What Defines Fine Dining?

While in one of North Carolina’s top metropolitan areas, you might find yourself Googling “restaurants in downtown Asheville, NC” to try and find a good place to eat. There are many great options for meals in Asheville, but if you’re looking for something on the fancier side, you might try narrowing down your search by typing “fine dining in Asheville, NC.”

To help you avoid this issue, here’s a quick look at what exactly defines fine dining.
Fine dining restaurants are typically higher end and fancier than the more common, casual places most people eat at on a regular basis. Fine dining caters to upscale customers and is supposed to produce high-quality food.

The atmosphere of fine dining restaurants is usually formal and they’re almost always sit-down restaurants with a fancier menu than you’ll find at most places. Some other common attributes of fine dining restaurants are also wine lists and dress codes.
Being loud in fine dining restaurants is frowned upon, as is wearing jeans. Collared shirts are preferred for men, and some places might even require a sports coat or tie in order to full meet the dress code. For women, skirts, dresses or some other form of nice clothing is recommended. Some restaurants are most strict about their dress code than others but it’s always better to be on the more formal side just to be safe.

If you don’t have an adventurous pallet, fine dining restaurants might not be for you. Usually fine dining menus offer unique dishes, such as escargot (snails) or foie gras (liver). Portions at fine dining restaurants are also typically smaller, despite the generally high price.
Besides being dressed appropriately, other fine dining etiquette notes to be mindful of include not putting phones or keys on the table and asking for assistance choosing wine. Also, your napkin should go to the left of where your plate was to signify the end of the meal or it should be left on your seat if you’re leaving the table at any point during the meal.