How Much Does Volver Really Cost?

In the lead-up to Volver's opening, as details about the ticketing, menu formats, and prices leaked out in dribs and drabs, much of the conversation around the place cemented around one thing: the cost.

So now that the doors are fully open, menus are published, and ticket prices across the board have been live for a bit, we've crunched the numbers (with a tip of the hat to recent Eater hire/data junkie Ryan Sutton) to lay out exactly what you can expect to pay for tastings at Volver at different times and on different days. For the sake of comparison, we've also calculated the real cost of some other tasting menus around town that are well-known to cost.

(Of course, if you are stricken by all of numbers you see below, bear in mind that Volver has a bar and all of the others, with the exception of Vetri, offer a la carte dining as well.)

A few things to note, before we get to the numbers:
· When last we checked, Volver's ticketing website calculated the tax and gratuity only on the ticket price, even if you add a wine pairing option at that time - so the price you see on their site may be lower than what you see here. In our table below, we've calculated out the tax and tip on the full cost.
· Whether you tip on the pre- or post-tax total is between you and your god. But because Volver's website calculates 20% after adding the tax, we've applied that same method across the board.
· Vetri has two-tiered pricing for wine pairings, so we've included totals for both options.

(Table not displaying correctly? Click here.)

As you can see, Volver's performance menu is the most expensive at base, but depending on what you drink, you might spend just as much or more at Lacroix or Vetri.

A few more notes for the truly curious:

· Most of the numbers we used here are current prices as reported directly by the restaurants, with one exception: the wine pairing costs for Lacroix and the Fountain came from friends of Eater who have recently dined there. Our source paid $100 per person for wine pairings at Lacroix, but noted that "they are flexible and very accomodating" — indeed, many restaurants are willing to work out different pairing arrangements, so prices may vary.

· The number of courses is in no way standardized across this list. We chose just a few menus oft-cited as pricy for the sake of comparison here. The Lacroix chef's table and Vetri tasting menu both include more than 12 courses, and are the most comparable to the performance tasting at Volver. The Fountain and the less-expensive option at Avance cite five courses (making them more a point of comparison to a pre-theater tasting at Volver), while the Avance chef's tasting was quoted as nine — but with any tasting menu, you may find that more dishes find their way to your table than are stated on the menu.

· All Volver Coverage [-EPHI-]
· All Tasting Menus Coverage [-EPHI-]