Food is very personal. What tastes great to one person, might not hit all of the right notes for someone else. What one person might consider elegant, another might find stuffy. But there are lots of lists and rating systems out there and we are here to help cut through the noise of the very high-end dining world. We love to eat and will provide restaurant reviews for most of the places that we recommend going to when we travel, in our blog section “Local Eats”. But when it comes to the crème de la crème, we have our “Epic Dining” section, focusing on restaurants that appear on the “World’s 50 Best” list, Michelin Star restaurants and other high-end multi-course menu eateries. So how do you decide if a place that makes a particular list is really worth visiting? Introducing the “Four Star Life Epic Dining Rating”.
Each high-end restaurant we dine at is assigned a rating from 1-5 in 10 different categories, with a slight bump up for a place that’s got something unique:
- Taste: This is the most important factor. Does the food you are eating bring you pleasure, or are the highlights just the ambiance, presentation, service, etc?
- Consistency: Is each course equally good? Or are some dishes exceptional and others lacking.
- Innovation: Are you tasting and seeing new things? Did the chef combine ingredients that you’d never think to put together?
- Locality:Is the food grown and raised locally? Is the vibe farm to table, or is this just another great restaurant sourcing from all over the world?
- Tradition: Is the food true to the local culture? Are ingredients from the area? Are traditional recipes being elevated?
- Service:What’s the attitude of the staff? Are they attentive? Knowledgeable? Are course timed well?
- Beverages:Is there a pairing? Are the drinks well paired? Innovative? How many drinks with how many courses?
- Setting & Views:Where is the restaurant? What’s the setting like? Shopping mall or mountain top?
- Architecture:What’s the vibe of the restaurant? Do you feel crowded? Are there details that make the overall experience exceptional?
- Price:Is the place overpriced? Fairly priced? A great deal?
- BONUS:A little nudge for something unique. (We’ll be sure to add it to the notes)
Based on all of these criteria, two “Rating” scores will be generated.
- Price Neutral Rating: This rating ignores the price of the meal.
- Four Star Rating: The rating takes an aggregate of all of the criteria above. Our motto is to get the “champagne life on a sparkling wine budget”, so this rating takes into account whether you are getting any bang for your buck!
The rating scale is as follows:
- Less than 60 points: Not worth the hype. Not the Four Star Life.
- 60 – 69 points: Very good restaurants, but definitely a few draw backs.
- 70 – 79 points: Great restaurant. Might not have everything, but worth visiting.
- 80 – 89 points: Exceptional restaurant. Memorable and highly recommended.
- 90+ points: Four Star Life top pick! Don’t miss it!
To manage expectations, we have also put together a Global 300 list of top restaurants based on multiple factors, including the “Top 50” list, La Liste, the Michelin guide and others. Based on that, we’ve developed Tiers for the Epic Meals, to help the reader understand how that restaurant is viewed by the food world, overall.
- Tier 1: The top of the top. 10-15 restaurants that consistently are named amongst the best in the world
- Tier 2: Just below Tier 1. 20-30 restaurants that are amongst the 50 best in the world, but rarely make a top 10 list (anymore).
- Tier 3: Classic all-star restaurants. Most have been on many Top 50 lists over the years and most with 3 Michelin stars. 40-60 restaurants in this tier.
- Tier 4: Other classic restaurants and some rising stars. Some with 3 Michelin stars. 40-60 restaurants in this Tier.
- Tier 5: New rising stars or three Michelin stars, but not both. About 150 restaurants in this group.
All of our “Epic Dining” recommendations will now have this “Ratings” and associated scores. Link here to the overall list and details for each.