This article will cover why expensive restaraunts have short/small foods on their menu. We are going to explain the main reason why they do it, and paint out picture of what is going on during the eating sessions that their guests have in these restaurants. Don’t worry. We aren’t going to tell you that the reason why they do it, is because they are trying to save on food costs or something silly like that. That is definitely not the reason.
These expensive restaraunts that serve these small portions of food at high prices are already disregarding the food costs by purchasing the expensive foods and ingredients that they need to make these small portion meals. Usually, a high end restaurant that is offering expensive small portions of food, is also buying the expensive ingredients to make them.
This is what separates the food that they are making from the typical expensive but affordable foods that can be obtained at majority of grocery stores. The foods that they offer are often rare, high in demand for the supply and demand ratio, or they take out of the ordinary measures to obtain them. Some of these foods may be common in one part of the world, but rare in other parts. Some sauces take an entire lifetime to develop their flavor, while foods take generations to reach their current quality from selective breeding.
From what we have seen, many people are very interested in tasting these rare or hard to obtain foods, and would pay top price for them if a skilled restaurant is offering them. Some of these foods may not be as rare to obtain, but they can be uncommon to the general public, because they may be dangerous or even poisonous if they aren’t prepared properly.
Restaurants have short menus with small portions, because of taste.
One of the most obvious answers to why expensive restaurants have short menus with small portions of food, is because people are tasting the foods, rather than eating solely for hunger. Of course, this answer is the gaping elephant in the room answer, but it is true and the main reason why. It isn’t the only reason, but it is definitely one of them.
These expensive restaurants that make these small portion meals know that some of their guests that they serve are new, first time guests. Many of these new guests have never tried these expensive foods that they have heard of and want to see what the hype is all about. Their curiosity leads them to pay for these expensive foods to atleast try them once in their lives. It can be compared to vacation trips that people take to places that they heard was great, but they have never been to.
These expensive restaraunts are literally preparing the dishes (the courses of food) they make smaller to be tried and tasted by their guests. This is basically why these individuals (the new guests) came to the restaurant in the first place. They didn’t come to eat solely because they are hungry. If that was the case, they could have chosen less expensive places that offer high quality, good foods that the general public can afford on a daily basis.
Instead, they dress up to go to these high-end restaurants to experience these foods that these restaurants prepare, as if it is a once in a lifetime experience. For some people it will be, as they know that they can’t afford to eat at the restaraunt everyday (or even once a month) like this.
We know that this is one of the main reasons why expensive restaurants have short menus with small portions of food, because they literally have an eating session that they call the “tasting menu”. This is designed for people that want to please their palate (their sense of taste) by trying the best foods that the high-end restaurant has to offer. They are spending this money solely for adventurous tasting.
Sometimes these foods are made from ingredients that are pretty common, mixed with rare, or usual not used, ingredients. Depending on the credibility of the expensive restaurant and the ingredients used, people will pay for 6 courses or more (15 courses) to be eaten for palate experiences. The prices for the meals can range from kind of expensive to the cost of real jewelry expensive.
Some of these courses are so delicate that the chefs making the courses will stand over these dishes and carefully place food items in specific spots on the palate with other chefs carefully and intentfully watching. They do this to maximize the tasting experience and to create visual food art that entices the guest before they even try it. A great example of this is when a restaurant using real caviar to create a small expensive meal.
During these courses, a course called a “palate cleanser” is given to their guests in between the courses to “cleanse” their taste buds of previous flavors and prepare them for their next meal or the main courses.
Restaurants have small menus for rich people that love their food.
Besides the new guests that an expensive restaurant has, they also get loyal rich customers that occasionally eat there. These are the rich people that can afford to eat there often. These people return to eat these small meals, because they simply enjoy the food. Just like any loyal customer, though they have already tried everything on the menu, when they are hungry, they order the food again to enjoy the experience.
These people are eating these small meals for its taste, but also because they are hungry. Though the meals that expensive restaurants offer are small, they are also given in portions enough to fill their guests from all the tasting and eating they do from all the courses served to them.
People flock to their favorite expensive restaurants and their favorite chefs to enjoy the foods again. These foods can be a mixture of rare ingredients and common or uncommon ingredients prepared by a master chef. Some of these foods may not even be the same ingredients in food that the restaurant has made before, but things that have been made out of inspiration.
Why Restaurants Have A Short Menu
Restaurants that have a short menu with only few selections, is generally a good sign of expectation of great food. This means that the restaurant probably specializes in making these foods better than any other place.
A general rule to accept is that restaurants aren’t capable of creating everyone’s favorite foods in the world in their restaurant establishment to the perfection that they would like it. However, it is easier to make a few types of foods and master them before making any progress trying to master them all at once.
This doesn’t mean that there is a 100% certainty that a restaurant that has a short menu can make the foods they offer better than other places, but it is a good reason to be confident and try their food to see if it is. They could have the experience from trial and error to know how to prepare these foods at better quality. It is great to go to expensive restaurants that make expensive foods that taste great with expensive ingredients, but it is also great to find restaurants with short menus that make a few food items on their menu better than anyone else can.
All restaurants that are the most profitable follow this rule to some extent. They try to keep their menus as short as possible and only work on tinkering with a few types of food that they know well.
