Prix Fixe Menus for Restaurants

[jclara1]

hello all,
am wondering in your professional opinion and experiences...without considering other factors such as demographics, location, etc... can a restaurant serving only a prix fixe menu be successfull? what extras does it take to run an establishment with only a prix fixe rather than a restaurant with a set menu...? how often should you change a prix fixe menu? daily, weekly, monthly? any info would be extremely helpful...

[mark1]

In my capacity as a "professional diner", I think it could work but only in large cities and only in some of them, like NYC, Sf and L.A. Probably Boston, Philly, maybe Atlanta, Seattle and Vegas.
I should say that I don't know any restos that only do prix fixe menus, and the ones that do along with a regular menu, pretty much change them every day.

[david g]

it can work for sure ,but you need at least 3 menus ,like a 3 coarse basic ,a 4 coarse and maybe a 6 coarse gastronomic they need to be changed some at least daily and others weekly, and as you need to produce these dishes for your menu, you might as well have an a la cate running side by side with your set price no extra food cost or labour costs just printing costs,i worked at a restaurant in london that only had set price menus but we had at least 4 set price menus changing daily they were basiclly the same with exta dishes added we had a 3 coarse ,4 coarse, 5 coarse and an 8 coarse degastation tasting menu which was the most popular but no a la .carte,we had a laser printer and the menus changed even between lunch and dinner daily

[courten]

hello all,
am wondering in your professional opinion and experiences...without considering other factors such as demographics, location, etc... can a restaurant serving only a prix fixe menu be successfull? what extras does it take to run an establishment with only a prix fixe rather than a restaurant with a set menu...? how often should you change a prix fixe menu? daily, weekly, monthly? any info would be extremely helpful...

I have worked at multiple locations with fixe prix menus, and the most successful I have been in, offered a standard menu, daily specials, and the fixed priced menu. The fixed price would change daily, and on Fridays and Saturdays we would increase to 5 or 6 courses (from 3 during the week). For gala events we would go to 6 - 8 courses. Matched wine and spirits (occasionally beer) boosted the check average through the roof.

You need a dedicated regular crowd who trusts you as a chef for a fixed price menu to work. If that is all you are offering you are looking for trouble unless you are a superstar...and known as one.

Athon

[lebelage]

Yes they can be successful and should change with great frequency.

Location is very important though and the amount of strat up capital is key because places that use that model build up business much more slowly and regulars won't come back with great frequency.

To do it outside of the big cities you'd pretty much need to do it in an inn, or in an area with a lot of popular vineyards.

[RedBeansNRice]

Speaking of vineyards...
I have 2 priced fixed menue experiences...One in Paris and the other in the very very small wine village known as Chaintre. In Paris we ran a price fixed menu, that seating was booked solid (30 covers in the winter-60 in the summer with the terrace) during the day. Our owner was an entirely unknown Chef/cook, and we weren't even truly in Paris. She grew that restaurant from absolute scratch, not one single client from a restaurant she purchased where the owners had been there for almost 3 months with out serving a single client. They were doing a German Brazilian Menue, just a word there for the wise.
Anyways her menues were mixing items like Dragon Fruit Sabayons with Lavender Filet Mignons and Rosemary Ble. She wasn't expensive, and completly made her way by word of mouth. Now her cookbook is the number 1 seller in Ikea in Europe.
The place in Chaintre, about 3 minutes from my house, La Table du Chaintre is a 30 to 40 cover place, and has a fixed price menu of 55 euros or about 73.70 US Dollars. In that town there is only wine and one bread place. He actually was like Paul Bocuse's Second Chef or something, but most people who come and eat there for the first time do not know that.
That place is word of mouth as well, but what he does is something like a theme for each week's menue change. One week it will be truffles, and he will include them in every single course from Mis en Bouche through dessert. It is a gastronomique restaurant of course. But in both cases it was a fixed menue that changed weekly, and I am certain of the place I worked at, it was entirely based on a great understanding of what was in season, and taking advantage of what was on promotion, and making a very creative and marketable menu based on what she could buy at the lowest price.
And with a fixed menue that changes once a week you can do that. You can buy what is the least expensive, and run it, until it runs out. You aren't thwarted with having to have iceberg lettuce on your menu and watching it soar out of control, but still having to order it because it's on your menu.

[jclara1]

thanks to all responders. all of your experiences have been very informative. honestly, i was wondering about prix fixe because i just moved to a small town and was considering starting a small resto because rent prices and really all prices are relatively low. but as redbeansnrice kind of pointed out...i would really enjoy buying and serving whats in season and whats on sale and i think that if the clientel is right then it would be profitable soon because you're not stocking for a whole menu with beef and expensive produce and seafood...etc... and...in such a small town with not many great chefs i think superstar status is achievable. i would like to do change the menu weekly and offer a 3, 4, and 5 course prix fixe meal. good idea? bad idea?

[mark1]

I think it would be worth your while to do some personal in depth market research to find out if you have enough potential customers who would support what sounds like a radical departure in dining for a small town in Tennessee, and if it passes that test, then how much would a customer pay for a 3, 4 or 5 course meal.
And what kind of cuisine are you planning and if not what your area is used to, would it be a hard sell.
Hope you let us know how you get on.

[lebelage]

"...i would really enjoy buying and serving whats in season and whats on sale and i think that if the clientel is right then it would be profitable soon because you're not stocking for a whole menu with beef and expensive produce and seafood...etc... and"

Bear in mind that to do that you don't have to do prix fixe, you could still have a small a la carte menu and just change it very frequently- print the menus in house and such.