Fine dining is a restaurant experience that is typically more
sophisticated, special, and expensive than at a typical restaurant. The
décor of such restaurants features higher-quality materials, with establishments having certain rules of dining which visitors are generally expected to follow, sometimes including a
dress code.
Fine dining establishments are sometimes called ''white-tablecloth restaurants'', because they traditionally featured
table service
The foodservice (US English) or catering (British and Commonwealth English) Industry (economics), industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside the home. It includes restaurants, grocery stores, school ...
by servers, at tables covered by white tablecloths. The tablecloths came to symbolize the experience. The use of white tablecloths eventually became less fashionable, but the service and upscale ambiance remained.
History
The precursor to fine dining started around the 1780s when health-conscious
bouillon shops evolved into grand "Parisian restaurants like Trois Frères and La Grande Taverne de Londres".
In France,
César Ritz, a Swiss developer, partnered with prominent French chef
Auguste Escoffier at the Grand Hotel of
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
. 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 the
aristocracy
Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats.
Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...
.
[
]
Other luxury hotels soon developed across Europe.
[
]
The first fine dining restaurants in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
operated in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, such as
Delmonico's in the 19th century. The restaurant contained a 1,000-bottle wine cellar and remains in the same location.
See also
*
Types of restaurants
References
{{reflist
1780s introductions
Restaurants by type