# What is a "nice" restaurant? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 11, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320 "2021-10-11T20:54:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/202 "2021-10-15T02:50:35Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > Here is a picture of a rigatoni dish from one of the top rated Italian restaurants in Chicago: Monteverde? I haven’t been but it seems like the top spot. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/203 "2021-10-15T10:31:21Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > You might be shocked to find out there are different cultural practices around all kinds of things. It probably should not be much of a surprise to you when an American talking about nice restaurants takes an American centric viewpoint. I would say the more unusual thing would be thinking someone would be familiar with restaurant practices in every country on earth instead of mostly being familiar with their own. I’ve eaten in lovely restaurants all over the world and could come up with a ‘nice’ list that applies to most places - table service, nice tablewear, separate wine list etc etc. It was just ‘valet parking’ being listed as a signifier I found amusing. I mean, you don’t even get that in any of the fancy places I’ve eaten in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/204 "2021-10-15T19:55:08Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > or expect you to eat with your fingers Good Ethiopian places excluded I assume 😉. > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > It’s somewhat regional–note that when I mentioned valet parking I specifically said it was an: Yeah, I very occasionally like to patronize casually nice upscale places (think something like [this](https://www.viadelcorso.net/) rather than three star places like [this](https://www.quincerestaurant.com/about/)). But I don’t think I have experienced valet parking locally much at all - even three star Quince doesn’t do it (nor do they have a dress code) 😀. Though to be fair some SF places absolutely do. ---
**Author:** ![Raucous84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Raucous84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raucous84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/205 "2021-10-16T00:39:52Z")
I’ve lived in many U.S. cities (I’m from Chicago living elsewhere now), and have eaten at a number of places. To me, a nice restaurant: Is not a chain, large or small Offers options that are either really well executed or creatively composed if they’re common fare Includes actual “house-made” items on the menu, and does not include any shipped-in, commercially created items on the menu Has a decent (by my standards) wine/drinks list My definition is biased, as I also regularly cook using “premium” ingredients and hold establishments that I visit to the same standard. To me, an excellent execution of a typically complicated meal, or one that is rather complicated to replicate at home but done well, or done differently than I would do - but still well - generally constitutes “nice”. Something with five Michelin stars in my book would be considered “ultra nice/ crème de la crème. ---
**Author:** ![Raucous84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Raucous84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raucous84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/206 "2021-10-16T00:56:59Z")
Oh and to answer the question, I’d pay about 80-100 with moderate amounts of wine, excluding tip for such a meal in a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/207 "2021-10-16T02:10:19Z")
> [@Raucous84](#): > > Something with five Michelin stars in my book would be considered “ultra nice/ crème de la crème. Considering that three stars is their highest rating, I don’t think a five-starred restaurant could even exist on our plane of comprehension. You’d walk in and suddenly Nylaryahotep would be feeding you nightmares with a utensil that has a number of prongs between five and six, and which is made of a color your brain can’t process. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/208 "2021-10-16T02:22:41Z")
People, especially US people, are sometimes confused by the star system. Michelin only gives three stars, but the Mobile Travel Guide, when it existed, goes to five. If you are talking about a restaurant in the US, then you are almost certainly talking about the Mobile rankings, as most US restaurants were not ever ranked by Michelin. Now that they are Forbes, they seem to be more free with their star system, Mobile usually only had around ten restaurants in the US that got five stars, now the Forbes guide has around 50 of them. Maybe there’s actually just that many more great restaurants out there, but I think it is more likely that their standards changed slightly. A Forbes five star would still be quite the honor, but not quite as exclusive a club as the Mobile five star. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/209 "2021-10-16T02:31:32Z")
Nitpick but it is (or was) the Mobil travel guide, as in the Mobil oil company, now a part of ExxonMobil. No e in other words. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/210 "2021-10-16T02:36:34Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > If you are talking about a restaurant in the US, then you are almost certainly talking about the Mobile rankings, as most US restaurants were not ever ranked by Michelin. Or, as I was reminded upthread, it could be reviews from local newspapers or city magazines. The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Magazine, for example, all review on a 4-star scale, with even a 1-star review being “good” (and reviews below that receiving no star). ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/211 "2021-10-16T03:37:56Z")
No, the precise wording was: > [@Raucous84](#): > > Something with five Michelin stars … … for which they were willing to pay: > [@Raucous84](#): > > I’d pay about 80-100 with moderate amounts of wine, excluding tip for such a meal … ROFLMAO Eighty dollars. For a “Michelin five-star” … I can’t … I can’t even … ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/212 "2021-10-16T03:46:37Z")
I don’t think assuming the Michelin guide goes to 4 or 5 stars is that big of an offense, most people don’t acquaint themselves with such things in detail, and there are plenty of star-rating guides that do go to those numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/213 "2021-10-16T03:47:58Z")
You are conflating what they are referring to as two different things and CONTRASTING them - “nice” which they describe in some detail and for which $80-$100 is a reasonable price (possibly, maybe improbably, certainly not laughably) - Michelin 5 Star (which I guess is actually Mobil 5 star or Forbes 5 star) which is described as “ultra nice / crème de la crème. Which presumably is a couple of notches at least above “nice” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/214 "2021-10-16T03:49:40Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Eighty dollars. For a “Michelin five-star” … I can’t … I can’t even … Maybe they split an appetizer. On the lunch menu. In August, when the chef is on vacation. With water. Tap water. Nope. Not even then. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/215 "2021-10-16T04:23:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Maybe they split an appetizer. On the lunch menu. In August, when the chef is on vacation. With water. Tap water. The tap has a $150 corkage fee. ---
**Author:** ![Raucous84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Raucous84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raucous84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/216 "2021-10-16T08:40:01Z")
Yes Martin, and thank you. So though a Michelin 5 star rating doesn’t exist, something akin to a 5 star Michelin rating would be exceedingly nice, and therefore, it’d theoretically be one of the nicest places possible to visit. ---
**Author:** ![Raucous84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Raucous84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raucous84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/217 "2021-10-16T08:47:38Z")
I meant my follow up answer to refer to the original question, so 80-100 would be what I’d pay for a nice restaurant, per my description of a nice restaurant. I would have included this where it would’ve been more clear, but was unable to edit my original post. I’d understandably pay much more for something Michelin rated. ---
**Author:** ![Raucous84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8dc957/32.png) [@Raucous84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raucous84)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/218 "2021-10-16T08:48:54Z")
Exactly. Thanks for actually understanding my points. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/219 "2021-10-16T08:56:18Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > > [@bump](#): > > > > Kansas City haven’t even had the opportunity yet > > When I went there middle of the last decade, my host took me to a very fine French restaurant, FWIW. And to think they could instead have taken you to Arthur Bryant’s. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/220 "2021-10-16T14:28:32Z")
Or even Gates. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320/221 "2021-10-16T14:34:00Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > > > Some cursory google research suggests valet parking is most common in the Northeast, but I’ve noticed it was quite common in LA the last time I spent time there. > > It’s not uncommon in Seattle for the _very nice_ restaurants. That’s funny. I was actually thinking of LA, Seattle and also Pittsburgh for valet parking. Cities where most people tend to drive but also have downtown areas with limited parking. Haven’t seen it as much in New York or Boston. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-nice-restaurant/952320.md?page=12)