Fine dining is a particularly refined form of dining that focuses on the experience of dining: attentive table service, luxurious decor, premium ingredients, and an extensive wine list. The white tablecloth has become a symbol of fine dining, and these establishments are sometimes called white-tablecloth restaurants.
Fine dining restaurants often employ more creative chefs, who produce gourmet meals. Many chefs of fine-dining establishments are international celebrities. They might be considered for guests prepared for a good dining experience, such as wedding guests, honeymooners, business travel and the billionaires' social calendar.
Most high-end hotels, especially grand old hotels, have a fine dining restaurant.
Both luxury dishes and more regular meals are expensive. In a high-income country such as the United States, a fine dining restaurant could charge $200 or more for a gastronomic menu with drinks, and $100 or more for a steak menu with house wine (which would be $40 or more in a chain restaurant), and if you're ordering wine à la carte, the sky's the limit. While fine dining can be nominally cheaper in low-income countries, it is much more expensive than casual dining. In Thailand, a fine dining menu can cost around 3,000 baht, while 300 baht would get you a full menu in a street-corner restaurant, and a simple meal at a local foodstall can go as low as 50 baht.
Fine dining is no place for travellers in a hurry; a dinner is intended to take a few hours. If a restaurant is famous, advance booking is usually needed; sometimes several weeks or even months in advance. Some fine dining restaurants, particularly those in Japan, do not take reservations from new customers at all, and you will need to be introduced by one of their regular customers to dine there. Traditional gentlemen's clubs and country clubs also often have fine dining restaurants that are only open to members, meaning that you will usually have to be accompanied by a member to dine there, though you may also gain access if you are a member of a club back home that has a reciprocal agreement with the club in question.
There are many national and international rating systems for fine dining venues; the best-known of these is the Guide Michelin with its three-star system plus the Bib Gourmand for good values. Another well-known one that ranks restaurants around the world, as well as by continent, is the World's 50 Best Restaurants. As with any other ranking or rating system, these are also rather subjective, and many people regard them as being rather biased towards Western, or even French culinary preferences, with little understanding of the culinary traditions of other cultures of the world.
One of the things that differentiates high-end food from less expensive food that may also be delicious is the use of luxury ingredients, whether they are per se luxury items, difficult to prepare properly, or especially good, rare or fresh examples of more common classes of ingredients. Here follow some special items you may see on menus in some of the world's most reputable fine-dining restaurants:
Various premium types of ham are traditionally produced in different regions of Europe, the United States and China, and these often feature as ingredients in fine dining.
While local seafood can be abundant in fishing communities, it is usually expensive far from the ocean. Some species might be so rare, or difficult to prepare, that the price becomes astronomical.
In European cuisines, wine has the highest regard among beverages, and many fine dining menus have a wine selected for each course. As mentioned above, a vintage wine can be the most expensive item on the menu. Dessert is usually accompanied by a sweet dessert wine, or distilled beverages such as rum, liqeur or cognac. Options without alcohol can be de-alcoholized wine or soft drinks. Beer is rarely served with fine dining, but can be considered to drink with an appetizer.
A choice or tea or coffee is typically offered with dessert, or as a final dish with confectionery.
In most of East Asia, tea is served with many kinds of meals, including fine dining. In traditional Japanese dining, sake can be served with a dish.
Water served to fine dining can be a prestige brand of bottled water; unless you are in a place with excellent tap water, such as the Nordic countries.
Fine dining in Europe originally stems from the culture of French cuisine, the royal courts and the aristocracy of Europe. The bourgeoisie copied this behaviour. With industrialisation the middle class followed and adapted fine dining to their status in society and their financial strength. Tableware in sterling silver, porcelain and crystal became means of fine dining for the well-off, and was also a practical investment, sometimes given as wedding presents in complete sets. During the 20th century fine dining was made affordable for the masses introducing mass-produced tableware of less expensive materials. Table manners are associated with fine dining. Historically, children dined at a separate table or even in a separate room with a nanny. Children are now welcomed at the table, but are expected to adhere to table manners as well. French table manners have now been adopted as the standard across all of Christian Europe from Iberia to the Caucasus, and in former European settler colonies such as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and what is today the Asian part of Russia.
In the 18th century the French word gourmet was given as the reputable name for a connoisseur of delicious things that were not eaten primarily for nourishment. A gourmet chef is a chef of particularly high caliber of cooking talent and skill, and some of them are even celebrities. Gourmet dining or high-end dining restaurants in Europe has features like Michelin stars or renowned chefs. They can be in a historical building or have an exceptional view, are spacious with high-end interior design that matches the cuisine, and have a well assorted and extensive wine cellar. Features like a private dining room, dedicated smoker's lounge with cigars and perhaps live music for a closed dining company are also considered high-end dining. These features combined with a specific cuisine come at a premium. High-end restaurants often have dress codes, such as requiring a jacket and sometimes a tie from men and a formal dress from women.
Ordinary fine dining in Europe is affordable to most, since it has the essentials: good food freshly cooked in an adjacent kitchen, tableware that needs a dishwasher, a table cloth, cloth napkins and waiters that take orders, give advice when requested, bring food and beverages, and clear the table between courses and after dining. It is common, too, in even slightly upscale restaurants in much of Europe, for there to be a sommelier — a wine steward who specializes in recommending wines to go with your food, taste and budget. Sometimes ordinary fine dining has a buffet and a simple menu with a smaller staff to cut costs and offer lower prices.
New centres of fine dining have emerged in 21st century, with Catalonia and the Nordic countries in particular now being home to a high concentration of new age celebrity chefs.
When people think of fine dining, French cuisine is usually the first thing that comes to mind, so unsurprisingly, France is a prime destination for people looking to splurge the cash. While Paris is an obvious destination and has a wide selection of fine dining restaurants, you may be surprised to know that it is not particularly highly regarded by the French themselves. Lyon is actually more highly regarded than Paris when it comes to fine dining, and there are also numerous options in France's other cities such as Bordeaux and Strasbourg. Many well-regarded fine-dining establishments are not located in cities but in remote villages, where the restaurants employ a farm-to-table concept and make use of only the freshest ingredients.
The Michelin Tire Company rates restaurants in many countries, but it is in its native France that its ratings are most reliable, not only at the 2- to 3-star level but also for 1-stars in the countryside that serve local cuisine expertly with gracious service. Also notable are the restaurants that get the bib gourmand, as they may not be as fancy as most of the starred ones but are considered by Michelin raters to provide excellent values.
Due to the harsh climate that makes agriculture difficult, Nordic cuisine has traditionally been dominated by fish, cured meat and potatoes. Higher standards of living, new cultivars, greenhouses and imports have changed the picture. Some of the ingredients indeed benefit from the nearly eternal light of the Nordic summer.
The Nordic buffet, known as smörgåsbord and koldtbord, used to be a simple dish of bread, cheese and herring, but has been re-invented during the 20th century to include the best of Nordic seafood, meat and desserts.
In the 21st century, the Nordic countries have turned into one of the world's major centres of fine dining, with a new experimental style known as Modern Scandinavian or New Nordic cuisine, which aims to update the Nordic kitchen by integrating traditional Nordic flavours with influences from around the globe. Stockholm and Copenhagen in particular have seen a massive proliferation of this type of restaurants, with Copenhagen's Noma having being named the World's Best Restaurant multiple times.
Hong Kong has a truly international fine dining scene, with various European, as well as Japanese, cuisines being represented in the territory. Hong Kong is widely regarded as the best place in the world to experience Chinese fine dining, with many restaurants in Hong Kong's top luxury hotels serving up modern takes on classic Cantonese dishes using only the most exclusive ingredients.
Japan is the land of the traditional kaiseki meals of multiple small plates, which at the best places can be a life-changing experience, paired with great sake just as refined as the finest wines. Kaiseki is typically served at specialist restaurants known as ryotei, though a stay at an expensive ryokan often includes a kaiseki dinner either in the accommodation price or as an optional add-on. While available in Tokyo and many other cities, Kyoto is considered to be the spiritual home of kaiseki.
Japan also has omakase restaurants where the chef makes sushi, sashimi and other courses of his (occasionally, her) choice and you stop when you are full. Within these categories, there are some unusual specializations you might not expect, for example a restaurant that serves meals entirely of chicken dishes including ultra-fresh chicken sashimi. The finest form of sushi is known as edomae-zushi, which uses only the freshest ingredients, and in which the chef would make the sushi in front of you and put it onto your plate. As the name suggests, Tokyo (formerly Edo) is considered to be the spiritual home of this style of sushi.
Tempura has also entered the repertoire of Japanese fine dining, and Tokyo is home to many specialist tempura omakase restaurants in which the chef deep fries the tempura in front of you and places it on your plate, akin to what is done with edomae-zushi.
Unfortunately for foreigners, most Japanese fine dining establishments do not accept reservations from new customers without an introduction by one of their regular diners. If you are staying in an expensive luxury hotel, your hotel may be able to arrange a reservation for you provided you make your booking way in advance.
Singapore has a truly international fine dining scene, which has exploded with the opening of the casinos in 2010. While still not as highly-regarded as traditional Asian stalwarts Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong and Bangkok, there is no shortage of options for those who wish to splurge the cash in Singapore. As such, you will find Chinese, Japanese, Indian, French, Italian and other cuisines in this tiny city-state. Moreover, there is also a movement by younger chefs to elevate the unique Peranakan (people of mixed Chinese and Malay ethnicity) cuisine to a new level, thus making for something unique to try while you are in Singapore.
Taiwanese people are proud of their Japanese colonial heritage, and Taiwanese fine dining prominently features the fusion of traditional Chinese and Japanese cooking styles. Taipei is naturally a major center for Taiwanese fine dining, though there are also numerous fine dining establishments located in remote rural areas.
While Thailand is better known for its street food, Bangkok is also widely regarded to be Southeast Asia's main fine dining hub, with several restaurants ranked among the world's top 100. While Bangkok's fine dining scene is a truly international one, perhaps the most unique restaurants are those that serve up modern interpretations of traditional Thai cuisine, examples being Nahm and Sorn (dead link: December 2020). While very expensive by Thai standards, fine dining in Bangkok is generally much more reasonably priced than similar establishments in the developed world.
As one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, the United States has a truly international fine dining scene, with options covering the gamut from various European cuisines to several Asian ones as well. Modern American cuisine celebrates the cultural diversity of the United States, taking many leads from French cuisine but also incorporating various cooking styles and ingredients from around the world to give rise to an experience that is uniquely American. Unsurprisingly, New York City is the main fine dining hub of the United States, though the Napa Valley also makes an excellent option, and many other American cities like Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco also vie for top honors.
Sydney and Melbourne are Australia's main fine dining hubs, though there are also numerous good options in Brisbane, Perth, the Gold Coast and Adelaide. Fine dining in Australia is generally modelled on French cuisine, but also showcases Australia's cultural diversity, bringing together native Australian ingredients with ingredients and cooking styles from various parts of Asia and Europe in a unique style that is often called Modern Australian cuisine.