Influencer Sparks Backlash After Detailing Nearly $1K Meal at Coachella

Influencer Adelaine Morin has come under fire for showing how festival-goers can treat themselves to a luxurious meal at Coachella — if they’re willing to pay nearly $1,000 for food, that is.

The TikTok star told her 1.1 million followers all about her visit to the Nobu pop-up restaurant on the polo field grounds. Morin, 27, said the pricey sushi spot doesn’t accept walk-ins, and though she accidentally booked her reservation for Coachella’s weekend two, she managed to “work it out on the backend” since she’d already paid in full, with no opportunity for a refund.

As she explained in her voiceover, the menu was served Omakase style, meaning the customers don’t get to choose what they’re served. “The chef picks for you and it’s $350 per person, plus 22% included gratuity,” Morin explained. “Also, if you show up late, they’ll give you a Bento Box to go, and you can’t even eat it here.”

Her quick vlog featured a screenshot of their receipt, which broke down the two $350 costs and included the tip fee, which totaled just over $161. According to the charges, Morin and her fellow Nobu patron also purchased beverages — a Red Bull, two waters and sake — which brought her total bill to around $945.

“Worth it in my opinion,” Morin captioned the video, in which she raved about the dining experience hosted in the star-studded Red Bull Mirage.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience because you can have a Michelin Star dinner and just across from you is the Quasar stage, where so many artists play,” Morin said. “If you timed your reservation right, you can literally be eating Nobu and while Tiësto is playing.”

Viewers were quick to call out how exorbitant the meal seemed, with several TikTok users commenting to say they personally couldn’t afford the lavish lunch.

“[$20] on DoorDash is too expensive for me,” one person wrote. Another echoed the sentiment, “I can barely afford groceries these days.”

Morin did respond to some comments, at one point admitting that someone was “valid” for writing, “That $1000 is staying in the savings account.”

Despite the sky-high price point, the creator insisted she didn’t regret the meal at all. She also posted a video ranking each dish served in the Omakase experience, including various types of sashimi, edamame, specialty hand rolls and tempura.

In her taste test on TikTok, Morin specified that diners are only allowed 50 minutes to eat their meal, which several commenters found to be disappointing considering the cost of the experience.

“For 1k i feel like you should have enough time to enjoy and finish your experience without there being a time limit,” one person wrote. Morin agreed, calling that “the only thing that sucked” about the Nobu meal.

On the other side of Coachella-Tok, some exposed the festival’s fare for being far too expensive. A creator named Ruth Viveros showed her dinner — a $17 lemonade and $102 worth of Mexican food — and admitted it wasn’t as good as the price would’ve suggested.

The lemonade, she said, was tasty despite being “mostly ice,” but the nacho dish and two taco plates didn’t live up to her standards. “They’re not good. They’re not good at all,” said Viveros, adding that the tortillas were “freezing cold.”

Again, viewers expressed their disbelief at seeing such “diabolical” prices.

Someone else pointed out how much attendees were already paying just to get in: “The fact that GENERAL ADMISSION is $600 and you still have to pay that much for mid food is making me irrationally angry,” they commented.