I can't do posh

HAL9000

Well on our last night in Austria I took Mrs9000 to the poshest restaurant I've ever been to. Never again. Food very nicely presented but so little of it that I doubt they even drew blood from the animals comprising the meal, and suspect that even now they're frolicing around a field somewhere. The vegetation probably came from bonsai plants, and pudding was a redcurrant in a swirl of foamy cream.

Some of the clientele were breathtakingly rude to the waiting staff, and the whole thing appeared to be style over substance.

What's that all about then?

Am I missing something here? Were we all being taken on an expensive ride that no-one dared complain about for fear of being seen as the one that somehow didn't 'get it'? Or an I the Philistine?

jd0272

Perhaps most posh people are simply cunts.

Now there's a thought....

RaymondLin

Some people are rude, posh or not.

jd0272

Yeah, I'm not posh at all.

holnrew

Emperor's new clothes.

cruxiform

How much did it cost?

ICBM

I detest that sort of place. You'd have trouble paying me to go into one, let alone the other way round.

Bellycaster

David Beckham does, quite regularly ;-)

Back to topic though, the waiting staff at these posh gaffes in whatever Country must have the patience of angels to deal with being looked down upon by certain clientele, not you obviously I hasten to add.

Maynehead

The extra money mostly goes on service. Food is food, a carrot is still going to taste like a carrot even when you spend a fortune on it. :P

RaymondLin

These "posh" restaurant is about 2 things.

1 - the food, yes you might not appreciate it...you peasant but there is something to be said about a well presented plate of food and attention to every detail.  Sure, big plate of homemade food is nice but each has its place.

2 - The experience, that is the service, the atmosphere,.  Things like the waiting staff will literally keep an eye out on the content of your wine glass and never let it go empty.

If you want to see ridiculous small servings of food...scroll down.

Although I guarantee you, after all that (18 courses), you will not go away hungry.

Nitefly

holnrew said:

Emperor's new clothes.

Is the correct answer. Pictures on a plate = blx.

Branshen

@Raymondlin The 5th picture from the bottom has the saddest pieces of meat I have ever seen. It's so stingy, that I would never be able to see the "art" in it.

stickyfiddle

I like a good restaurant but some do tend to have an air of snobbery and po-facedness about them. Those ones are rubbish, and only encourage dick-head customer behaviour with it.

But the good ones are spectacular.

What was this place in Austria called?

RaymondLin

Branshen said:

@Raymondlin The 5th picture from the bottom has the saddest pieces of meat I have ever seen. It's so stingy, that I would never be able to see the "art" in it.

It's all for the taste, not to stuff your face. If they give you lots of food you'll never be able to eat through it all.

snakemanStoo

RaymondLin said:

It's all for the taste, not to stuff your face. If they give you lots of food you'll never be able to eat through it all.

That's a;ways been my impression of these multi michelin starred places

Sarge

The price is high because they have to employ 5 dishwashers per meal, "no, no, can I just have the 18 courses on the one plate please?"

stickyfiddle

The price is high because the meal can only be cooked by highly trained professionals, and you need several of them, and they all cost a lot of money.

I went to the Manoir aux Quat'Saisons a couple of years ago for a christmas present. We had 9 dishes iirc. 

One of them was this:

http://www.thecriticalcouple.com/uploads/2/8/1/1/2811540/6493970_orig.jpg

For which the recipe is so long I can't copy it into a single post here, but it's at the link below. Then there were something like 14 different breads, plus canapes on arrival.

Do people honestly expect to get that for Bella Italia prices?

http://www.thesra.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Le-Manoir-aux-QuatSaisons-Beetroot-Terrine.pdf

chillidoggy

I'm posh.

EricTheWeary

I've only ever had one properly expensive/ Michelin starred meal. The service was friendly and got that balance between not leaving you waiting and not making you feel rushed; the food was excellent and because there were several courses I didn't go away hungry ( and , let's face it, I eat a lot). It felt like money well spent, whereas I've been to much cheaper places and resented every penny as they can't get simple things right. On the other hand my favourite restaurant is a relatively cheap Indian/ Bangladeshi one where the food is scrumptious and the service basically indifferent.

mike_l

chillidoggy said:

I'm posh.

pissed doesn't mean posh

boogieman

I was on jury service with a guy who was a chef at the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. He invited us all over for a meal after the trial had finished (only three of us turned up). It was the most spectacular food I've ever had, it was so beautifully presented it was almost a crime to eat it and the flavours were superb. Bigger portions than Raymond's pics too. The best bit was he'd called in all sorts of favours with the hotel manager and got staff discount as well, so we got a brilliant table, a five course meal, loads of alcohol including aperitifs, liqueurs and a different wine with every course......all for £30 each.
I can understand the reason behind the normal relatively high cost of a meal like that. The poncey "lettuce leaf served with gold foil and unicorn hoof dressing" stuff for £50 a portion is just a pisstake IMO.