[Closed] what should I wear? posh restaurant content.....

Nothing a bit of dry cleaning won't fix.

You'll feel uncomfortable if you wear anything else.

Lucky you - I'd love to go to Le Gavroche!

I'm really looking forward to it. But nervous too. Is that odd... I'm perfectly au fait with how to behave and which knife for what, but I still find it slightly intimidating. Especially if scary Monica is on duty!

Definitely a suit. It'll be full of corporates in suits, so anything else will look out of place.

My missus has been, and still raves about it. The service is very good - understated, not at all snooty French waiter style.

Wear the suit

Relax - they are serving you

Enjoy - the food will be delicious

No one is judging you, so why judge yourself? It's your treat, make the most of it.

OK - tie, or open necked?

I thought it was compulsory tie there? You can always take it off. Much harder if you don't have one!

Do you have a dress code for the restaurant?
Our dress code is smart casual, however we do require gentlemen to wear a smart jacket for lunch and dinner. Ties are optional, smart jeans are allowed and strictly no trainers or shorts

I once went to a place in my chinos, striped shirt and jacket. As we walked in I noticed that EVERY man was dressed the same.
They gave me the once over and a casual nod that I was welcome amongst them.

sports jacket and very smart jeans maybe. if in suit, slightly casual style, could get away without a tie. maybe.

Been a couple of times, you will be fine in either a suit or as they say smart jeans, nice button down shirt and a jacket with shoes.

Enjoy.

You're out for a day, throw a jacket over whatever you will feel comfortable in. If you're a bit apprehensive, the last thing you should do is dress up like a best man at a wedding as that will make you look and feel outside of your comfort zone. Relax and you will enjoy it more.
Ages ago I got given a champagne dinner for two at the Dorchester, the only people smartly dressed were the waiters.

Badly fitting overlong jeans with superfluous pockets, a slightly baggy pink shirt tucked in so I puffs out like a muffin top, jacket also badly fitting and with the bottom button done up,all finished off with black work shoes that are slightly pointy and turned up at the ends and a bit scuffed.

It's a popular look.

Dress code is quite formal, obvious stuff like no shorts or trainers, and men must wear jackets. It also says that smart jeans with a jacket are OK.

Let Jezza be your guide....

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Or ask yourself.... what would Alan do.....

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Just sort your hair out, and you'll be fine.

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There's no need to be formal these days. A nice velvet jacket and bow tie will be fine.

Badly fitting overlong jeans with superfluous pockets, a slightly baggy pink shirt tucked in so I puffs out like a muffin top, jacket also badly fitting and with the bottom button done up,all finished off with black work shoes that are slightly pointy and turned up at the ends and a bit scuffed.

+1

ahaahaha, so true!

Go bright, casual, and don't forget to accessorise.....

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Go bright, casual, and don't forget to accessorise.....

Not sure if the OP will fit in that dress.

sports jacket

WTF is a sports jacket when it's at home?

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I've been lucky enough to go to a few Michelin starred restaurants and I'd just do the suit thing tbh. Always better over dressed than under dressed.

As for being nervous, get over yourself, I found the staff to be very helpful and nice at these places and if you go in clearly there for a treat, i.e. this is special for you they'll look after you.

I went to Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence - 3 Michelin stars which was just amazing. I explained to the Sommelier it was a treat and we had no idea how to match a wine to the meal, he smiled and said, wonderful let me give you a different wine to match every course -there was like 8 courses- and he was bang on with every course. He loved it, loved showing us each wine and how it would go with a dish. The only glass we didn't like was Crystal champagne, too flowery... ha, he let us finish it then replaced it with a different champagne, perfect, no charge, haha. These guys are just humans, very good at what they do but still just humans. Imagine them in their underwear... always a problem if shes a pretty lady! 😉

I've been lucky enough to go to a few Michelin starred restaurants

It's not really luck though is it? You just call up, make a booking and then show up at the restaurant at the appropriate time.

Don't feel like you have to apologise for spending cash on nice food...this is STW after all 🙂

Why would you want to put yourself in a situation where you are nervous just for eating?

I'd rather go to a local burger bar or curry house and enjoy myself than go somewhere that made me feel nervous (not that eating somewhere 'posh' makes me nervous – in fact I have always been very underwhelmed by them).

It's not really luck though is it? You just call up, make a booking and then show up at the restaurant at the appropriate time.

The luck involved is the luck enough to be able to afford to pay the bill! 😉

Don't feel like you have to apologise for spending cash on nice food...this is STW after all

*puts down Gregg's pasty*

U wot m8?

The luck involved is the luck enough to be able to afford to pay the bill!

Luck is having someone else pay the bill.

There aren't many people who couldn't get enough cash together to pay a restaurant bill...whether that was the best use of their funds is a different story!

There aren't many people who couldn't get enough cash together to pay a restaurant bill...whether that was the best use of their funds is a different story!

Its my money and I'll spend it how I like thank you. Luckily the OP is having it gifted, lucky man.

Lol, I wasn't having a dig ti_pin_man! I ate in Patrick Guilbaud last week 🙂

I'm not paying. It was a thank you for some work. I'm also inclined that I'd have preferred to take my family out 3 times instead, but as a gift I feel obliged to accept.

Luck is having someone else pay the bill.

My brother's other half works in television production - specifically food shows. When they went to La Gavroche for his birthday, Michel Roux Jr. popped out and said that he'd cover the bill.

Jammy swines.

OP, my brother has eaten in some very fancy places thanks to work. Le Gavroche is the one he has picked out above all others that he would spend his own money in. And part of that is because how good the staff are at making sure you are enjoying the experience. So relax and enjoy.

It's not really luck though is it? You just call up, make a booking and then show up at the restaurant at the appropriate time.

[b]DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!!!!![/b]

I went to a job interview this week, wearing brown boots, a pair of jeans, a multi-coloured striped shirt and a blue jacket. It was pretty much the outfit I'd wear t go to lunch at a posh restaurant. The people interviewing me were in suits. It was fine, I looked great.

🙂

binners - Member
It's not really luck though is it? You just call up, make a booking and then show up at the restaurant at the appropriate time.
DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!!!!!

O/T Why is it that egos have such existential angst?

Been fortunate enough to be dined at Le Gavroche a few times wearing 'smart but not quite Mr Smith approved' shirt, jacket & trousers and didn't feel out of place at all.
Always found "proper posh" restaurants to be far more welcoming and helpful than "trying to be posh" establishments.
Go, enjoy, have fun 🙂

Well if you must wear a jacket that should be your starting point, if a suit is your best / smartest jacket then wear that. If it's a weekday lunch most people will be work related so there will be other suits. You don't have to wear a tie.

Very few restaurants still have a dress code, I would call and double check.

Relax and have a good time, the days of surly waitors in these sort of places is long gone, they are there to ensure you have a great experience. Don't be afraid to ask about the menu and choices in fact I'd encourage you to do so. If they have a tasting menu (and that's in your "deal") then take that. If you want explain this is a gift/prize and your first time at a 2-star and you are really excited and nervous and I guaranty you they will make even more of an effort.

Make sure you post us an update. Bonne degustation (the upmarket version of bonne appetite 😉 )

Went for tea at the Ritz once, went in my suit, it was summer and hot, so I made the mistake of taking my jacket off and putting it on the back of the chair, a waiter gently/quietly pointed out my error. hahaha.

Again - why the *%$£ would you want to eat somewhere that tells you to put your jacket back on despite it being hot.

Pass me a McMeal

edit, no.

O/T Why is it that egos have such existential angst?

Not sure if that was directed at me? Curious as to alternative, less egotistical ways of booking a table than phoning the restaurant?

Le Gavroche? Pah!

I am sat in John Lewis cafe, having a bit of carrot cake.

I'll ask how many stars they have on me way out.

...oh, and I am wearing shorts.

I am sat in John Lewis cafe, having a bit of carrot cake.

Shouldn't you be at work young man?

Shouldn't you be at work young man?

I am. Got me laptop with me.

Plus...IT'S FREE CAKE!

....although, JL seem to have divided the slices in 2 to save a bit of money. Last month it was a monster sized piece.

I went to a job interview this week, wearing brown boots, a pair of jeans, a multi-coloured striped shirt and a blue jacket.

I am sat in John Lewis cafe, having a bit of carrot cake.

Oh, how the other half live.....

Simply stunning.

We had an early table so it was a wee bit intimidating to start with - didn't want to talk in much above a hushed whisper as it was so quiet but as it filled up and the ambience grew it became very enjoyable.

Food was superb, as you'd expect. I'm maybe controversial here but I've eaten some good food in my life, and while I'm sure it was technically brilliant, and beautifully presented, I'm never quite sure how to judge one plate vs another when they can be totally different things - a fantastic classic french plate vs a Japanese Kobe beef steak vs a rustic Tuscan taverna's sausage and bean stew...... So whether it was the 'best' I've ever had; I can't say.

But it was without doubt the best service i've ever had. It's true what they say, in this country we treat waiting jobs as something you do to make ends meet while going through college. A professional waiter is something else, and I can't describe how much they enhance the enjoyment by being just perfectly there when you need them, but unobtrusive when you don't.

Brother is a chef at a Michelin star restaurant.

To climb the ladder they have to do 18 hour days for about 6 hours worth of pay, get punched or cauterised for dicking up a service and generally spend most of their lives getting sworn at more than a squaddie gets from a staff sergeant. They all have stockholm syndrome. All to serve some toffee nosed posh ****s and the landed gentry what you are only going to shit out 24 hours later.

I'm never going to eat at one, think about that next time you eat at one, that for the hours done and the abuse given you're giving money to something that is no better than a sweatshop and far far closer to home.

A professional waiter is something else, and I can't describe how much they enhance the enjoyment by being just perfectly there when you need them, but unobtrusive when you don't.

It's great having an army of underpaid serfs doing their utmost best to make sure you are absolutely not annoyed by anything completely inconsequential, isn't it? I don't know about outside of the EU but generally the better a waiter or chef gets, the less they are paid compared to their mainstream counterparts.

the better a waiter or chef gets, the less they are paid compared to their mainstream counterparts.

?

How does that work?

Brother is a chef at a Michelin star restaurant.

To climb the ladder they have to do 18 hour days for about 6 hours worth of pay, get punched or cauterised for dicking up a service and generally spend most of their lives getting sworn at more than a squaddie gets from a staff sergeant. They all have stockholm syndrome. All to serve some toffee nosed posh **** and the landed gentry what you are only going to shit out 24 hours later.

I'm never going to eat at one, think about that next time you eat at one, that for the hours done and the abuse given you're giving money to something that is no better than a sweatshop and far far closer to home.

It's great having an army of underpaid serfs doing their utmost best to make sure you are absolutely not annoyed by anything completely inconsequential, isn't it? I don't know about outside of the EU but generally the better a waiter or chef gets, the less they are paid compared to their mainstream counterparts.

Nonsense 🙂

I'm never going to eat at one, think about that next time you eat at one, that for the hours done and the abuse given you're giving money to something that is no better than a sweatshop and far far closer to home.

are you genuinely saying they're slave rings? That's one of the best things I've read on here! You can have one of these: 🙄

I'm never going to eat at one, think about that next time you eat at one, that for the hours done and the abuse given you're giving money to something that is no better than a sweatshop and far far closer to home.

Maybe one of the most laughable things I have ever read on here.

You forgot to mention drugs, most professional kitchens are rife with gak and wizz.

@theotherjonv - thanks for the update and good to hear you had such a great time.

@theotherjonv - can we all sit here and say, told ya so?

Glad you enjoyed it, always put an open mind into the dress code, essential.

Sounds like a great evening. Sometimes the best meals are also the unexpected meals. During a trip due to foreign language + unknown city I booked a business group into a 3star Michelin. No-one was expecting the meal to be what it was. All the better for being unexpected. The folks I took still talk about it 5yrs later.

So, what [i]did[/i] you wear?

suit, open necked shirt.

Tom_w; thanks for those comments. I'll bear them in mind next time. Just one thing, why does your brother do that for a job then? I assume it's his choice as compared to a true slave ring?

Some very interesting posts in this thread, I'm currently reading it on a staff toilet in a Michelin star restaurant.

Questions? Fire away (chef with almost 20 years experience/ 6 in starred restaurants)

Sorry to read that ronnie.

This being STW, can we set up a collection for ronnie, maybe an offer of accommodation to get him out of the situation he's in. With our support we should be able to rescue him back from 20 years of slavery and with counselling reintroduce him to mainstream life.

Questions? Fire away (chef with almost 20 years experience/ 6 in starred restaurants)

What's the optimal time to leave the water in a pot noodle before eating?

Some very interesting posts in this thread, I'm currently reading it on a staff toilet in a Michelin star restaurant.

Questions? Fire away (chef with almost 20 years experience/ 6 in starred restaurants)

How many times, on average, are you punched each day?

get punched or cauterised for dicking up a service

If I was to ask for ketchup would you be offended?

Hardy ever see violence nowadays.
Ketchup is fine.
It's not all bad, but absolutely no way on earth will my children be encouraged to work in catering.

The biggest ball ache, is service charge theft, if you dine and they stick a service charge on the bill, please ask who is the recipient of this?

Hardy ever see violence nowadays.
Ketchup is fine.
It's not all bad, but absolutely no way on earth will my children be encouraged to work in catering.

The biggest ball ache, is service charge theft, if you dine and they stick a service charge on the bill, please ask who is the recipient of this?

Are you gonna wash your hands?

Just one thing, why does your brother do that for a job then?

****ed if I know.

How does that work?

From what I gather, generally chefs will do anything to have a Michelin star place on their CV, even if it means taking a pay cut. So the supply of labour for Michelin star restaurants is quite high and the demand is fairly low, hence the head chefs/owners can get away with a lot. The job my brother worked at his first michelin star restaurant was given to him on the basis that he worked the first two months for free.

If you think Gordon Ramsay is an arsehole, you're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what the industry is really like.

I ate in this place [url= http://www.davittorio.com/en/ ]3 Michelin Stars in Italy.[/url]

It was a surprise business lunch booked by a potential partner company.

Fantastic service and incredible food.

However, it was a Monday and I had been working all weekend but also pissing it up. I was hungover and had been expecting to travel that morning.

I had 3 days stubble, wearing jeans and a scruffy t shirt. They still treat me perfectly and never blinked an eye. I did feel a little underdressed!

If you think Gordon Ramsay is an arsehole, you're only just beginning to scratch the surface of what the industry is really like.

Having eaten at, then had a very nice chat with Tom Kerridge at his place I'd say that was horseshit.

There's good chefs and there's arseholes. Some arseholes can cook, that's all.

johndoh - Member
Again - why the *%$£ would you want to eat somewhere that tells you to put your jacket back on despite it being hot.

Standards must be maintained, dear boy.

Been to a couple of dinners with the Navy and a few SSAFA Balls - very formal and great fun.

Was a bit nervous at the first one in my hired dinner suit but after that it was fine.