Restaurant vs. Home Cooking Costs

You are in a setting native tribes used for hundreds of years, with a view no restaurant in the area can match. Incredibly fresh local ingredients and a professional kitchen are all you need to make amazing, memorable meals. Restaurants are expensive, noisy, and sometimes not that great — I am frequently left thinking, “I could have done that better for a fraction of the cost.” So when we are at Mystic, we eat most of our meals at home: the local ingredients are fantastic, the view beats any restaurant, the kitchen is a great place to cook and gather, and we can drink good wine at a reasonable cost.

Here is a real price comparison for six people.

At a popular Mystic restaurant — $465

(including a 20% tip)

• Six appetizers — clam chowder, salad, mussels, squash soup, tuna, bruschetta — $76
• Six main courses at about $30 each — $180
• Three desserts at $8 each — $24
• Nine glasses of wine at $12 each — $108

A full, over-the-top meal at 26 Schoolhouse — $275

• Appetizers — artisan cheese platter, charcuterie, jumbo shrimp — $75, plus two bottles of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc — $30
• Main course — prime Angus steaks with local shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and roasted red potatoes — $85, plus two bottles of Pinot Noir — $40
• Dessert — from the bakery — $20, plus Taylor Fladgate 10-year Tawny Port — $25

A really good meal — $145

• Appetizers — artisan cheese platter, charcuterie, olives — $50, plus Sauvignon Blanc and a regional IPA — $20
• Main course — smoked-and-baked Black Pearl salmon on wilted baby spinach — $30, plus Sauvignon Blanc and a regional IPA — $20
• Dessert — ice cream with flourless chocolate cake from the bakery — $25

And go ahead — pay someone to clean up the dishes afterward. You have still spent far less than a night out.

“But how do I cook all that?”

Easier than you would think. The appetizers are mostly bought ready to go. The steaks are oven-roasted until the internal temperature hits 130°F, then finished on the grill; the potatoes and asparagus roast on foil in the oven. The shiitake mushroom sauce takes a few minutes but is easy. With a few instructions, the right utensils, and a thermometer, anybody can pull this off — and the recipes here walk you through the trickier parts.