The Biggest Waste of Money in Food: Fine Dining Exposed

In this episode, we dive into a controversial take: fine dining isn’t worth the hype — or the price tag.

Sandra and I recently visited a so-called “authentic Italian” fine dining restaurant, and let’s just say… it was anything but.

The service was polished but clueless, the Bolognese tasted like grocery-store jarred sauce, the wine list was marked up five times retail, and they even tried to upsell us on a membership just to get reasonable wine prices.

Oh — and they rushed us out in 45 minutes while calling it “a luxury experience.”

Valet parking and white tablecloths don’t equal quality. We talk about:
 🍝 When fine dining becomes factory dining
 🥂 The wine markup madness
 ⏱️ Why “premium” shouldn’t feel rushed
 👎 How marketing tries to justify mediocrity
 💡 And why simple, soulful food often beats the fancy stuff

Let’s explore why the best meals aren’t always the ones with the highest price tag — and what diners should demand instead.

🎙 Rob Clark — Host of Bottles & Bites Without Borders
Exploring the world of food, wine, and whiskey—one bottle and bite at a time.

🌐 Website: www.bottlesandbiteswb.com
📸 Instagram: @bottles_bites_wb
🐦 X (Twitter): @foodwhiskey
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📧 Email: rob@bottlesandbiteswb.com

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