Of course it is personal preference but the original point from @eleeper seemed to question tasting menus in general as something to enjoy.
As a side comment (again personal preference) but 7-9 courses in less than two hours sounds terribly rushed and at least for us would take away a lot of the joy of tasting menus
My bad, it was more like 5 or 6. Not rushed in any way, shape or form. In fact, plenty of opportunity to chat with our dining companions 
The longest tasting menu I did was at wd-50, which was probz 10 or 12 dishes in maybe 2.5 hours. But I really don’t care for those lengthy meals anymore.
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Just curious, why ? As we get older, we see more the opposite - work is always very stressful and takes up many hours even on weekends and so we enjoy long, slow dinner (and especially tasting menus) even more than perhaps 20 years)
Which brings us right back to my first comment.
Hard No from me.
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Not tasting menus in general, but excessive tasting menus. Twenty-five courses seems excessive to me.
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That’s exactly my issue with the very long tasting menu. For me, a very small portion often means it’s too small to appreciate the flavour. And then, if it is something you really like, it’s gone in one or two mouthfuls when you really want more. It’s why we now avoid such places, generally speaking.
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It’s simply too much food for us. As we get older, and often much to our regret, we have less and less capacity for large amounts of food. I’ve found myself getting anxious at a 6-course meal when I was starting to fill up after the 3rd course. Add to that the sometimes lengthy break between courses and I’m fully sated before the final 2 or 3 dishes. It’s a waste of money for me if I’m practically forcing food down. And these types of places aren’t going to put together a doggie bag with the remaining courses I didn’t need or want.
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Actually we find the long(er) tasting menus, e.g. Jose Andres’ Saam and Minibar, TFL or Bistro LQ, some of the best we ever had. It really gives ambitious chefs all creative freedom and they can go wild and do things they normally won’t easily do (and at least for us that is one key reason to eat in such restaurants)
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Concerning long tasting menus. I’m not a fast eater, but I’ve often wondered how long you’re supposed to stretch out one or two bites to keep pace with everyone else at the table. 5 minutes? 10 minutes? Quarter a sea scallop?
I always bring a to-go order from In N Out to keep me occupied between those intermissions between courses.
Especially, the amuse bouches, which to me are more palate teasers than amusements.
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Even with longer tasting menus these courses tend to significantly more than just 1-2 bites
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Lots of strong reactions. I read the article and it elicited a big shrug from me. It’s funny to think that until recently one of my favorite restaurants didn’t even have a website. I show up and they hand me a menu of the things that they decided to make for that day. Occasionally will post some specials on IG. Not a big deal. Seems like it works for them as they’re always packed. Maybe the real trick is to have good food and so people are willing to go even though they don’t know what they will get. But they do know it will be good. I hate to think how much harder it would be to get a table if they posted menus for all those who insist on seeing one before they decide. These places with no posted menus and no reservations seem to be doing great business.
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What restaurant is this?
I’d also say that many neurodivergent folk would like a look first.
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Two came to mind.
Ugly Baby which has a website but worthless other than as a placeholder. They use IG to post pictures of some dishes. The image of a menu on IG is from a long time back and not really useful.
The other is a Japanese place in New Haven that is phenomenal. Hachiroku Shokudo and Sake Bar.
https://www.hachiroku-shokudosakebar.com/
They didn’t have a website until this year. Very basic site. The only menu posted is takeout only for some bowl type dishes. They print a new menu every day which is completely different than the takeout stuff. There are some regular dishes but every time I go I find something new. They use IG to post some special dishes but not regularly. If this place was in NYC instead of NH, it would be impossible to get a table. As it is, its hard enough.
I understand the desire to have menus and such available on line. But the irony I find in those who insist on it otherwise not going is that the basis for the original Chowhound was the search for food that was basically off the grid. Places that didn’t have websites, on line menus and reservation platforms.
On the tasting menu front, the only such place that I’ve enjoyed in a long time is Saga. They don’t tell you a thing about the food. But I can say its a lot. By the time I get to the end of the meal, I can barely touch dessert.
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Ugly Baby is pretty solidly online, and posts menus with some regularly on their IG. So I don’t think that’s a good example of a restaurant that refuses to disclose information and thinks diners should be kept in the dark until they walk through door. Which is what the article I posted is about.
I’m not familiar with the second restaurant, but at least I’d get a general idea about the food and the prices from the takeout menu. So I don’t think that’s a good example either.
If you read the article, you know this is mostly about the restaurant’s attitude toward their customers. And I’m not getting that arrogant vibe from either of the places you mentioned.
That only came out in the last 6 months. Before there was nothing other than some IG posts here and there. Before, every visit was a surprise, in a good way.
And you can add to all this that it’s a Japanese restaurant, which means it probably serves the kind of food one would expect from a Japanese restaurant. Saga, or other places that either don’t specialize in a particular cuisine, or something like Atomix, which does sort of specialize in a cuisine but does a lot of riffing, would be much more of a crapshoot.
