Modern tasting menus have been a staple of fine dining since the 1960s. The multicourse meal can trace back centuries to ancient Greece, however, to focus on contemporary offerings, it was really the French and their menu dégustation that reignited the interest in prix-fixe culinary experiences.
Restaurants around the globe now offer their version of a tasting menu. From Japanese omakase to South American asado, chefs are adding their individual flair to the offering while still maintaining definitive factors of the experience, like amuse-bouche, a bite-size starter to whet the palate before appetizers are served, specialty bread service, and petit fours, a selection of sweet treats served to conclude the meal (the dessert after the dessert).
Still, there are some chefs who are veering further from traditional prix-fixe to create a more singular experience—like five courses of pasta only or swapping wine pairings for a menu of hops and haze. Read on to discover five unique tasting menus that showcase culinary creativity and promise a one-of-a-kind gastronomic journey, even after multiple reservations.
Moody Tongue Chicago
Beer-Paired Tasting Menu
At Moody Tongue Chicago, the 15-course tasting menu is served alongside culinary-inspired beers curated by in-house brewmaster-owner Jared Rouben and executive chef James Bingham. “Usually restaurants purchase their beverages, but we have the luxury of creating all items in the same house,” says Rouben of the onsite brewery, adding that they have a better understanding of the ingredients and complementary flavors. The expansive tasting menu is served in The Dining Room, starting with snacks like oysters, hamachi nigiri and foie gras all served with Sudachi Lager, to a mid-course of Cobia with Thai green curry served with Oro Blanco IPA, to a finale of chocolate textures that includes flourless cake and makrut-chocolate sorbet to be washed down with bourbon barrel-aged Terry’s chocolate orange stout. Moody Tongue’s ethos is established in bringing beer and food together, says Rouben, and to showcase that brews can be just as layered and complex—both in flavors and aromatics—as wine.
Osteria Mozza
Pasta (only) Tasting Menu
Since 2008, Italophiles have flocked to Nancy Silverton’s Melrose Avenue mainstay for their handmade pasta, especially signatures like the raviolo with ricotta and egg or the orecchiette with fennel sausage and swiss chard. Beyond the classics, however, Osteria Mozza offers a five-course seasonal pasta tasting menu that incorporates rotating ingredients that showcase the best California produce and unique care that goes into each pasta style. A recent menu began with butternut squash tortelloni, followed by bucatini all’amatriciana, tortellini in brodo, and garganelli but executive chef Kirby Shaw stresses, “You can come back seasonally for the pasta tasting menu and try new pastas, but it'll always be great.” The five-course menu can also be upgraded with a wine pairing curated by beverage director Henry Davar.
Caruso’s
Sustainable-Focused Tasting
Chef Massimo Falsini has long been celebrated for his sustainable and seafood-driven prix-fixe menus that feature the natural bounty of Montecito’s coastal locale. His newest tasting menu is no exception as it guides diners even further into his world of hyper-local ingredients by spotlighting sustainable proteins like quail, duck, and guinea fowl sourced. “This menu is the missing link to the complete gastronomic experience of our county,” explains Falsini about the menu that sources from regional, regenerative farms that are pioneers of humanely raised animals. “In addition to regenerative farming, these ranches are adding the ecological value of responsible land and stewardship…including replenishing the soil nutrients, minimizing use of water and non-renewable energy, along with responsible waste management,” says Falsini, pointing to ranchers like Richards Regenerative, Brent Wolfe, Hamilton Brothers Ranch, and Winfield Farm. The majority of the dishes feature some type of protein but there is still an emphasis on fresh produce and herbs, like the hybrid dish of raviolo doppio, that includes saffron grown in the Simi Valley by one of Caruso’s team members. All in, the menu totals 14 courses, which includes optional add-ons from Caruso’s signature menu, like the compression of carbonara with house-cured guanciale and lavender lady yolk.
Street to Kitchen
Family-Style Tasting Menu
Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter and her husband have made a bold mark on the Houston dining scene with their presentation of unapologetically authentic Thai cuisine. For diners seeking an even more singular culinary experience, Chef Painter's Tam Jai Chef Tasting Menu is a family-style experience that changes with every seating. Offered at both lunch and dinner, Chef G curates “the ultimate culinary adventure through uncharted Thai cooking” with a family-style tasting menu. “Unlike most European-influenced food diners experience—where everyone orders individual entrees intended to be eaten individually—balance from a Thai perspective is created through numerous shared plates, each showcasing contrasting sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and salty flavors,” explains Chef G on the concept that furthers their ethos to break free from “the pressure of flexing for Western palates.” Classic Thai flavors are presented through the lens of Chef G’s Texas culinary journey, like the Wagyu Tiger Cry – a steak with bark-like crust that’s achieved without smoking, but rather a combination of stick rice, black pepper, Kosher salt, and Thai chiles. Ever-changing, the menu has previously featured Grilled cuttlefish stuffed with A5 wagyu beef fat, dancing prawns with spicy yum strawberry scallops, pumpkin mash with nam jim sauce and beef Wellington massaman with coconut mashed potatoes in satay reduction gravy. “What we love most about the tasting menu is the opportunity to reimagine the Thai canon of entrees, while surprising and delighting guests each time.”
Pizzeria Sei
Pizza Omakasei
A play on words (omakase + sei), this pizza-only tasting concept began as a way to cater to regular guests with specialty offerings deviating from the regular menu. Chef-owner William Joo says they have some regulars who eat at Pizzeria Sei six days a week, so he sought to push the boundaries of doughs and toppings for a more “extraordinary” experience. The result was a varying 9 to 11 courses of pizza for 18 guests that focuses on “multicultural tastes in one bite,” says Joo. For example, according to Woo, the mala garden (with cultured cream, mala spice chili blend binchotan grilled spicy lamb sausage, roasted cherry tomato, smoked provola, pecorino Romano, Parmigiano reggiano, cilantro flowers, and lemon wedge) “tastes like kebab, lamb taco, Chinese lamb skewers, and Italian sausage pizza.” Also on offer: the wagyu beef tongue pizza sandwich, a vichyssoise potato- and caviar-topped slice, and a sweet, fried flatbread with Tosazu jelly, lemon gel, and konbu-marinated Hokkaido scallop. The menu has certainly been a hit with customers, but Chef Woo says it’s also been a cherished learning journey as he’s explored various doughs he never thought of making previously, which improved their signature dough—it’s now “crispier, more flavorful and lighter than before,” he says.
Hero image: Caruso's
