With the abundance of restaurants and food establishments becoming more and more popular in little towns, beach-side locations and downtown cities, the culture surrounding the dining experience includes much more variety and flavor than ever before. It can be difficult to understand what a casual dining experience is and how fancy a fine dining restaurant will appear. However, there are a few critical signifiers for each that will allow you to enjoy your meal in a comfortable surrounding to complete your dining experience.
Casual Dining Restaurants
Casual dining has seen some recent fluctuation in the past few decades. A category that once consisted only of restaurants for working-class families has now grown to encompass multiple food venues. A variety of food trucks and fast food places exist where the quality of the food is mediocre, but the service is fast and allows you to go on your way.
A new category, fast casual, has begun to grow in response to younger generations’ food habits — these are places offering high-quality food at a quicker pace with an affordable price. The menus at fast casual places are often made-to-order, allowing the guest to customize the food to their wishes while focusing on a specific type or flavor of food.
Fine Dining Restaurants
Fine dining is what most people tend to associate with “fancy” — yet even still, there are some dividing categories within this large label. Only 10 percent of restaurant sales are made up of fine dining experiences, but their presence is coveted and unique. You will often find exquisite, polite customer service, an atmosphere that is subtle yet comfortable with music and lighting and a menu that is limited, refined and creative all at once.
Sometimes you will also hear about an upscale restaurant, typically in large cities with an abundance of business and legal professionals or entertainment models. A restaurant is considered upscale because of the finite attention to detail and the seemingly fragile dining experience — one that is elite and perhaps not for everyone. You might find menus with items listed in another language or expensive wines and top-rack liquors available behind the bar. Most importantly, you should take notice of the specific dress code.
How to Dress for a Casual Restaurant vs. a Fine Dining Restaurant
The tiers of specified dress codes are often classified as casual, business casual, casual elegant, formal and jacket required. Most casual diners will expect casual at most — and perhaps even business casual. However, in a fine dining restaurant, anything beneath business casual is unacceptable. In some places, even business attire is not enough. A good rule to go by is that your meal or plate set in front of you should never look better than the outfit you’re wearing.
If you’re looking for a fine dining experience while visiting Naples, USS Nemo has the setting for you. With specialty seafood and prepared meat dishes, you’ll find yourself fully immersed in the undersea atmosphere with a gourmet touch. Reservations are recommended but not expected.
