Next - elBulli Menu - Grant Achatz

I wasn't sure if this warrented starting a new thread (if so please feel free to move), but, I just read that the pricing for the el bulli menu at Next is set at $375 ($473 after tax and tip.)

For the cost of a meal at Alinea I think I'd rather go there. Having eaten at each of the previous next menus I was looking forward to continuing that run but that price (albeit likely worth every penny) is just a bit too high for my comfort level.

Thoughts?

Pretty sure that's more than I paid at the actual el Bulli.

LOL, I think that's more than I paid at El Bulli too.

Is this going to be a thread on who ate at El Bulli?

El Bulli was 270 Euros (which according to the all mighty Google today) is about USD$343.xx

Hi,

I thought it was interesting elBulli is written out with varying capitalizations. When this thread was split, the spelling used reflects their website.

Regards,

There was a bit of clarification: the 365 includes wine. They estimate 210/155 for food/drink.

If they do a single 365+tax+tip bundle, I'm not interested at all. If you can get it without the beverage pairings... maybe......

gleam wrote:There was a bit of clarification: the 365 includes wine. They estimate 210/155 for food/drink.

If they do a single 365+tax+tip bundle, I'm not interested at all. If you can get it without the beverage pairings... maybe......

From the article I read (not that it's 100% accurate) it sounded as if the cost was one bundle. Just my interpretation.

"...elBulli, which will have a fixed cost of approximately $365 for food and drink pairings for everyone regardless of the day or time you dine."

According to a post on Eater Chicago, it's going to be around 32 courses and is inspired by a 2007 elBulli menu enjoyed by Chefs Achatz and Beran.

I heard $473 including wine, tax and tip. My RDC's and I are already making plans, I think it is going to be the most exciting cycle at Next yet, can't wait.

http://tinyurl.com/85dyy4o

I think when I ate at el Bulli it was like 230 euros per person and we got an awesome bottle of some Spanish white for like 30 euros to go with dinner (now that's a beverage pairing I'd like to see).

JLenart wrote:

gleam wrote:There was a bit of clarification: the 365 includes wine. They estimate 210/155 for food/drink.

If they do a single 365+tax+tip bundle, I'm not interested at all. If you can get it without the beverage pairings... maybe......

From the article I read (not that it's 100% accurate) it sounded as if the cost was one bundle. Just my interpretation.

"...elBulli, which will have a fixed cost of approximately $365 for food and drink pairings for everyone regardless of the day or time you dine."

"Update: Next Co-Owner Nick Kokonas tells The Price Hike that the tentative $365 tickets are akin to Alinea’s price point: $210 for food and the remainder ($155) for beverage. Those numbers are not inclusive of an 18% service charge or 11.5% sales tax; that means dinner for two would cost $946."

brilliant side experiment to see how much people will pay for a (retail) Next ticket/affect demand, maybe.

but let's be real, foodies: it's freaking elBulli!!!

Everyone's situation is different, and although I'd absolutely love to go to this, the cost is basically our entire food budget for the next 5 months while my wife is student teaching and not working.

But props to them... I can't imagine what it takes to do something like this. And I wouldn't worry about the cost (I'm sure they aren't). This will sell out in 37 seconds.

Looking forward to the pictures!

This is one seating a night because the dinner is much longer than an average Next meal. Less supply will more than make up for less demand due to pricing.

I happened to talk to one of the chefs when they were planning the el Bulli stuff. He said the idea was to do one dish for each year the restaurant was in operation. One server-type said, if they think we can do 2 seatings a night with 37 courses, they're out of their minds. Seems like they're going for one seating. So, if the numbers are still right that would come out to about 10 dollars a course, which is probably fairly (stay with me here) reasonable, considering the quality of food they're putting out. But then again, this is all speculation.

jesteinf wrote:Pretty sure that's more than I paid at the actual el Bulli.

How much were the plane tickets and hotel though? LOL!

I have no problem paying $1000/2 or $2000/4 for the elBulli menu. I DO have a problem having to commit to 2 additional menus with all $$$ up front. I can't wait to see what the total cost for a KT subscription will be.

EDIT: Full disclosure: We did get Season Tickets. We shall see if that was a wise decision...

A comment on our dinner at El Bulli and the courses/time issue (which relates to the dinner at Next). We had 42 courses and the dinner lasted around 3 to 4 hours. The problem was the courses came at a dizzying pace and our table, several times, pleaded with them to slow down. Only later did we realize they couldn't--with 42 courses, if they had slowed down even 10%, the dinner would have gone on forever.

It will be interesting to see how Next handles the timing with bringing out courses. (And, in El Bulli style, when one speaks of a "course" it might be a tiny dish of two bites--literally. At El Bulli, our server would often say 'Eat this in one bite' or 'Eat this in two bites').

While I don't blame them for doing this type of menu, and I'm sure they will sell out every night, it is a little disappointing given this pushes me out based on price. They initially advertised Next as a value restaurant, and I believe that much of the hype surrounding the place was due to that.

I would have preferred they stuck to their original plan of $40-70 per person for food, and if they so chose to, open another restaurant at the higher price point. For comparison, when I went to Paris 1906, I paid (all-in) $129 per person, Thailand was $167 per person, and Childhood was $197 per person.

Luckily, nothing they are doing at Next cannot be copied. It would be cool to see if another restaurant can recreate the initial model and get the same response (tickets, rotating menu, great value, great service).

A restaurant called Previous that recreates the Next menus?

I can see it.

TCK wrote:A restaurant called Previous that recreates the Next menus?

I can see it.

LOL, brilliant!

=R=

bnl wrote:While I don't blame them for doing this type of menu, and I'm sure they will sell out every night, it is a little disappointing given this pushes me out based on price. They initially advertised Next as a value restaurant, and I believe that much of the hype surrounding the place was due to that.

I would have preferred they stuck to their original plan of $40-70 per person for food, and if they so chose to, open another restaurant at the higher price point. For comparison, when I went to Paris 1906, I paid (all-in) $129 per person, Thailand was $167 per person, and Childhood was $197 per person.

Luckily, nothing they are doing at Next cannot be copied. It would be cool to see if another restaurant can recreate the initial model and get the same response (tickets, rotating menu, great value, great service).

Next changes every three months. Maybe the next menu will be in price range.

I heard from a source that the next Next menu will be McDonald's, Michigan, 1981.

#FutureNextThemes

Next is holding a lottery for tickets for the first week of El Bulli: 12 tables/night from Wednesday to Sunday. Go to the Next facebook page and it will be explained. However, these are full-price tickets, but at least one just submits an email and waits. The closing time for the lottery is midnight on Sunday (after 22 minutes, they received 1000 emails).

GAF wrote:However, these are full-price tickets, but at least one just submits an email and waits

And isn't beholden to the upfront cost of buying Kyoto and Sicily tables....

kathryn wrote:And isn't beholden to the upfront cost of buying Kyoto and Sicily tables....

We have a group that is going to try and get season tickets for four, but I will admit, it's a bit of a hit to have to lay all that money out upfront for meals you won't eat for several months. Still, better than the stress of trying to get tickets for each cycle.

Personally, I'd rather wait. I'm planning on trying for season tickets, and my preference has become to go as late in the season as possible.

jesteinf wrote:Personally, I'd rather wait. I'm planning on trying for season tickets, and my preference has become to go as late in the season as possible.

Ditto.

=R=

I wasn't going to go for season tickets due to cost but I might as well spend my tax return on this if I get lucky, even though I've learned, like others, to go towards the end of the season.

i got in. opening night.