The fixed, multi-course menu used to be a formality reserved for special occasions. Lately it’s become a practical answer to a real problem: rising ingredient costs and thinner margins have made the sprawling, everything-on-demand menu harder to run well.
A shorter, seasonal, set menu lets a kitchen buy with intention, reduce waste, and — chefs will tell you — actually cook the dishes they’re proud of, rather than keeping forty items warm on the pass at once. For diners, it trades choice for consistency, which is a trade a surprising number of people are happy to make once they try it.
