THE PRICE HIKE

Eating out on New Year’s Eve is expensive. Restaurants issue set menus by fiat and hike their prices. The markups are partly an intangible emotional play: you’re paying more because you and your significant other don’t want to be alone when the clock strike’s midnight. 

But you’re also paying more because you’re getting more.  Restaurants on New Year’s like to throw in live bands, free champagne and luxury ingredients into your (mandatory) tasting menu-extravaganzas.

Take Eleven Madison Park. The New Year’s Eve menu includes live music, one course of white truffles, two courses of black truffles, foie gras, lobster, black sturgeon caviar, and many more freebies. This all costs money. Precisely, it costs $575 per person, or $1,482 for two after tax and optional 20% tip. 

Compare that with Eleven Madison Park’s typical starting price of $125 per person, or $322 for two after tax and tip. 

So is NYE at Eleven Madison Park a BUY? Probably, but it’s also a lot of money. That’s why THE PRICE HIKE is doing a bit of math for you. We’re showing exactly how much you’ll spend after tax and tip on New Year’s Eve at a handful of ambitious (and expensive) restaurants in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Napa Valley and Sydney. The prices are for “second-seatings,” which means you’ll theoretically be partying at the restaurant when the clock strikes midnight. 

We’re also calculating exactly how much MORE you’ll spend at these restaurants on New Year’s Eve than on a typical night. Eleven Madison Park and Daniel have the highest upcharges; Paul Liebrandt’s Corton and Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney have the lowest. These aren’t criticisms; these are statistics. We want you to know how much dough you’ll be dropping. And we like to believe you won’t have anything less than an absolutely awesome time at any of these restaurants. 

Alinea: Regular price: $210 for 18-courses. Real cost for two after 20% tip and 11.5% Chicago sales tax: $567. NYE Price: $350 for ten “surprise” courses with luxury items. Real cost for two: $921. How much more you’re paying: $354. 

Per Se: Regular price: $295 (service included). Real cost for two after 8.875% tax: $642. NYE Price: $750 (10-course dinner with caviar, truffles & foie gras, welcome glass of champers and string quartet). Real cost for two: $1,633. How much more you’re paying: $991. 

Daniel: Regular price: $195 for six-courses. Real cost for two after tax & tip: $503. NYE Price: $625 (six-course menu with luxury ingredients). Real cost for two after tax and tip: $1,611. How much more you’re paying: $1,108. 

Adour: Regular price: $115 for six-courses. Real cost for two after tax & tip: $296. NYE Price: $500 for 6-course menu. Real cost for two: $1,289. How much more you’re paying: $992. 

Seiobo: Regular price $185 AUD for a 15-course tasting menu. An optional beverage pairing is $95 AUD. Real cost for two plus pairings after optional 10% tip: $638 AUD. NYE Price: $320 for a 10-course menu with truffles and more luxurious wine pairings. Real cost for two: $704. How much more you’re paying: $66 AUD ($67 USD).  

The Restaurant at Meadowood: Regular price: $225 for nine-course tasting menu. Real cost for two after 7.75% Napa Valley tax & tip: $575. NYE Price: $550 for 10-12 course menu. Real cost for two: $1,405. How much more you’re paying: $830. 

Del Posto: Regular price: $115 for five-courses or $145 for seven-courses. Real cost for two after tax and tip: $296, or $374. NYE Price: $275 for five-courses, or $350 for seven-courses. Longer menu includes white truffles, black truffles, caviar and lobster. Live jazz band plays throughout the evening. Real cost for two on NYE: $709-$902.  How much more you’re paying: $435-$528. 

Joel Robuchon: Regular price: $425 for sixteen courses. Real cost for two after 8.1% Las Vegas tax & tip: $1,089. NYE Price: $475 for ten courses. Receptionist didn’t have any reasonable explanation as to why I’d be paying more for fewer courses. NYE real cost for two: $1,217. How much more you’re paying: $128. 

Guy Savoy: Regular price: $298 for eleven-course tasting menu. Real cost for two after 8.1% Las Vegas tax & tip: $763. NYE Price: $398 for nine-course black truffle tasting menu. NYE Real cost for two: $1,020. How much more you’re paying: $256. Note: Savoy is also offering a shorter $248 menu and limited a la carte. 

Eleven Madison Park: Regular price: $125 for four-courses (with around ten amuses, etc.) Real cost for two after tax & tip: $322. Lobster & foie gras are included in regular menu; white truffles are $95 extra. NYE Price: $575 for seven-course menu with caviar, black truffles, white truffles, foie gras, lobster, live music, champagne toast. NYE Real cost for two: $1,482. How much more you’re paying: $1,160. 

Jean Georges: Regular price: $168 for seven-courses. Real cost for two after tax & tip: $433. NYE Price: $500 for seven-course menu with caviar, black truffle, white truffles, foie gras, lobster, live band. NYE real cost for two: $1,289. How much more you’re paying: $856. 

Corton: Regularly price: $155 for a tasting menu. Real cost for two after tax & tip: $400. NYE Price: $195 for a tasting with a black truffle course. Real cost for two after tax & tip: $503. How much more you’re paying: $103. 

Note: All prices were confirmed with restaurant receptionists. With the exception of Momofuku Seiobo, none of the prices below include wine pairings, though most restaurants include midnight champagne toasts. Also, many of these restaurants have earlier, more affordable seatings.