Three star Michelin restaurants are rarely for people who want a "plain old meal". The French Laundry is no exception. There is not much plain or old about French Laundry. Rather it is Haute Cuisine at its American best. Service is competent, interested and friendly.
It is not a fancy place, it is not more elegant than many much cheaper and simpler restaurants. The ambiance is low key, it is not to watch paintings, people or celebrities you go here. Its to eat.

It is just as good now as it was two years ago.

What can you say about on of the top restuarants in the world. The food is amazing, but it is a very special place and not for everyone. For those who do not know you cannot just showup and have diner. You have to start calling 3 months to the day that you want to eat and hope you get through before they sell out. My meal there lasted about 5 hours and was about $400.00 a person with wine.

Answer: no. However, there are few meals for two that are as impressive as the one you will enjoy at the French Laundry in Napa. Bottom line is you are paying for the experience, not so much the actual taste of the food. This, of course, is my opinion only. I am far from a foodie on the level you would need to be to truly enjoy the dishes set before you at this restaurant. There was no course during my meal (Chef's Tasting) that would be considered "one of the best things I have ever eaten." Truthfully, I much more enjoyed watching the pleasure my wife experienced as we dined there in September on her 40th birthday. It was a bucket list item for her and I scored some big points for landing a reservation.

Let me put it this way, there is no doubt that the meal and ingredients, the wine, the service, everything is top notch. The taste of food itself, for me however, was just OK. I was able to let go of what the meal was costing us because honestly, I challenge anyone anywhere to set before me a meal that I would consider to be worthy of what they charge here. I mean, it is simply ludicrous. But for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to dine on what is widely considered one of the best restaurants on the planet with my wife - that is priceless.

By the way, for anyone saying they left there hungry, wow. No clue how that could happen. I was absolutely stuffed 3/4 of the way through dinner. I struggled to get dessert down. And yes, it is all of a 3 hour dinner. If you can land a reservation, enjoy! And forget about the bill. There is no such thing a $800 meal for two that is technically worth it!

We've been really eager to eat here for years and finally found ourselves heading out to Napa Valley and got a lunch reservation. I'm not sure what to say that hasn't been said about the FL over many years. It was a spectacular meal and among the best in the world. I don't want to diminish the experience, but I will say that it certainly wasn't cutting edge or innovative in any way. One remark I will make is to suggest having lunch as opposed to dinner. The menu and experience is identical and the gluttonous encounter is more easily worn off in the day (nb - we typically do this with 'event' type meals ... particularly in Paris).