Fine dining is afull-service restaurant (FSR) that is more expensive and unique than a typicalrestaurant. They may have higher-qualitydécor, with establishments having certain rules of dining which visitors are generally expected to follow. They may have adress code. The food is generally made of uniqueseasonal ingredients, often locally and sustainably sourced.
The precursor to fine dining started around the 1780s when health-consciousbouillon shops evolved into grand "Parisian restaurants like Trois Frères and La Grande Taverne de Londres".[1]
The first fine dining restaurants in theUnited States operated inNew York City, such asDelmonico's. The restaurant contained a 1,000-bottlewine cellar and remains in the same location.[1]
In France,César Ritz, aSwiss developer, partnered with Auguste Escoffier at the Grand Hotel ofMonte Carlo. This became the first restaurant to offer "luxury accommodations and gourmet dining all under one roof". In France, fine dining became yet another way of aping thearistocracy.[2]
The fine dining experience may be additionallysophisticated, special, and expensive than at a typical restaurant. The establishments may have certain rules of dining which visitors are generally expected to follow, like adress code.[3]
Thedécor of a fine dining restaurant may feature high-quality materials.[3] The ambiance and other elements, from the lighting to the furnishings, may play a role in crafting restaurants atmosphere.[4] Some other touches are white linen tablecloths and napkins, a curatedwine list with pairing suggestions, more glassware and silverware than other restaurants, andflowers and/or candles on the tables and in other spots inside.[5]
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Menus at fine dining restaurants are often curated to have classic dishes with modern twists, to make each meal memorable. The food is often sustainably sourced, withseasonal ingredients,[6] being presented in distinctive and unique ways. Food at fine dining costs more than casual dining normally.[7] The food is a presented with special colors, intricate plating, and garnishes that resemble miniaturesculptures.[8]
Details likemicrogreens, drizzled sauces, are a part of the meal experience.[4] There may even bepalate cleansers between courses, and a separate dessert menu that arrives after finishing the main course.[5]
Fine dining restaurants are some times calledhaute cuisine, a French term meaning ‘high cooking’, referring to the art of preparing food in a way that emphasizes quality, expertise and attention to detail. It is often associated with chefs from high-end restaurants who have skill and are innovative.[9]
The establishments are sometimes calledwhite-tablecloth restaurants, because they traditionally featuredtable service by servers, at tables covered by white tablecloths. The tablecloths were to symbolize the experience. The use of white tablecloths eventually became less fashionable, but the service and upscale ambiance remained.[10][11]
[...] the grand French tradition of fine dining takes its origin from restaurants established by unemployed cooks of great families brought low by revolutionary persecution.
Nothing symbolizes fine dining like a white tablecloth. More than just a crisp fabric, the white tablecloth is a restaurant's unstated contract with its clientele, a promise of elevated dishes, world-class wine lists, and superior service. In this era of salvaged-wood, communal-table, shared-plates casual eateries, the white tablecloth is this first thing to be jettisoned. Too stuffy, too snobby, too old, the thinking goes.
Today's interpretation of fine dining has less to do with linens, cheese carts, and hushed voices, and more to do with creativity and impeccable service.