The most you ever paid for a meal just for yourself

[MovieMogul]

Was going through some old statements and ran into the receipts for my business trip down to Hollywood last year. A weekend conference, I was on my own and was near a few modest-but-popular restaurants I'd heard about that I thought I'd check out.

But I love sushi and Nobu (which is far from modest) was on the daily route back and forth, so I dropped by for dinner. Being alone, I went to the bar instead of taking a table--and even though my wife and I eat sushi all the time, I did something I'd never done before: I told the chef behind the bar to make me whatever he wanted (no holds barred) and I didn't ask what anything cost until I got the bill. 10 or 11 servings later, I was full, and while it was an immense guilty pleasure (I maybe eat out twice a month back at home), it was also fantastic.

For special occasions (anniversaries, etc.), I've paid more per head, but at $150, it was the most I ever paid dining alone. Any memorable solo dining extravagences in your past?

[JoseArcadio]

The most I've paid for a meal was £45 for Christmas dinner last year. That's much more than I would pay to eat out normally but Christmas day is always going to be more expensive. Maybe that doesn't count because I didn't eat alone.

I've never paid more than £15 for a single meal dining out on my own. If I had an expense account, it would be different.

[sandra_nz]

NZD150 for a tasting menu at the French Cafe in Auckland, New Zealand. It was fantastic although both my husband and I were blind drunk by the end of it, as each course came with its own glass of wine.

[jjimm]

Not I, but I am currently reading The Man Who Ate The World by Jay Rayner, who travels around the world eating at very fancy restaurants, mostly alone. I highly recommend the book if you're into fine dining. He talks about Nobu etc. The most he paid was ¥50,000 (~$550) for some astounding-sounding sushi.

As for me, I guess on a business trip to Chicago I paid up to $100 for a solo meal. I got a $2 hot dog for lunch the next day to make up for it and didn't expense it...

[Lanzy]

About $25?

When I am solo, I don't go to great places.

[Dogzilla]

I ate at Emeril's once in New Orleans with a couple of friends. The bill came to more than $300. IIRC, my share was about $125... and worth every penny.

[C K Dexter Haven]

I don't eat solo very much, and when I do, it's usually on the cheap. Most expensive meal with my wife was in Kobe, where we had Kobe beef (fantastic!) at roughly US$400 for the two of us.

[jjimm]

BTW the most I ever paid per head, though, was £175 ($290 at today's exchange rates) each for two of us at The Fat Duck. It was worth every single penny.

[otorophile]

Last year I was a college freshman at a good school with disgusting food. I ordinarily have a huge appetite, but I had trouble eating the campus food at all, so I would be chronically hungry. One day, I just couldn't take it anymore and took a bus downtown. I spent about 40 bucks on sushi and another 40 on fancy meats, cheeses, and bread, and had it all in one sitting.

[overlyverbose]

If the OP's referring to a meal I ate all by myself at a restaurant (or ordered from a restaurant), I'd put it at $50: once for room service at a ritzy hotel where I was attending a conference (I didn't get much for my money: pasta with over-salted white sauce, a roll and some water) and another time at the Cheesecake Factory. That was the only time I've eaten alone at a sit-down restaurant. I wanted to celebrate the fact that I'd left my crappy job. I got an appetizer for lunch and a couple of glasses of wine. Cheesecake Factory isn't usually my thing, but it tasted wonderful that day.

As part of a couple, though, I've spent $80-$100 a head for an anniversary dinner or my husband's birthday.

[HeyHomie]

About $60 at Bin 36 in Chicago just last weekend. I wasn't alone, but my share of the bill ran to $60 or thereabouts, and it wasn't even a full meal. Just a plate of cheese, and some wine. Quite a bit of wine. Like, a lot of wine.

[tdn]

The most I ever paid was $300 for two people. That was on New Year's Eve about a decade back. On my own? Probably about $45. That included alcohol and soup, but not dessert.

[Doug Bowe]

Just over $85 plus tip at Arnaud's, New Orleans in 1982. And that was on the cheap. It included the Oysters Rockefeller since this was the first place in the world to serve them.

[Mahna Mahna]

As far as dining alone goes, the priciest meal was a $70 omakase menu at a fancy sushi place in Montreal. I was travelling for business, though, which is pretty much the only time I would be eating solo at a nice place (and even then, I try to keep my business meals under $20... but this place came highly recommended). Worth every penny for the sashimi plate alone, which had several sizeable piece of toro.

The Boy and I have spent way more than that if we're going out together, though. We've given up on getting each other gifts for birthdays or our anniversary, and just go out for a really really nice meal instead. The average bill for those meals is around $200, and has been as high as $300 for the most spectacular of the bunch (a Valentine's Day tasting menu at Sen5es in the Soho Met).

[Eyebrows 0f Doom]

Probably around $40-50 or so.

[Ludovic]

Eating all by myself at a restaurant, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't top $20.

Eating with groups at places where I like the food and without a prix fixe menu, I sometimes spend a little more. But I'd be surprised if I've gone over $40 including everything (one contender, the Capitol Grille with a $25 a la carte steak, $4 entree and $4 tea).

(I've eaten a few banquets that came out to be more but the ones that were prix fixe don't count for the OP obviously.)

[Weedy]

I don't ever go to restaurants by myself. I've paid maybe $12 for some restaurant take-away. The most I've ever paid for a restaurant meal was to send my mum and her friend to the best restaurant in town (Tetsuya's) for her birthday one year. That was around $260 per person, not including drinks, which they paid for themselves (another $100 odd).

[Dangerosa]

I've had $80-90 bills eating alone on business trips. Don't expense them because they are in excess of my per diem....

[breezman]

Around $30 for a sandwich and a few drinks at a fairly fancy beachside restaurant. The kicker? I lost my lunch later that day.

[BigBertha]

I am guessing about $10. A wonderful little italian restaurant.

[The Second Stone]

I'll hit Bouchon in Yountville, CA twice a year and spend $100 on just myself. It's a little more per person if there is someone else. Sunday the 13th was one of those days! Yay. Food is excellent.

[TastesLikeBurning]

Originally Posted by jjimm

Not I, but I am currently reading The Man Who Ate The World by Jay Rayner...

Great book. You might also enjoy Heat by Bill Buford.