For anyone working in consulting/finance, when you've gotten meals through clients -- which clients have you found provided the best food/what was the experience like?
IB closing dinners are pretty amazing. The general good vibes from closing a large, arduous transaction are a large part of that. It’s fun to unwind with some of the senior people as well and good networking opportunity. That being said some dinner choices are a little suspect (Nobu in London? There are far better and more interesting choices to have...)
Not a client, but some of the meals that data room providers take investment banking analysts out for are really solid... like $100+ a head. Underrecognized perk of being an IBD analyst
When I was an external auditor, probably this sushi lunch... it was decent but nothing fancy ($40 per person). We were always cautious not to "over do it" when it comes to charging through meals. On the other hand, I have experience at my old job (when I was on the other side, dealing with external auditors) treating auditors out for kbbq/sashimi dinner (private room, definitely not one of those ayce places) that came out to about 300pp... :(
Porterhouse steak, top shelf alcohol, bbq chicken, all the fixings, a true celebration from a client who was very happy for our help. Probably $250+ a head for our team of 12.
If you’re talking about 3rd parties, it’s usually from Legal. Some vendors do all-inclusive ski weekends which is probably the ‘best’ I’ve seen. Meal wise, NYC skews higher end meals (ie 3 star).