Restaurant dining can be expensive, and people have to wait for the privilege in many cases. The most expensive restaurants are also often the hardest to get into. In New York City, some restaurants have reservation backlogs of months. When people do get to dine, they find the price per person is well over $200. With premium wine, the number can be much, much higher. Also, the expensive New York City restaurant experience is not exclusive to New York. Other major cities have restaurants that can be equally expensive.
Of course, in most cases, you get what you pay for. A dinner of shrimp cocktail, filet mignon with hash browns and creamed spinach, and a couple of glasses of good red wine might run you $125 or more at a high-end steakhouse, but you would most likely end up extremely satisfied. A Big Mac Extra Value Meal (burger, fries or salad and soft drink) can be had for $3.99, at least in the United States. But, well, it would be a Big Mac Extra Value Meal.
Most of the restaurants we looked at have two things in common. The majority have earned two or three Michelin stars, and almost all serve only fixed-price menus. Although a few do offer à la carte options as well, and one (part of a chain owned by media celebrity Nusret Gökçe, better known as Salt Bae) is à la carte only, it ends up being potentially the most expensive place of all.
The most expensive restaurant in America is Nusr-Et Steakhouse. Here are the details:
Location: New York City and other cities
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Number of courses (may vary): three (à la carte)
Average price of dinner for one (food only): $85 to $1,635
Just how much money is it possible to spend for dinner? 24/7 Tempo drew on a number of food, travel and business websites to assemble a list of high-ticket restaurants around the country, then consulted the restaurant websites, as well as reservation and local review sites, to determine which place was the most expensive.
We found as we screened restaurants for prices that many offer prix-fixe menus priced between $150 and $250 per person, and we filtered those out. (Prices are for food only, unless otherwise noted.) Some restaurants offer two or more different menus at varying prices.
é by José Andrés
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Cuisine: Avant-garde
> Number of courses (may vary): 20
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $275
The Inn at Little Washington
> Location: Washington, Virginia
> Cuisine: Contemporary American
> Number of courses (may vary): 7 to 8
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $288
Saison
> Location: San Francisco, California
> Cuisine: Contemporary American
> Number of courses (may vary): 5 to 8 (patio), 9 to 12 (indoors)
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $178 and up (patio), $288 and up (indoors)
minibar by José Andrés
> Location: Washington, D.C.
> Cuisine: Avant-garde
> Number of courses (may vary): 20 to 25
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $295
The Herbfarm
> Location: Woodinville, Washington
> Cuisine: Contemporary American
> Number of courses (may vary): 9
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $285-$305
Eleven Madison Park
> Location: New York, New York
> Cuisine: Plant-based contemporary
> Number of courses (may vary): 5 (bar), 12 (dining room)
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $175 (bar), $335 (dining room)
Benu
> Location: San Francisco, California
> Cuisine: Contemporary international
> Number of courses (may vary): 12
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $350
The French Laundry
> Location: Yountville, California
> Cuisine: California-French
> Number of courses (may vary): 9
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $350
Atelier Crenn
> Location: San Francisco, California
> Cuisine: Contemporary American
> Number of courses (may vary): 14
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $395-$420
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
> Location: Brooklyn, New York
> Cuisine: Japanese-French
> Number of courses (may vary): 20
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $395
Sushi Ginza Onodera
> Location: New York, New York
> Cuisine: Japanese/sushi
> Number of courses (may vary): 20
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $400 (including tip)
Alinea
> Location: Chicago, Illinois
> Cuisine: Contemporary American
> Number of courses (may vary): 10 to 16 (The Salon), 16 to 18 (The Gallery)
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $275-$315 (The Salon), $385-$415 (The Gallery)
Shion at 69 Leonard
> Location: New York, New York
> Cuisine: Japanese/sushi
> Number of courses (may vary): 18
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $420 (including tip)
Joël Robuchon
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Cuisine: Contemporary French
> Number of courses (may vary): 15 to 18
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $445
Restaurant Guy Savoy
> Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
> Cuisine: Contemporary French
> Number of courses (may vary): 6 (prix-fixe) 3 (A la carte)
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $555 including wine (prix-fixe), $210-$280 (Ã la carte)
Masa
> Location: New York, New York
> Cuisine: Japanese/sushi
> Number of courses (may vary): 19-24
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $650-$800 (including tip)
Per Se
> Location: New York, New York
> Cuisine: Contemporary American
> Number of courses (may vary): 5 (salon lounge), 9 (dining room), 15-20 (dining room Evolution menu)
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $245 (salon lounge), $355 (dining room), $850 (Evolution menu)
Nusr-Et Steakhouse
> Location: New York, New York, and other cities
> Cuisine: Steakhouse
> Number of courses (may vary): 3 (Ã la carte)
> Average price of dinner for one (food only): $85-$1,635