For most people who are on a budget will only go to a really nice fine dinning restaurant when there is a special occasion, once or twice a year. How often do you think is it ok to go to a high end fine dining establishment? I don't mean the Black Angus, but more like Capital Grill or Morton's. When is it ok to go out for a really expensive piece of steak?
We try to go a couple times a year to a really nice restaurant. It is one of my favorite things to do, so usually my husband takes me for my birthday and our anniversary. Sometimes when we are celebrating something with our business we'll make an excuse to go blow money at a restaurant too. I know it is frivolous, but I just love having good food and good service and a reason to dress up a little.
There is a scheme in my local area where you can trade vouchers in for certain meals at local places. I will often save up and use those, because I like to go out from time to time, but I know that I don't particularly have the money to be able to pay for it. I will spend some time saving up for these vouchers, and will then go out for the meal when I know that I have enough in vouchers to be able to cover it. I find that it is a great idea, and something that I am very proud of doing because it means that we are able to go out and enjoy ourselves without actually having to spend all that much money at all.
Usually 2-4 times per year on average, although it can vary a bit more depending if there are more special occasions, and if I have more money. Even if i was moderately well off, I wouldn't want to spoil it by going more than monthly.
I think the real question should be how often can you afford to go to an expensive restaurant. For me, I'm on a fixed income and money is tight right now, so I never go out to somewhere like that. I may think that I deserve it, and it would be really nice to celebrate an occasion that way, but I can't afford it - plain and simple. However, when my husband was working and we had disposable income, we would decide if it was worth it. And I have to say, I had some really good meals, but for me, I can't tell the different between a $15 steak and a $50 steak, so why pay the extra. I go out for a "good meal" because of the company, and that's the same whether I go to a fast casual or a fine dining restaurant.
I agree. I think it's good to go whenever you can afford it but the question is affording it. If you can afford it, then don't waste your money. If a cheaper meal is just as good then opt for that one. The atmosphere does not matter as much.
I don't go much on fine dining since I'm always on a budget, and spending a huge amount of money on food is something I don't usually do. I sometimes prefer fast food restaurants over expensive fine dining ones, of course, they are much cheaper and the ambience doesn't make me feel like I'm out of place or something.
I'm not the kind to splurge on exorbitant restaurants, but I do enjoy going to mid-range restaurants (about $30-40 per person) around once a month.
When we were in a better position it was maybe once or twice a year. I do love eating out at a high end restaurants. It used to be our main indulgence, that and the normal dining experience ranging from low to mid range restaurants. But when you don't have disposable cash like we don't at the moment, it's really the least of our worries. We can't even afford a take out at the moment, so we do without.
Sadly, it's more rare now in comparison to, say, a year or two ago. However, because of this we do less reckless spending when dining out & research places thoroughly. We've had a lot less to complain about when we've extensively looked into a restaurant beforehand. We used to notoriously drive & stop. Finding new little places & giving them a chance. That had to change.
I try to go once a month. I think we work so hard nowadays that we often forget to actually be good to ourselves. I don't mean just the traditional things like grooming or buying material things etc, I mean considering what we out into our bodies and trying to put the highest quality food in regularly. It makes me feel incredibly happy when I eat good, high quality high end cuisine, I feel like its the one bit of quality I don't mind paying excessively for!
The closest thing to fine dining I do is when I eat sushi. I usually eat it about once a month, I set apart a small amount of my money for that because I love it so much.
