Oh man, I remember that drama. On the Iron Maiden message board we were having discussions about crowdfunding an ad in the New York Times or something with some self-righteous defence of the band after the incident.

Mercy.

They can definitely get dated quickly in the restaurant scene. The same as Tripadvisor needs a bit of understanding to really get what you're looking for, the Michelin Guide can be late to the game, and a blog may be one person's individual taste.

But if something's hitting the right notes across a mix of them, you're likely going to be in the right ballpark.

Yeah, I sometimes get people saying you could buy 100 Big Macs or whatever for that price when discussing fine dining restaurants, and I don't dispute it.

Sure, if that's your thing then go for it.

But one or two people with minimal training could probably make and serve those Big Macs in brown paper bags in an hour or two. They'll be made with cheap ingredients, they'll be the same as the ones you could buy a few miles further down the road, and they'll do their job of giving you tasty calories with minimal fuss just fine.

A 9-course tasting menu at a 3* place will be designed by one of the best foodie visionaries on the planet, made by a team of highly trained chefs, using the best quality ingredients, creatively presented, expertly paired with independently produced drinks, served with a flourish by the most charming staff in the game, and all in a gorgeous/cool/iconic/historic setting.

As you say, it's a full experience.

Their official criteria are:

• Quality of ingredients
• Mastery of flavours & techniques
• The personality of the chef in their cuisine
• Value for money**
• Consistency between visits

But yeah, the service and 'experience' are generally at a high level even if they don't directly impact those criteria.

**How can you have value for money when it's so expensive?

A few months back Clare Smyth (Head Chef at Core, a 3* restaurant in London) was on Desert Island Discs, where the topic of fine dining prices was raised.

She is asked about the price of fine dining (£195+ tasting menu at Core). Does she have any qualms about the cost during a cost of living crisis?

Here answer, paraphrased, was "No. We have seats for 54 paying customers, who will be served by 57 members of staff. And those staff are the absolute top of their game. Also, the ingredients we use are the finest too and we pay a fair price for them. It's actually quite good value for money, you would pay double that for a similar experience in Paris."

Now, someone may still sit there and think "not value for me", and that's fine. But when you start exploring all the little things that make a place like that tick you do see how a lot more is needed to keep it going.

Okay, if we're talking sit-down restaurants more than fast food joints I usually do a mix of the following:

• Travel books (I get one of those little guide books for most major cities I plan to visit)
• Food blogs, just Google some local ones
• Searching Instagram hashtags
• TripAdvisor

If I'm seeing a place getting good reviews on all the above, and it sounds up my street, then I'd give it a go.

I'd also say that the Michelin Guide does have cheaper options than 3*

A 1* meal may still be the best meal you've had in your life, made by some outstanding chefs. Unlikely to be CHEAP, but in my experience they're cheaper than 3* ones. For example, the tasting menu at the 1* I went to this evening was about £140, while the one at the 2* place I nearly went to comes to about £320.

They also have non-starred restaurants in the Michelin guide too. Again, these are usually still very good. They tend to be a tad less extravagant, the experience might not be as polished, but I've rarely been let down. For clarity, I've been to a couple over the last few days and the price has come to about £50-90 a head, easily could have done them for less too.

They also have the 'Bib Gourmand' rating, which specifically means you can get a meal for a cheaper price (the threshold varies by area, and it may still be more expensive than a casual chain).