Wiktionary
a notch above
a. (context idiomatic English) superior to; of a higher quality than
Usage examples of "a notch above".
But even that's a notch above someone deaf trying to pass for hearing—.
That was a notch above even the blacksmith's domestic grandeurs, and it hit him hard.
Asbury Park is the worldly correlative of Ocean Grove, and esteems itself a notch above it in social tone.