Last weekend, my husband and I had our most expensive dinner ever, and it cost over $1,000! Yes it was at the famous Michelin three-star French Laundry in Napa Valley. But was it worth all that money?
Getting a reservation at French Laundry through Amex
First let me put in a disclaimer — we don’t normally dine like this, though we had many expensive meals over the years. But my husband and I are foodies, so we always knew we want to visit French Laundry, the acclaimed Thomas Keller restaurant in Yountville, just two hours from where we live.
I have heard how hard it was to get a reservation at French Laundry. The waitlist was supposedly almost six-month long. We have friends taking two days off during the week just to dine here on a Wednesday night, the only reservation they were able to get after months of being on the waitlist. So when I got an email from American Express while I was vacationing in Maui this summer, I called the Platinum Concierge almost immediately!
The rep I talked to was wonderful. We ran into a little difficulty as I did not have my Platinum card with me. Since I was waiting for hear back from another couple to see if they wanted to join us on this exclusive dining opportunity, I didn’t put our name on the list as it would become nonrefundable once Amex confirms our table. But the rep agreed to call me back the next day to follow up, and he did! He was able to put us down for 7pm reservation, and a day later our card was charged $1700+ for a table for four. The price included taxes, but not alcohol! Too bad the Platinum card does not earn extra points for dining, nor can you redeem Membership Rewards points for the dinner. 🙁
The Dinner at French Laundry
French Laundry is located in downtown Yountville, my favorite town in Napa Valley. The restaurant is right cross from its own garden along Washington Street. The sign is so hidden that I never noticed it even though driving by so many times before.
The restaurant is housed in a two-story building. There is no parking lot, let alone valet parking service. Parking though doesn’t seem to be issue as you can find parking on the street. We got lucky with front row parking arriving just five minutes ahead of reservation.
Courtyard in front of French Laundry
A peak into the kitchen as soon as you walk into the courtyard
Cozy reception area inside French Laundry
We were led upstairs dining area, which had tables for four to eight people. Unfortunately it was a bit loud, and we weren’t able to hear our server well until after one party of six left.
The dinner included a nine-course chef tasting menu or vegetarian menu. We uniformly opted for the chef tasting menu without any hesitation.
The wine list was extremely extensive, with 80 pages shown on an iPad. Paring would have cost over $300 per person, so we opted to order a bottle of red wine instead, and it was among the cheapest but still cost over $400! Ouch!
A cheap bottle on the extensive wine list, but it still cost over $400!
The food came at a nice pace as we expected, there was no rush in between. Each dish did have incredible flavor, most I liked but a few I didn’t.
A mouth cleanser using fish meat!! beautifully presented, with interesting taste.
Tapioca with oysters and white sturgeon caviar, it was hit at the table!
Foie gras terrine, stewed garden peaches, cinnamon and vanilla infused creme fraiche, toasted pecans
Slow cooked fillet of steelhead trout, with marinated sun gold tomatoes, harmony cucumbers, garden dill and whole grain mustard
Potato puree with shaved Australian black winter truffles. I had to ask the waiter when he would stop shaving the truffles 😉 as they totally covered the rest of the dish which was delicious! A favorite at the table!
Applewood smoked bacon and onion brioche, served with hand churned butter.
Pork jowl with buttered corn, garden figs, chanterelle mushrooms, glazed turnip and coffee scented chocolate sauce!
“Prime Rib” of lamb, with garden squash, Matsutake mushrooms, kettle garlic pesto, wild arugula
Veal, a substitute for lamb, was specially made for my friend who didn’t want the lamb.
“Gougere” with goat cheese and Australia black winter truffle “fondue”.. I am not a fan of goat cheese so I took only a bite of this and passed it to my husband.
Dessert, 3 different kind. Love the ice cream, the other two not so much.
The donuts were exceptional, especially with coffee and tea!
Homemade chocolate with 8 different flavors. My husband loved the peanut butter and I loved the hazelnut.
We were given a bag of short bread cookies and a nice box of chocolate to take home. Before we headed out, our server offered a tour of the new kitchen. We also got to keep our menu!
Was my $1,000 dinner worth it?
Our dinner lasted almost four hours, at a wonderful pace as we would expect from a restaurant with this price level. But was the meal really worth $1,000 for two? Sadly we don’t think so. While we know there is no valet parking, it is odd for restaurant of this kind of fame. And picking a wine from an iPad without a real sommelier to navigate the extensive wine list? That is disappointing and almost unacceptable! We were also surprised how noisy it was where we sat, and disappointed that we could hardly hear our servers when they presented each course. Yes the ingredient all came from their own garden, but there are plenty farm-to-table restaurants in Napa Valley, in fact farm-to-table is the theme here!
At the end of the day, we are happy that we had a wonderful night at French Laundry. We had an incredible weekend hanging with our friends, wine tasting and fine dining, without kids in tow! Life is good! But we won’t do it again. We still prefer Redd 10 times more at less than 20% of the cost (Redd a restaurant down the street from French Laundry) or Restaurant Gary Danko in San Francisco near Fisherman’s Wharf.
But if you want to experience French Laundry at least once like we did, give Platinum Concierge a call, they will help you get in! Otherwise, call them exactly two months ahead of your desired date, you just might get lucky with a reservation!
if you do end up going, bring your own wine to save some serious dollars! Guests are allowed to bring any wine that are not represented on their wine list. There is a corkage fee of $150 per 750ml bottle with a limit of one bottle for every two guests at the table.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Sounds like this place jumped the shark a while back and turned into a factory.
Had dinner there in September 2015 and it was absolutely worth the cost and effort. Made 320 phone calls in 25 minutes to get a reservation. The downstairs dining room was a bit noisy but that was our only complaint.
Downstairs was noisy too?? Wow so there is no quiet place in this restaurant.
In the course of my business I have enjoyed dining at some of the best restaurants around the world and did look forward to dining here after the remodel. Four of us business dinner, three bottles of wine we brought in.
The consensus of opinion around the table was it was nice but certainly has lost some of it’s luster and not worth the current pricing. Sorry FL but the wait is now more hype.
Not withstanding that the service was impeccable, friendly ( partly trained) perfectly choreographed. Food is what you expect from a top tier French, but not over the top.
Small portions is getting really tiring. Live in Ny , so Yes the quality is great but spending 1 K for two and still being hungry afterwards is not worth the adventure.
Well we were actually pretty full after the dessert. But at course #7 I felt I needed much more to fill up! Yep not worth the price, I rather go to Redd next time.
I forgot to add a better alternative is Ad Hoc their sister restaurant down the street. Really good food, served country style, it’s a winner.
I have yet to try Ad Hoc, as I always have a hard time saying no Redd which is right next to Ad Hoc. Will have to make a point to try it next time!
I agree. Ad Hoc is the way to go.
Hubby and I took all five of our then adolescent kids to the New York FL sister Per Se for my 50th birthday. That was 9 years ago (May 2008). Dinner was ONLY $250 pp back then. It was an over the top, fantastic experience the “kids” still talk about today. If you know adolescent men, they eat VOLUMES of food. The 3 boys finished every morsel of food and drop of sauce on everyone’s plate. The servers said the kitchen told them they’d thrown down the gauntlet and had never seen such empty plates come back to the kitchen. The kitchen kept sending out food until they couldn’t eat anymore.
That fall Hubby and I had an event in San Francisco and we added a couple of nights in Yountville to the trip. We took a shot at getting a table at Ad Hoc and the French Laundry. We got both back to back, Ad Hoc first. Who had a dinner meeting at the table next to us at Ad Hoc? TK himself. We chatted. He was gracious and signed my menu. The food was great. The next night at FL, we had a similar experience to Sharon’s (this is before the remodel) – small, crowded room with one LOUD table. Most of the food was terrific. Some not so much. If that was my only experience of a Thomas Keller tasting menu, I’d be disappointed.
Now one of our sons lives in SFO. Last year for his birthday, we took him to Ad Hoc. The food was even better than I remember from 9 years ago.
The most reasonable Thomas Keller restaurant that I’ve been to is in New York (Time Warner building, Columbus Circle) Bouchon Bakery and Cafe’. When I lived in Connecticut and took the train to NYC often, it was a favorite for lunch. It is essentially in the lobby of a mall – open, loud, casual – so not a fine dining experience. They have a take out counter too.
There is Bouchon Bistro in Yountville just down the street from French Laundry! Sadly I did not like that place either. I do love the bakery next door and visit them frequently. I will visit Ad Hoc the next trip up!
Agreed
I had a terrible experience at FL recently. Service was terrible; food was ok, not steller. We asked questions about items on the menu and the waiter was clueless. Said he’d get the answer and then never did (just to give an example). We left hungry after dropping a veritable fortune…and had to go to a restaurant down the street to eat again. Keller is resting on his laurels.
The food was really interesting, but what were the 3 hacks?
Ok so you don’t think this restaurant was worth it because there is no valet parking? That restaurant has world class sommeliers and captains who could guide you through their extensive list. You definitely could have paired your meal better. Instead you drank red throughout. Seems like you are not a very savvy diner.
It was many little things that made it not worthwhile, not just valet parking. As I mentioned, there was NO sommelier came to us to offer any help. We knew some dishes would be better with white and some would better with red. But in the end, we opted for a bottle of red because we don’t want to spend another $300 per person for wine paring. Could I afford it? Absolutely. But did I think it would be worth it? No.
Sharon…did I read correctly that one of the cheaper bottles was $300?!?! Given what I would consume, I think the pairing would be a necessity for my group. That is a ridiculous amount and the markup must be obscene. Shame on FL and Kudos for you for showing self-restraint!
There were cheaper than that, depending on the type of wine. The markup is at least double though. We have Opus One that we bought at less than 1/3 of the price they listed. Yeah at some point, just have to say “too much is simply too much”.
Tacky David but then ordering not bringing your own wine then ordering swill is touristy in to itself.
At that price it would have to be the best dining experience of my life. Does not sound like it meets that standard. I’ve had better looking Michelin starred Omikase + sake for about 75% less. With better service & atmosphere.
Thanks for the review as it will save me some coin
I went in 2013 and would much rather go back to Eleven Madison Park or Joel Robuchon if we’re comparing 3* Michelin restaurants to another. Maybe my taste buds aren’t refined enough but nothing popped for me in the meal at all. Interesting to see this recent report though!
I definitely thought of this article as I enjoyed my two street Tacos from Aztec Grill @ $1.75 each today. 😉
I second Lee’s question as I am confused as to what the 3 hacks are.
Thank you so much for a very thoughtful, thorough review. Comes across as overpriced (yathink?) and pretentious.
Maybe it is a comment on the stage I am in my life, not for me.
They do allow BYO (bring your own wine) for a $150 corkage fee. Your bottle was $135 when it was offered for sale. $400 on the list? Yikes.
The good news is that the wine is highly rated. You could have gone to a wine store or a winery, get a fine bottle of wine, and bring it to FL and save money (hacking your bill by $$$ depending on the bottle cost of your purchase.
Yes I did mention that at the end of my post. Somehow we didn’t think about it beforehand. We have plenty of great wine that is not on their wine list, could have bought two bottles with us and save $$$ and have more wine to drink! Oh well..
@Sharon —> I agree that the French Laundry has slipped while their prices have risen, while their wine list and corkage remain some of the highest, not just in the Napa Valley or the US but in the entire world!
Is it worth going to? If you’re a true “foodie,” the answer is “yes,” just to say you’ve been and to cross it off your proverbial “bucket list.” But the real question for most is, “Would you go back?” For my wife & I and, I suspect, for you and your husband as well, the answer is “no.” Much rather go to Redd . . . or Terra or Oenotri or even Meadowood.
Restaurant Gary Danko has evolved from cutting edge to — or perhaps, it *hasn’t* evolved, and thus has become — a San Francisco tradition. Still delicious and wonderful, IMHO, though here, too, the wine list is overpriced. The major difference between TFL and GD is that one can still find bargains on the list at GD.
Sharon, bring your husband to Berkeley, and we’ll have an incredible (and affordable!) dinner — I promise! ;^)
You totally hit the point! Yes we did it because it was on our bucket list to experience it, but no we will not go back as it was a disappointment for the price we paid. There are simply too many fantastic restaurants for less the price and better experience overall. Haha I did not know Berkeley has lots of fine dining spots, or perhaps you aren’t referring to fine dining in Berkeley. There is a new Japanese restaurant in Los Altos, very exclusive, one table per night for just eight people, not sure about the price, and not sure if and when I will decide to try it.
Did the price include gratuity????
Yes it did.
The prices on their wine list are for half bottles? So 375 ml? Seems like a weird size for most of the menu.
What??? The FL wine list has half-bottles, full bottles, magnums, and a handful of double magnums . . . they also offer some wines BTG.
I can’t find full bottles on this list – https://hub.binwise.com/winelists/french-laundry-wine-list.html
Only because you haven’t looked through the list . . . keep scrolling DOWN — it’s a HUGE LIST!!!
I’ve searched for bottle, full bottle, and 750. Nothing shows up that says there is a full bottle listed and it’s price
Seriously? OK, let me see if I can make it easier for you . . .
Click on YOUR link above. Certainly you can see that the very top is composed of various BTG offerings, but scroll down to the VERY END of the list. The last category should be “BEER & CIDER.” Now scroll UP . . . the next category is SHERRY with two offerings *clearly* marked as “(375ml).” Keep going up — next is “MADEIRA,” with six offerings all of which are 750ml bottles. Keep going . . . above that is “PORT”: 14 offerings, two of which are marked as being “(375ml)” while there other 12 are 750ml. Next come “SAUTERNES,” with 29 selections, eight of which are half-bottles.
Let’s skip a few and SCROLL UP past the words “LATE HARVEST” to the next big section, which is listed as
RED MAGNUM & THREE LITER
UNITED STATES
First, let’s scroll DOWN from there, you start with PINOT NOIR — all of those are magnums (1.5L). So, too, are the bottles listed under SYRAH, ZINFANDEL, MERLOT, and CABERNET FRANC. It isn’t until you get to PROPRIETARY BLEND that the first double magnum appears:
Colgin, “Cariad,” Napa Valley (3000ml) 2006 7950
(Yes, that 3.0L bottle is $7,950.00!)
BUT — if you scroll UP from the section entitled “RED MAGNUM & THREE LITER” — well, everything above that are regular (750ml) bottles unless either a) otherwise noted, or b) you get to the section entitled HALF BOTTLES . . .
I inquired about the evolution menu option which is an expanded menu that includes what they say are some Thomas Keller classic dishes. I indicated two of the four at the table desired that option, I was told all diners at the table must have it, I asked what the add was, she replied $500, I assumed that was for all four diners, well it was $500 in addition to the $375 that got each diner in the door. I felt misled on the option and I’m hard pressed to understand how the extra dishes we received were worth $500 more than the actual meal we paid for when the reservation placed. With wine pairing budget of $300 per our bill was in excess of $1000 per person. I had a fabulous time as did everybody’s the table but it was clearly disappointing to understand the ultimate cost of the dining option that we selected,