carpaccio' that she found delicious.

However if you like the view and atmosphere as much as you describe, I'd recommend the 'Zyriab' or 'la Tour d'Argent' which both have a view on the Seine and Notre Dame.
I've only been to the Zyriab (a Lebanese restaurant), on the top of the Institut du Monde Arabe, the food was good but not more. But the view is fantastic.

There are some other which give a great view - but I've never (yet) been.

Good food is essential for me and I often plan trips based on food- New Orleans, Thailand, etc. I usually have at least one reservation on a trip and a general idea of restaurants in the areas I'll be in. I don't really buy souvenirs so the memory of an amazing meal is my "souvenir".

No I usually don't plan. But if I were seeking specifically: <<a really nice celebratory dinner at a lovely spot in Paris... and recommendations for a magical evening without breaking the bank?>>

yes I would definitely research that in advance!

We are committed foodies but fine dining doesn't feature terribly high on our list of priorities these days, as we tend to travel for extended periods. In Asia and and South America we tend to eat in small restaurants frequented by local people rather than tourists, or at street stalls or markets.

We do occasionally splash out on high end restaurants, but views and ambience would always take second place to the food. One place in Paris we did splash out at was at Le Cinq at the Four Seasons George V. Great food certainly, but overpriced to the nth degree. I believe that there is often very little correlation between price and quality of food.

As for planning, I take most restaurant reviews with a large pinch of salt, especially those on TA, so I find it hard to plan in advance. Usually we adopt the " on the fly" approach described by Roamsaround. Usually it works, occasionally it is a disaster, but unless you are paying a fortune for the meal, it's no big deal. If eating at a high end place, I would have no hesitation in sending a meal back if it wasn't 100%.

We like good food and seek it out on our travels, planning many destinations in part because of the food.

But this does not generally take the form of fine dining.

I my first marriage we went to a lot of Michelin two and three star places. This no longer appeals to me.

I also like to have a kitchen so that I can shop local markets and cook simply or at least have places to keep bread, cheese, meat items.