It's hit or miss. I had a job where I travelled and took clients out on an expense account, back in the 90's. I went to a lot of very expensive restaurants. Some were not that great, some were superb, but there were very few cases where if I had been spending my own money I'd have felt that it was worth it for the food alone. Part of what goes into fine dining is the experience itself - the setting, the service, the ambiance of the restaurant, etc. And I might add that I had some wonderful meals that weren't very expensive at all - Mexico stands out as a place where the food in very humble establishments was often delicious. Also I think there is a law of diminishing returns - when you get into the really silly priced restaurants, it gets to the point where you realize there's only so much they can do to food to make it taste good - the rest is hype. It also depends on what, to you, is delicious food. Some of the sauces used in upscale restaurants might be difficult to make, but if you enjoy cooking and experimenting I think you can do just as well at home. When you eat a lot at 'fine' restaurants believe it or not it gets old. When we went on a sales trip we were expected to wine and dine clients just about every evening, and sometimes for lunch too. After two or three days of this I didn't want to see another fine restaurant. I just wanted to have a grilled cheese sandwich or something simple, without all the fuss.