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We took my stepkids to a fancy restaurant last summer (have a friend who works there).
The college I work at does undergrad and graduate student etiquette dinners for this very reason!

Not until I was an adult. When I was younger I thought fine dining was Red Lobster lol

16, we ate at a fancy restaurant in Orlando on a school trip. My teacher surprised us with eating at my favorite chef's restaurants (he was very popular at the time!)

Ummm...in my late 20's. Like, really late 20's.

Young, like elementary school. I remember going to the fancy restaurant at the Grand Floridian when I was like 9... I was so intimidated!

Can't remember for sure, but I think when I was 18. I went to prom with a guy from another school and dinner was with a smaller group (there were only 4 couples). It was at the Four Seasons in downtown Seattle and it was sooo fancy and nice...loved it! They treated us to sparkling cider in flutes and a fancy cheese and fruit plate before dinner like we were grownups. And the dining room was so gorgeous. I loved it.

8ish? My grandparents loved food, so they would take all of us to interesting places.

Um, last September. So, 30. LOL I prefer something a little more relaxed.

@cyndistar3: me either. Lol we classy

Pretty young. My parents were always into fancy restaurants. We always went to nice places with my grandparents and we'd go out to special places or go into NYC for dinner and a show around the holidays.

@cyndistar3: add me to the classy list. Olive Garden is as fancy as it gets! I ate dinner in the restaurant on a cruise once..they only had one set of silverware but you weren't allowed to wear shorts/flip flops in there lol!

Very young. My parents liked going out to nice meals and figured that the earlier they taught me how to behave, the better it would be for all of us!

Not sure, but pretty young... My mom is into restaurants, a love I've inherited For my 13th birthday I chose to bring a couple of friends to a super fancy restaurant followed by a sleepover instead of having a party, haha.

@yoursilverlining: lol!!!!!

I would say 19 or 20.

I don't know, but young

I don't know how to define it, but I know it was!
It was in a restaurant on the top level of a hotel and large casino in Vegas.
There weren't any prices on the menu and only 4 options (lamb chops, filet mignon and some other 2), and they took our coats and the door and gave us warmed napkins and a hot steam pot?
We had like a jillion cups and cutlery.
Super large plates and just a little food and absolutely no to-go boxes.

I don't think I've ever been out for a fine dining experience!

@Rainbow Sprinkles: It’s kind of hard to define fine dining (for me) with hard and fast rules. Like the Supreme Court said about porn “I know it when I see it”! Generally though, here’s what I think makes a restaurant fine dining:

Restaurants that are dedicated to high quality food served by professional staff. Staff that are invested in the food and wine choices, discreet service.

A sommelier on staff, and an actual chef. Multiple, actual, real chefs including a dedicated pastry chef.

Cloth napkins, multiple forks/knives/spoons and courses. Appropriate stemware (correct wine glass type for the wine served).

Premium ingredients (local, too). Not reheating frozen stuff sent from a corporate owner, no Sysco big cans of ___.

If they serve pasta, it will be made in-house.

Small, reasonable sized servings and the expectation to have several courses.

The expectation isn’t to just eat/have dinner, it’s to totally enjoy yourself for an evening out. So, there is no “turnover in an hour” expectation or rush from ANYONE there. Meals can easily take 2 hours, or more. When you leave, you feel like you’ve had a great evening!

No ketchup.

It won't be a cheap meal, but I don't think price alone makes something fine dining. You can be expensive, without having the quality and service that take a place into "fine dining" territory and above just "dining out".

In my mid 20s? DH took me to a really nice restaurant, I was totally intimidated by all the silverware!

We have always loved to go out to dinner, but have found that we're not as comfortable at really, really nice restaurants. Now we try to find places that have amazing food and service, without being too stuffy.