If you could design the perfect restaurant for dining out

palides2021 said:
I love restaurants with views! I could sit there all day. The food sounds interesting too! I remember visiting a rotating restaurant located in KY, just over the bridge from Cincinnati. It had these large windows, and a harp was playing. I remember sitting there, watching the view and enjoying the meal and the atmosphere. I had gone there as a newlywed. Will never forget it.
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Visiting a classy restaurant is like candy to ALL your senses. Restaurant with a spectacular view for the eyes. A musician playing an instrument is pleasant for the ears. Scents of a variety of different foods cooking please the nose and once the delicious food is served, your taste buds are peaked with interest. Nice conversation with the one ( s) you’re with top it all off.

The rotating restaurant at the top of the CN tower was fabulous. We made dinner reservations about an hour before sunset so we could watch it set. It was probably similar to your Cincinnati restaurant overlooking the bridge. Doesn’t Seattle have a rotating restaurant too! I thought it did.

If we were going to start a restaurant though, seafood would be the easiest. We’d have our own fisherman , including my husband, who loves to fish, catch a variety of seafoods including 🦞 lobster and clams.

A nice atmosphere really helps in the total enjoyment of the meal. Even the servers work better in a nice atmosphere.

While putting myself through school, I worked at a classy upscale restaurant. It was about 1/2 a kilometre from where I lived. It had big trees growing it in and looked like some type of greenhouse from the outside due to all the windows. It was a fun restaurant to work in and I made a fortune working there. I could handle being around people more back then. Now the idea of going to a restaurant to eat is terrifying .

Yours was a honeymoon dinner. Classy👍
 

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Paco Dennis said:
If I could design the perfect restaurant for dining out, it would be a cozy and inviting space with warm lighting and comfortable seating. The atmosphere would exude a sense of intimacy, creating the ideal setting for meaningful conversations and connections. The menu would feature an array of delicious, thoughtfully prepared dishes from diverse culinary traditions to cater to various tastes. It would also offer an extensive selection of fine wines, craft cocktails, and artisanal non-alcoholic beverages. Live music or soothing background tunes might enhance the ambiance without being too intrusive. Overall, the emphasis would be on providing a memorable dining experience that nourishes both body and soul.
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Yes. It's astounding how many restaurants miss this important element of the dining out experience. I understand their goal of maximizing space (Tables per sq ft) to increase revenue, but in doing so, they reduce the enjoyment, and many may not frequent the establishment again. I think many go out to dinner to enjoy those meaningful connections and conversations you mentioned, and if that is overlooked or sacrificed for seating capacity, it may come back to bite them in terms of repeat diners. The taste of food is important, but it's not everything.
 
seadoug said:
We have tons of Mexican and American Comfort Food restaurants here in Dallas. I would love a good Greek restaurant. It would have lots of booths with comfortable seating, attentive serving staff and soft music. We have been to Greece many times over the years and love the cuisine. Cava is the only restaurant that is currently serving something similar but it is like a fast-food takeout place.

Many of the restaurants we frequent have music so loud that we decide where to sit based on the location of the speakers. Then again, they aren't fancy but the food is delicious.
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One of my favorite Greek restaurants is in Tarpon Springs - called Hellas. They have beautiful paintings on the walls and excellent Greek music that lifts your spirits. It is not too loud. They are across the street from the sponge dock. They serve good food and the waiters are always attentive. The place is always busy. Adjoining the restaurant is their bakery, which has delicious tortes and heavenly pastries (can't eat them now, but have fond memories). I do not have any affiliation with them. I just like their restaurant.

I found their website, which shows the paintings, etc. Hellas Restaurant & Bakery - Authentic Greek Cuisine
 

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PeppermintPatty said:
Visiting a classy restaurant is like candy to ALL your senses. Restaurant with a spectacular view for the eyes. A musician playing an instrument is pleasant for the ears. Scents of a variety of different foods cooking please the nose and once the delicious food is served, your taste buds are peaked with interest. Nice conversation with the one ( s) you’re with top it all off.

The rotating restaurant at the top of the CN tower was fabulous. We made dinner reservations about an hour before sunset so we could watch it set. It was probably similar to your Cincinnati restaurant overlooking the bridge. Doesn’t Seattle have a rotating restaurant too! I thought it did.

If we were going to start a restaurant though, seafood would be the easiest. We’d have our own fisherman , including my husband, who loves to fish, catch a variety of seafoods including 🦞 lobster and clams.

A nice atmosphere really helps in the total enjoyment of the meal. Even the servers work better in a nice atmosphere.

While putting myself through school, I worked at a classy upscale restaurant. It was about 1/2 a kilometre from where I lived. It had big trees growing it in and looked like some type of greenhouse from the outside due to all the windows. It was a fun restaurant to work in and I made a fortune working there. I could handle being around people more back then. Now the idea of going to a restaurant to eat is terrifying .

Yours was a honeymoon dinner. Classy👍
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That's amazing what you said about the CN tower, and working at a classy upscale restaurant. I also found your idea of a seafood restaurant inviting. There were a few of those in Tarpon Springs. They would catch the fish and we'd be eating fresh snapper.

The only drawback about fish, for me, is that it has a heavy smell, and fish have scales. We've bought fresh fish in the past to cook, and it was work to descale them (the scales flew all over the place as I scraped them off), and I had to remove the innards (yikes!), and cook them (usually fried). They were delicious, yes, but I preferred shellfish because they were easier to handle and there were no bones, lol.
 
palides2021 said:
I love restaurants with views! I could sit there all day. The food sounds interesting too! I remember visiting a rotating restaurant located in KY, just over the bridge from Cincinnati. It had these large windows, and a harp was playing. I remember sitting there, watching the view and enjoying the meal and the atmosphere. I had gone there as a newlywed. Will never forget it.
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That restaurant is still there. Here is the link to it: 18 Dining

I can't tell you how many times we passed that as a kid going to visit my Great Aunt & Great Uncle in Kentucky.
 
palides2021 said:
One of my favorite Greek restaurants is in Tarpon Springs - called Hellas. They have beautiful paintings on the walls and excellent Greek music that lifts your spirits. It is not too loud. They are across the street from the sponge dock. They serve good food and the waiters are always attentive. The place is always busy. Adjoining the restaurant is their bakery, which has delicious tortes and heavenly pastries (can't eat them now, but have fond memories). I do not have any affiliation with them. I just like their restaurant.

I found their website, which shows the paintings, etc. Hellas Restaurant & Bakery - Authentic Greek Cuisine
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I miss the Greek food I used to enjoy in Tarpon Springs when I lived in Tampa!
 
I looked at the website for Hellas Restaurant & it all looks so good. I love Greek food & the only time I can get it is when the local church has their fall picnic.
 
bobcat said:
What type of food? (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, French, German, American, ???)
What would you put on the menu?
Describe the decor?
Music?
Lighting?
Seating?
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Chinese (in a nutshell)
Chang's does it right

Load yer plate with what you want, and how much
Many flavors of hot oils
Take it over to the grill
Watch it happen
As many rice rolls as you need
Excellent service (you're the server)

Chang's Mongolian Grill
 
French. Our perfect restaurant was Andre's Bouchee, owner/chef Andre Lemaire. When he passed away, they tried a couple of younger chefs, but the food was never as good. Lemaire was classically trained and one of the finest chefs we've ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Beautiful, gracious, upscale decor without being stuffy or pretentious. Lovely bistro; we miss it still.

Superb lobster bisque, seared foie gras, Filet Rossini, seafood linguine. We would travel to the Monterey/Carmel area just to dine at his restaurant.

For the perfect Wine Country experience, we go for lunch at Auberge du Soleil, a Relais & Chateaux resort in the Napa Valley. It's in the hills in Rutherford, and the restaurant has an outdoor patio across its entire length looking eastward over the Sonoma Mountains. The Napa Valley is spread out below and the 180-degree view is what everyone imagines a perfect California wine area to be. This is their website photo: Auberge du Soleil patio dining

The cuisine is Cal-French, and I love it because they always have Osetra caviar on the menu. Sadly, they stopped making their lovely blini, and now serve it with a savory custard and brioche. Their pork dishes are always exquisite, and like most good restaurants here, they use the Liberty breed ducks, which is raised in Sonoma and is a Pekin duck hybrid first bred in Denmark, as a modern version of an heirloom type.

The flavor is rich and meaty. Liberty ducks are heavier and slower-growing than the usual Pekin variety. Even the better Asian restaurants and delis will use them. They're well worth the extra cost.

Auberge's pastry chef has been with them for over 15 years and is a maître pâtissier, who creates beautiful, delicious desserts that are never heavy or oversweetened. We never pass up dessert at Auberge!

The service is as good as the view and the food. It's always a pleasure to dine there - a relaxing and mellow experience that is unique in the Napa Valley. There are many excellent restaurants here, but Auberge is the only one with the view it enjoys. They were the first resort hotel built in the Valley, and so were grandfathered in when the zoning codes tightened. There are wineries with excellent views, but no upscale restaurants - even the 3 Michelin-star restaurants - that have a view similar to Auberge.
 
I think a water view is great. With the outdoor fireplace for those colder nights. Just a great place to hang out with friends over a good meal.
 

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