RIP Fine Dining
Is Fine Dining Dead? For Me — As a Guest — It Might Be.
I’m writing this not as someone inside the kitchen or the boardroom.
I’m writing this as a consumer ,a diner ,a great appreciator of restaurants.
Someone who has loved food deeply for a long time.
And who, quietly, has changed.
I Still Love Restaurants
Let me start there.
I still love the anticipation of a booking.
The moment the room reveals itself.
The first sip ,the unspoken contract between host and guest.
Restaurants matter to me .But the kind of restaurant I crave now is different.
Not simpler ,Not cheaper ,Not careless - Different.
What No Longer Moves Me
I no longer want to be impressed at.
I don’t want a performance that asks me to sit still and behave ,nor a menu that needs translating.
I don’t want service that feels rehearsed rather than present.
And I don’t want to feel like I’m interrupting the room by being human.
Too often, fine dining has tipped into theatre.
Beautiful ,Precise ,Controlled.
But honestly a bit emotionally distant.
And distance is the one thing I don’t want when I’m eating.
What I Crave Instead
I crave connection.
• A welcome that feels meant ,a server who reads the table and food that tastes of confidence rather than cleverness
I want to feel known, not managed.
I want timing that respects conversation.
Pacing that feels human.
Food that lands with warmth, not explanation.
Better service does not mean more steps.
Better food does not mean more elements.
It means care you can feel.
The Shift Happened Quietly
There wasn’t a single meal that broke the spell.
It happened slowly.
I noticed where I lingered ,where I returned ,where I felt most at ease.
I noticed how quickly my shoulders dropped in certain rooms.
How rarely I checked the time , looked at my phone.
Those places were rarely the most formal ,They were actually the most alive.
This Isn’t About Nostalgia
I’m not chasing some imagined golden age.
I still want standards ,skill and ambition.
What I don’t want is stiffness disguised as quality.
If I feel watched, I’m not relaxed.
If I feel judged, I’m not enjoying myself.
If the room feels afraid to loosen its tie, I feel it too.
Hospitality should feel generous -Not anxious.
As a Guest, My Definition of “Better” Has Changed
Better food now means:
Flavour over flourish ,confidence over complexity and restraint over spectacle
Better service now means:
Presence over polish ,judgement over scripts and warmth over rules
Better restaurants now mean:
Rooms with energy ,teams who enjoy each other and a sense that I’m welcome to be myself
That’s not lowering the bar.
That is the bar.
.
So Is Fine Dining Dead?
No ,but for me, its position at the top of the pyramid has shifted.
I no longer equate formality with excellence.
Or silence with sophistication Or difficulty with value.
The restaurants I love now feel confident enough to relax.
They trust their food ,their people and above all they trust their guests.
That trust is everything.
This isn’t a rejection.
It’s a preference.I’ll always admire great fine dining.
I just don’t seek it out in the same way.
I want to be fed well ,looked after properly and allowed to exhale.
As a guest, that’s what feels luxurious now.
Here's to a Bright Future rooted in our Rich Past 🧔
#Hospitality #DiningCulture #GuestExperience #FoodAndService #ModernLuxury #EvenKeel
