158 replies to this topic

[lgott]

For L'Atelier, it's 30 days in advance. For The Mansion, back in January I was told that reservations may be made for the current month and the next two months. For example, on February 28 reservations could be made for February, March and April. On March 1, reservations could be made for March, April, and May.

Being a compulsive planner, I made reservations as soon as possible!

Edited by lgott, 22 March 2006 - 06:13 PM.

[nightscotsman]

You can often get seats at L'Atelier without a reservation, especially on weekdays. And the Mansion is usually not fully booked except on some Fridays and Saturdays. Of course, if it's a holiday or there's a big convention in town, everything in town books up, so it's good to know what's going on. All that said, if you know you need a specific date and time, reservations a couple months in advance will give you peace of mind.

[cbarre02]

neil, do you have any photo to show of the work you do there. My friend matt works over there, he says that its them greatest work experience of his life

[nightscotsman]

Sorry, no photos. I don't think my chef would look kindly upon cameras in the kitchen given that they don't even want me to write down recipes.

[SG-]

After two nights that made a dent into my house downpayment, I'm happy to say that the quality of the food at both L'Atelier and the formal dining were excellent!!!! Between the two restaurants, the experience at the less formal L'Atelier was more enjoyable, sitting at the counter watching the action in the kitchen and interacting with our waiter.

Don't get me wrong I love the design of the formal dining room at the Mansion, however the pacing was just downright terrible!!!!! Before we even decided on the menu or received the wine list the first course was delivered under the guise of an amuse bouche. Very akward having to put away the menu, finish the course and then return to the menu and wine list. We ended up deciding on the 6 course menu and the pacing of the remaining courses were no better. By the end of the first hour we were finished with the mains and only the dessert remained. The meal was paced so quickly that I couldn't even order additional wines, and also the fact that I never even had a chance to finish my pre dinner cocktail. Frankly I was getting kinda intoxicated chugging a bottle of wine under an hour between my wife and I. They have really got to work on this

In addition, we never received any treats/amuses between courses typical of these restaurants. Is this typical of Robuchon's days in Jamin??

[SG-]

Pics from the first nite at L'Aterlier


Kitchen

[jende]

I'm taking a trip to Las Vegas in June and trying to decide between L'Atlier and the Mansion, so I'd love to hear more about your experience. I'm leaning toward L'Atlier because it sounds like more fun with equally good food.

[molto e]

Don't get me wrong I love the design of the formal dining room at the Mansion, however the pacing was just downright terrible!!!!! Before we even decided on the menu or received the wine list the first course was delivered under the guise of an amuse bouche. Very akward having to put away the menu, finish the course and then return to the menu and wine list.

SG,

What do you mean by had not decided on the menu and then the Amuse came? You had not placed your order on which tasting or a la carte menu you were going to order and they brought the Amuse?

Molto E

[SG-]

Don't get me wrong I love the design of the formal dining room at the Mansion, however the pacing was just downright terrible!!!!! Before we even decided on the menu or received the wine list the first course was delivered under the guise of an amuse bouche. Very akward having to put away the menu, finish the course and then return to the menu and wine list.

SG,

What do you mean by had not decided on the menu and then the Amuse came? You had not placed your order on which tasting or a la carte menu you were going to order and they brought the Amuse?

Molto E

Yes, they brought the first course over while we still had the menu in our hands trying to decide between the 6 course or tasting menu.

[SG-]

Here's the course descriptions for the above pics at L'Atelier:

1) Crab meat on top of a spicy semolina salad with a citrus dresssing
2) Crab meat salad on top of asparagus and sea urchin vinagrette
3) Crispy langoustine fritter with basil pesto
4) Free range quail stuffed with foie gras and served with truffle mashed potatoes (Sauce was deliciously intense and that mashed potato was like eating super smooth potato cream)
5) Saint Pierre with Fava beans and chorizo, accompanied with that terrific mashed potatoes
6) Le Framboise - white chocolate filled with raspberries drizzled with a hot raspberry sauce that melted the chocolate dome.
7) Le Chocolat - Chocolate senataion <cremeux (?)>, oreo cookie crumb

One other dish (picture missing) that I absolutely loved for its revealing simplicity was the "Poached baby kussi oysters with French "echire" salted butter"



Pics from the next night at the Mansion, we ended up picking the 6 course menu



first course: apple pearl and vodka granite



asparagus topped with ossetra caviar with some intense lemon oil (?)


Brittany lobster under a dissapearing saffron hostie in a seafood bouillon



Pan fried sea bass with lemon grass foam and stewed baby leeks (my favorite dish of the nite, the lemon grass foam was soo intense)


Sauteed veal chop with natural jus and vegetable taglierinis flavored with pesto


Le Chocolat (chocolate in many wayss, very good but too much chocolate for a non chocolate holic like me)


wife's birthday cake, meringue center with cream, very good my description doesn't do any justice....



petit four "TRUCK", jeez this thing was like a mobile candy store, must have been over 20 choices.


a small selection we picked

Edited by SG-, 19 April 2006 - 10:22 PM.

[SG-]

I'm taking a trip to Las Vegas in June and trying to decide between L'Atlier and the Mansion, so I'd love to hear more about your experience. I'm leaning toward L'Atlier because it sounds like more fun with equally good food.

Depending on your budget I think they will both be very enjoyable.. the cost at the Mansion is substantially higher though, the tasting menu is $350!! vs L'Atelier's $115. Factor in tax, tip, wine... ouch...

[molto e]

SG,

The cost for the 16 courses tastings is $350 are you talking about that or the cost of your 6 course plus wine and all was $350. I am very surprised that they would bring the amuse to your table prior to your choosing which tasting menu that you wanted. You should email Loic Launay and tell him what your experience was at the Mansion. This was not my experience at all. My experience was top-notch in all facets.

Molto E

[SG-]

SG,

         The cost for the 16 courses tastings is $350 are you talking about that or the cost of your 6 course plus wine and all was $350. I am very surprised that they would bring the amuse to your table prior to your choosing which tasting menu that you wanted. You should email Loic Launay and tell him what your experience was at the Mansion. This was not my experience at all. My experience was top-notch in all facets.

Molto E

The 6 course was priced at $215 and the 16 course $350, both before wine, tax or tip. Yes I thought it was odd too that they brought the amuse so early and repeated this to the table beside us later in the night.

Edited by SG-, 19 April 2006 - 10:57 PM.

[molto e]

SG,

I had friends that ate there two days ago and they had the 16 course and did not experience those service issues. They thought the food was excellent as well. I hate to think that you went on a "off" night but restaurants do have "off" nights. I still think you should e-mail them and see if they would do anything for you next time in town.

Molto E

[rjwong]

I’ve heard & read so many things about this place. The LA Times food critic gave it four stars. She rarely does that! Before I went in, I took a few photos outside the restaurant, or I tried too. My hands were shaking. I couldn’t hold the camera still! Well, here’s a somewhat decent photo of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, the more casual restaurant:



I was the first diner to enter for the evening. Classical chamber music can be heard. Here are some opening photos:




This is butter from Brittany, if my memory serves me correctly ...




Le Pomme : cuillère de perles, de son jus rafraîchi d’un granité de vodka
Apple pearl, vodka granité

I tried to taste the amuse, but my hand was trembling. How embarassing! Am I nervous? Eventually, I managed to put the palate cleanser into my mouth. I hope I don’t become a nervous wreck by the end of the meal ...

The server brought out a cart containing about a dozen different types of breads: brioches, milk breads, mini baguettes, country-style breads, brioches with Gruyère, basil brioches, bacon-filled bread , etc.


Three types of bread


Le Caviar Osciètre : dans une délicate gelée recouverte d’une onctueuse crème de chou-fleur
Oscetra caviar topped with a delicate gelée and a smooth cauliflower cream


Le Foie Gras : en mille-feuille caramélisé d’anguille fumée aux saveurs orientales
Foie gras, mille-feuille of smoked eel with oriental flavors


Le Thon : en tartare, poivron rouge confit à la bergamote et au jambon séché
Tuna tartar, cold red bell pepper confit with bergamot and dry cured ham


La Langoustine : truffée et cuite en ravioli à l’étuvée de chou vert
Truffled langoustine ravioli with steamed green cabbage


La Laitue : en fin velouté sur un flan tremblotant à l’oignon doux
Light lettuce cream on top of a delicate sweet onion custard


Two other types of bread


La Noix de Saint-Jacques : en cannelloni aux courgettes sous un voile de lard d’Arnad et une émulsion de parmigiano
Cannelloni of Scallops and zucchini, parmesan emulsion


Le Homard : au coulis de pissenlit avec quelques feuilles crues de bardes-de-capucin relevéees d’une vinaigrette coralline
Lobster, pissenlit coulis, capucin leaves and sea urchin vinaigrette



L’Os à Mœlle : de bœuf de Kobé aux légumes printaniers
Kobe beef bone marrow, spring vegetables


L’Ormeau : et l’artichaut poivrade dans un court bouillon au gingembre
Abalone, baby artichokes in a ginger bouillon


Le Bar : poêlé à la citronnelle avec une étuvée de jeunes poireaux
Pan-fried sea bass with a lemon grass foam and stewed baby leeks


L’Amadai : cuit en écailles et servi sur une nage au yuriné
Pan-fried Amadai in a lily bulb broth


Le Veau : en côte au plat avec un jus gras et escorté de taglierinis de légumes au pistou
Sautéed veal chop with natural jus and vegetable taglierinis flavored with pesto


L’Epeautre : du pays de Sault mitonné et doré à la feuille d’or
Sault wild oatmeal, gold leaf




Please prepare yourselves for the desserts ...


Le Bahia : en fin crémeux de papaye, jus de cassis
Goyave and papaye granité, cream of cassis and orange macaron


La Fraise : glacée aux coquelicots, en popcorns caramélisés, sirop de cachaça
Poppy sorbet, caramelized popcorns, cachaça syrup


The Sorbet Cart


Coffee bean, guava, green apple

I like the guava sorbet the best of the three.


The tea list


The Tea Cart


Assam tea

Surprisingly, this was the highlight of my meal. My server pours the designated amount of Assam loose tea leaves into the teapot, adds the water, and instructs me to wait about 2-3 minutes before pouring the tea. I poured the Assam tea into my teacup accordingly, and I began to sip my tea. Then, I noticed something: the tea was hot, but not scalding hot. It was as though the water was heated to the correct temperature. This was blowing my mind. Such precision! Such attention to detail!


The Mignardise Cart



I showed restraint: I chose only seven. A pistachio financier, a rocher which was created “by accident” by one of the pastry chefs, a lemon truffle, a sake-infused meringue, a passion fruit truffle, an espresso truffle, and a cannele de Bordeaux.



This was the best meal I have ever had ... and the most expensive ... and it was worth it ...


Joël Robuchon at the Mansion

[robyn]

Just wondering (I'm not sure if this LV forum would be the place to ask),
Where do you all consider as the current Joel Robuchon's best restaurant?
Would it be:

Chateau Restaurant Joel Robuchon (Tokyo) or
Joel Robuchon at the Mansion (Las Vegas) or
Robuchon a Galera (Macau) or
La Table de Joel Robuchon (Paris) or
Restaurant Joel Robuchon (Monte Carlo) or ...

Actually - Robuchon has 3 restaurants in Tokyo - the Chateau - the Atelier - and a tea salon in a department store. I assume that all 3 are either prototypes for similar restaurants elsewhere - or based on prototypes already in existence. The food in these restaurants may be good - even excellent - but the whole enterprise is starting to look like a high ---> very high end chain. Of course - that is increasingly the case for a lot of famous chefs these days. Robyn

[kai-m]

hi everyone!
we are in vegas right now and think about going to the ATELIER these days -but since rjwong (great pictures!!) said something about the "most expensive meal in my life" we would like to know how much we should put aside for 2, icluding a bottle of "average" priced wine, tax and tip? (usually 370 for two is our self procclaimed limit. but if this place really lives up to french michelin-3*places...)

thanksalot for a quick reply!

greetings
kai

Edited by kai-m, 09 May 2006 - 09:24 PM.

[alanamoana]

we spent over five big ones for three people and one bottle of wine (don't know about tax and tip). we did the tasting.
you should be able to do $370 for two...but you might have to go a la carte.

[rjwong]

I don't mind giving prices. Here's what it cost me: $350 for the 16-course menu ; $60.00 for two glasses of wine (Bourgogne, different years, $40 & $20) ; $10 for sparkling water (Badoit, 1 liter). Then, there was tax (7.75% @ $32.55). The sub-total comes to $452.55. The tip/gratuity (20% @ $85, which I decided on. It was not included in the bill) makes the grand total $537.55. And it was worth it. For me, this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime dining experience.

The restaurant will present you with a choice of the 6-course menu and the 16-course meenu. There is an a la carte menu. You must ask for it.

Edited by rjwong, 10 May 2006 - 08:47 AM.

[nightscotsman]

I think Kai was asking specifially about L'Atelier, which Alana was also referring to. It is expensive, but significanly less than Robuchon at the Mansion (which is where the photos above were taken). I think the tasting menu is a good value at $105 (last time I checked), with 9 courses including 2 desserts. You can get away cheaper going ala carte, though you may not get as much food, and the tasting is a good overview of the some of the best dishes. You can also save a bit of money by ordering a glass or two of wine or a cocktail instead of a bottle.

[EricB]

Hello all. This is my first post here and I'm very excited to add another voice to the discussions on Egullet.

I thought I'd share some thoughts on the experience my wife and I had on a recent visit to L'Altelier since our interest was piqued by many of the posts here. First of all, the space is visually stunning. The open kitchen and the interaction with the staff made for a very unusual and exciting experience. However, I was surprised to find that the restaurant wasn't more sheltered from the casino floor. The glass door to the casino was left open through much of our dinner and the noise and smoke spilled in, to the detriment of the experience. I understand that Vegas is about gambling first and foremost, but to have no significant seperation between the dining room and the slot machines was a bit off putting.

We both opted for the tasting menu and, after discussing the wine list with our server, decided on a nice Oregon Pinot which he highly reccomended, only to discover they had just sold the last bottle. We ended up taking our servers advice and spending a bit more on a very nice Burgundy, although we were both dissapointed that there was no suggestion of offering at the same price as his earlier selection. However, the bread soon arrived and that went a long way towards appeasing us. The bread was simply fabulous. I could have made due with bread, wine and butter and been totally satisfied. To an extent, I wish I had.

We were soon into our tasting menus and to be honest, we were both underwhellemed. The cucumber glele amuse was interesting, if unspectacular. This was followed by a very tasty roquette salad gaspacho.

The third course was asparagus with King crab salad and sea urchin dressing and was a downright letdown. Subtle flavors are one thing, bland another. This dish lacked any bright flavors or highlights and came across as a bit of an afterthought. Very dissapointing. Also, by this time in our service, new dishes were coming before the prior course had been cleared. We ended up needing to pass our empty plates to our server to make room for the following course. Frankly, at this level, I expect the servers to clear my plate for me. Again, not a huge deal, but dissapointing.

The oyster course that followed was well executed and the egg cocotte was as good as advertised earlier in this thread. We enjoyed the slightly smoked salmon which was served with a very light watercress dressing.

For our "main courses" my wife selected the quail stuffed with foie gras which was terrific, as were the truffled-mashed potatoes that accompanied it. I ordered the confit of duck "parmentier" which I was shocked to discover was served with the exact same mushrooms as were served with the egg cocotte. I really found it baffling that flavors would be repeated just two courses apart in a menu that was otherwise so cleverly planned (if not concieved.)

The deserts which followed were nice, though not memorable and, by the time coffe was offered, most of the other diners around us were fielding cell phone calls so we decided to call it a night. All in all, after tax and tip and one bottle of wine, the tab came to over $500. To be perfectly frank, I would have been uncomfortable paying half that much had I known in advance what the experience would be like. Between the noise from casino, the bussing our own plates and the very odd choice of paper placemats (a minor detail, but come on, paper placemats?) I'm left with a very poor memory of what I hoped would have been a very special meal. To be fair, some of the dishes were as good as advertised, but on the whole, I really don't think that L'Altelier lived up the the Robuchon name.

Apologies for such a long winded first post, but I really felt that my experience, while perhaps unique, might add a little something to the discussion here. And again, it's great to be on board.

Eric

[edited for clarity]

Edited by EricB, 24 May 2006 - 02:49 PM.

[Chef Metcalf]

We were in last Wednesday and the service was extremely attentive, to the point of answering all my food ingredient and procedure questions to the extent of the sous vide temperatures that were used.

Although I will agree with you that a few of the courses were lacking in robust flavours (crab and asparagus), once the foie stuffed quail came out, all was forgiven.
That was an amazing dish.

Pictures to follow.

Edited to answer someone's query above about the price of the tasting menu...$125.00 per.

Edited by Chef Metcalf, 25 May 2006 - 10:16 PM.

[Chef Metcalf]

They may paper, but we thought it suited the casual atmosphere.


Chilled gazpacho with croutons
The tomato flavour was as intense as the smell of a freshly picked tomato from the garden.


Green asparagus with King crab salad and sea urchin dressing.
I agree that this one was a little underwelming and I never didn't get any taste of sea urchin in the dressing.


Poached baby kussi oysters with French Echire salted butter
I can still taste the butter, and the oysters were sweet and fresh. :) But I would have enjoyed this dish more if I didn't have to detach the oysters from the shell myself (sorry, but I have a strong aversion to any sort of food prep at the table while dining out unless I'm in a much more casual place).


It was great to be close up to watch the action in the kitchen with this sort of a dinner. As I said upthread, the service from our waiter and the serveral other members of the staff, including the sous chef, who brought round courses for us and answered numerous food related questions was topnotch.


Egg cocotte topped with a light mushroom cream sauce
Amazingly soft, creamy and lucious. If they were open for breakfast we would have been waiting at the door.


Slightly smoked salmon served warm with watercress dressing
I enjoyed the way the peppery watercress played off the smokiness of the salmon.


Free-range quail stuffed with foie gras and served with truffled-mashed potatoes
Okay, this one was our absolute favourite. It's now on our top ten list and if we went back we would order the dinner sized portion ($25.00 small plate, as seen above, or $45.00 for the dinner sized portion roughly twice the size).The quail is marinated in a soy and garlic combination, then the foie is done separately sous vide, then stuffed in the marinated quail, then sous vide to finish. The sauce had a perfect hint of the soy garlic flavours. Truffled-mashed potatoes were as rich and decandent as you would imagine.

Strawberries flavoured with basil, Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream.
I'm missing a picture of the dessert course prior to this which was an assortment of red fruits with tequilla sorbet. The Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream was perfect.

Many thanks for the head ups on this one nightscotsman.

Edited by Chef Metcalf, 25 May 2006 - 11:36 PM.

[kai-m]

PS: I've written the following report before seeing that others have already described almost the exact same tasting menu (and with pictures!).
But I'll leave my notes as they are, even though it might a bit redundant.
--
We went to L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon on May 10th. It was a unique if somewhat mixed experience.
We arrived at 9:45 p.m., front desk lady who seated us was extremely nice and friendly, as was our waiter and everyone else with whom we had personal contact, including the chef who made a round later the evening. The seating at the "sushi-bar" is unusual, but we liked it, since it was something completely different for this kind of "fine dining" (only really negative point about the design of the place is the uncomfortable air/"wind" you constantly get from the large opened front door - this should not be the case in a restaurant like that...).

We took the "Discovery menu", which, according to the menu, consists of 9 courses. But it is only 8, really - because I refuse to count the "amuse" as a menu-course (and I find it pretty strange that Robuchon does so, since I cannot imagine him doing that in his european restaurants...).

So here we go:

L'AMUSE-BOUCHE
Cucumber gelee tarragon cream, cumin yogurt

Nice if unspectacular amuse. But nicely balanced exotic flavors and not to heavy.

LA ROQUETTE
Roquette salad gaspacho and tofu, black olive toast

Again: just nice. Would have been way better had it been more then the 3 teaspoons we got - because a gaspacho, in my opinion, has to savored on larger spoons to really "fill" your mouth to give a real good impression of the taste and texture. (The teaspoons that are used at the Atelier are particulary bad, because they are way too "deep" which made it real difficult to get all the rather thick liquid out of them - a job that distracted even more from the tasting experience...). The excellent olive toast added some nice contrast in texture.

L'ASPERGE VERTE
Green asparagus with King crab salad and sea urchin dressing

That dish was a joke. Really. Out of the kitchen came a plate with 1 single asparagus on it. Accompanied by a few drops of dressing and some crab meat. It looked more like a satire of those tiny mid-80s nouvelle cuisine dishes...(Again I dare say that Robuchon would not dare to present such a ridiculous portion/bland dish to his customers in france. But I might be proven wrong...)
Oh yeah, the taste was, well, it was...okay...I mean...yes, sure....

At this point we started wondering if coming to the Atelier was a mistake - and if, at 125$ per menu, it would be possible that we leave the place hungry...

BUT then, to our great delight, the kitchen seemed to "start over"...

LES HUITRES
3 Poached baby kumamoto oysters with French "Echire” salted butter

Excellent, just simply excellent! Iam no great oyster fan, but this dish...wow! Never before have I eaten such good oysters. The butter and the natural "oyster water" kind of melted together to become a sauce that was so delicious..."Thats how oysters have to taste" was my initial enthusiastic thought. And it was such a "simple" dish that just focused on the excellent product and added just a tiny little something (the first rate butter) to turn it into something spectacular...

L'OUEF
Egg cocotte topped with a light mushroom cream and morel mushrooms

Again, a simply stunning dish in the style of Adria or Blumenthal! Words fail me to describe the experience. You have to try it yourself.

LE SAUMON
Slightly smoked salmon served warm with watercress dressing

And again: an unforgettbable dish, simple as it was, thanks to the amazing quality of the salmon - not to forget the 4 incredibly flavorful potato slices, which, unfortunately, very pretty tiny (again!).
Once again I thought: "That's exactly how salmon/potatos should taste".

LA CAILLE
Free-range quail stuffed with foie gras, and served with a truffled potato purée.

Very good, though very classical (and again very tiny) dish. The quail was of excellent quality, but the hudson valley foie gras (of which there was really not that much, as you can imagine...) was not as tasty as the one Iam used to from europe, I have to say. A very nice, deepening touch was the small mixed-herbs-salad that came as a side, though.
The truffled potato purée was very flavorful as well, but given the chefs focus on first rate products it surprised me that he seemingly didn't use (only) real truffles, but at least *added* truffle-oil (correct me if I'm wrong!).
Anyways a very pleasing dish.

LE MULTIVITAMINE
Assortment of red fruits, Tequila sorbet

Nothing special. The "assortment", as far as I remember, consisted only of raspberries. They were of excellent quality (as expected), but the sorbet didn't leave a lasting impression.

LA FRAISE
Strawberries, flavored with basil, Tahitian vanilla ice cream

Again an extremely simple, classical dish, prepared to tasty results, thanks to excellent product quality. (I expected a bit more, though, from the "flavored with basil" than a tiny leaf of basil plucked on top of the icecream...)


Summary:
I wouldn't want to miss the experience, for I had 3 unforgettable courses (oysters; salmon; egg)
But there were serious problems with the balance of the menu as a whole: a disappointing start and a disappointing finish: the 2 desserts, tasty as they were, were virtually the same thing in texture, temperatur and overall composition - I wonder what the chef thought, putting these 2 back to back. Especially since neither of them was very original: icecream with red berries...

The finish was all the more disappointing since we constantly saw other desserts coming out of the kitchen that looked far more interesting and daring. This might be just me, but if I order the "tasting" or "discovery (!) menu", I expect to be presented the most original and daring dishes the chef has to offer - not berries with ice cream (twice!), no matter how well prepared... In short: we felt a bit cheated at this moment.

Same feeling came from the manque of petit fours with the coffee, whereas other diners (who probably had ordered a la carte) seemed to get loads of them...very strange...(but I might be mistaken here).

And not to forget that the whole dinner was over pretty quick: we were in and out in way less than 2 hours.

So once again: I do not regret the experience at all, we had an extremely entertaining evening. And if the tasting menu was, say, 90$ I wouldn't complain.
But for 125$plus tax&tip I can get the tasting menu at the majority of the european michelin-3*-places, be seated and treated like royalty and dine for 3-4 hours (without getting the check right after finishing my coffee...).

But okay, this is not europe, this is las vegas, where everything is a bit more expensive...

So my advice is: if you go to the Atelier, take a good look at the tasting menu and the á la carte menu and exchange several dishes if you have a feeling that they could be "boring". This way you will most probably experience an unforgettable, if pretty short, evening...

--
(edited for clarity)

Edited by kai-m, 26 May 2006 - 11:20 AM.

[Robin Meredith]

We ate at both the Atelier and the formal dining room during our last visit to Las Vegas, and came away simply appalled by the Atelier (I actually carried the receipt for our meal around with me for several months to jog my memory for the excoriating post I was planning on writing).

In the interest of full disclosure, I had one of the two greatest meals of my life at Jamin in Paris, so my expectations may have been somewhat inflated. Neither restaurant comes close to that standard, but the formal dining room delivers an elegant and thoughtful (in some ways almost cerebral) experience that I would gladly repeat. Others have mentioned the curious practice of counting the amuse as one of the courses on the menu - I was also somewhat taken aback by this. Be forewarned that there are two dining areas with dramatically different settings - the main room is an absolutely lovely jewel box, but the garden room on the side is considerably less attractive (and actually somewhat humid on the night we were there due to all the foliage). I strongly recommend requesting a table in the main room when making reservations.

Back to the Atelier - we found our meal there to be a shockingly poor value. Prices and portions occasionally bordered on offensive, preparations were uneven in both concept and execution, and the novelty aspect of the counter setting wore off pretty quickly. I wish I'd followed through on my resolution to write this up while the meal was still fresh in my mind, but I can say that I will absolutely not return given the number of other choices available in LV (in a completely different vein, our meal at Rosemary's the next evening was dramatically more enjoyable at about half the price, even with a pricey bottle of Sea Smoke Pinot Noir).

It's great to have Chef Robuchon in the States - I suspect his goals and aesthetics have taken a different turn, but on a purely selfish level I hope that he someday finds a way to replicate the Jamin/Robuchon experience in one of his new establishments.

[DutchMuse]

It was with a more than slight sense of sadness but not outright dissatisfaction that I left my dinner at Joel Robuchon at The Mansion in Las Vegas this past weekend. This is because I had the pleasure of having dined at Jamin, Robuchon’s restaurant in Paris that was so acclaimed, and his follow-up venture, Robuchon, that opened in Paris when Jamin closed. Having eaten at these restaurants, eating at Robuchon at The Mansion was a bit like looking at a copy of a wonderful art masterpiece produced by a not so talented student.

The setting: The room seats something like 64 guests, and is both elegant but a bit tawdry in a Vegas style of elegance. There is a slight purple hue to the banquettes and walls that are underneath a large, elegant and somewhat gaudy chandelier. It really is well designed as a lovely, relaxing venue for a wonderful meal set right in the heart of Las Vegas.

The staff: The general manager was polite, friendly, professional and on top of things. When I informed him that my partner did not eat seafood and we had been told the chef could create a different tasting menu for him, the GM said, “Yes, we are prepared for that.” “Ah, they told you” I said (we had stopped in earlier in the day and one of the staff made note of this request.) “I know everything” he said with a polite, reassuring smile. The head waiter was polite, friendly without being familiar, and professional. Together, the GM and the head waiter made a wonderful team. The waiter was also very good, but made a few missteps along the way, for instance at one point clearing my plate while my partner was still eating his course. But overall, the staff is clearly at a *** level.

Other patrons: This is Las Vegas, after all. The menu out front states “jackets required” but the evening we were there, only about 1/3 to ½ of the gentleman dining were in jackets (no one in a suit but us, the other men wearing jackets all wore sport coats) and the rest were in shirtsleeves with one patron in a white t-shirt and blue jeans (his dining companion in shorts). Towards the end of the evening, a group of 6 persons came to dine, and upon seeing the petit fours cart between the entryway and the dining room, they descended upon the cart, picking up chocolates and dried apricots from the cart with their fingers, putting them in their mouths. Upon seeing this, our waiter excused himself from our table and proceeded over to advise them this was for later, between dessert and coffee.

The meal: For this dinner, my partner and I chose the 6 course menu, feeling the 18 course would be too much. The food was good but not great; fine but not outstanding or memorable. I felt the food was lacking in creativity and spark, too much a “paint by number” in an attempt to replicate recipes obviously given to the chef by M. Robuchon. As an example, my first course after an amuse was two large steamed green asparagus spears with oscetra caviar—a small canal had been carved into the stalk and the caviar placed therein. Since my companion did not eat seafood, the chef served him three steamed asparagus stalks sans caviar in place of the two I had been given. The lack of creativity was remarkable, to me, for a restaurant of this caliber. My next course was a lobster in a saffron bouillon. This was the course of the night for me. The lobster was perfectly cooked, and the bouillon rich with depth and layers of flavor. There was a thin piece of a toasted saffron chip (made of a thin, crispy substance—I’m not sure what) on top. The entire dish worked, and more than made up for the banal quality of the asparagus.

(Mention should be made of the bread cart, filled with many types of bread, from proper baguettes, to cheese brioche rolls, and various others; quite nice).

Next was a pan fried sea bass with a lemon grass foam and stewed baby leeks. Though the lemon grass foam was very nice, the fish was slightly overcooked and decidedly dry. The baby leeks were so tough (fortunately they were not overcooked but I had to struggle to cut them) that they required the larger knife to cut and provided an unpleasant chewiness to the more delicate fish. The dryness of the fish torpedoed the dish for me, unfortunately.

The courses were moving along at a fairly rapid clip, and I asked the waiter if he might “slow it down a bit.” “We just have the veal course and then dessert, but sure” he replied. Along came a sautéed veal chop, sweetbread with jus, morels and asparagus. The jus was very thin as a layer on the plate, and as the plate was brought to the table having been warmed, the thin layer dried very quickly, leaving a nice, tender and thin piece of veal on top of a dark, dried crust. The veal was very nice, but I felt the elements didn’t combine well into a great whole.

Though it was not on the menu, we asked if the restaurant had a cheese course, and the staff diligently brought a lovely cheese cart with beautiful epoisse, St. Nectaire, 5 different chevres, two blue cheeses, and two or three others. This was done quite well, though the cheeses were quite cold when served (“we don’t have many people ask for this because most order the 18 course menu and they don’t have room for cheese” the waiter said). The cheese course was quite nice once they warmed a bit.

Dessert was a raspberry gelee with raspberries and sake. "This is it?" my companion asked. "No, you'll see--this is before the main dessert." I had thought this was a prelude to a more complex dessert, as I distinctly recall at Robuchon’s restaurant in Paris, but it was not to be. This was the dessert; it was fine but not memorable. I had mistaken it for a palate cleanser.

I asked for tea, and a tray of many varieties of loose leaf tea was presented. I chose the Assam, and it was lovely, a nice way to end the night. The now infamous petit fours cart was brought, but by this point we were sated.

Wine list: Get out the black card for this one. A Rousseau Charmes Chambertin 1999 that currently sells for $77.00/bottle on winesearcher is on the list for over $400.00, and the more classic burgundies are listed at generally all over $1,000/bottle. A few Bordeaux are priced less, in the $300 range. The restaurant has about a dozen half bottles of white as well as red, and also magnums and some even larger format bottles, all at prices that require winning the lottery at the nearby casino.

Summary: Certainly a strong but, eventually uninspired, showing. The staff is talented and well trained. The chef seems to be following his instructions but without a spirit of creativity. I’m not sure how I would have reacted to the restaurant had I not experienced Robuchon’s cooking before, but having done so, this was an uninspired copy that did not replicate the original.

[rjwong]

Here is the link to my dinner post at Robuchon at the Mansion.

DutchMuse, while I'll still say that this dinner is the best meal I have ever had, I have never eaten at any of the other Robuchon restaurants. As I read your dining experience, I couldn't help wondering whether eating at one of his Paris restaurants would be so much better.

I will admit that I am relatively young, in terms of my culinary adventure. I'm still in a "joy of discovery" mode right now. The dishes I had from the 16-course menu were all new to me.

DuthMuse, yes, "this is Las Vegas, mon." One would hope that diners who are planning to eat at Robuchon at the Mansion would act accordingly ...

[molto e]

With one step into Robuchon at the Mansion and its swank art deco interior design by Pierre-Yves Rochon, one is taken far away from the hustle and bustle of the MGM Grand’s casino.


The Bar is located immediately to the left of the greeting area.


Main dining room


The private dining room looks out into the garden.


The garden dining area is located to the right of the main dining room.

I sat in the garden dining room and was presented with the menus.







I could as easily have been seated in any of the “Palace” hotels in Paris. The meal started with an offer of champagne and I tried a glass by Bruno Paillard, a small producer and friend of JR’s. Robuchon’s cuisine is about the best ingredients, and the menu is created with the help of the finest purveyors in the world. No expense is spared to bring the best to the plate, no matter how difficult it is to procure. An example of this is the butter; Eschire butter from France, it is sent fresh from France on a plane rather than shipping it frozen. Chef Le Tohic says that the butter “loses a little bit by freezing it”, and they would never do that. All I can say is that the butter is the best that I have ever tasted in my life!


The bread cart was more spectacular than any that I have seen in Paris and the quality was PHENOMENAL. This came as no surprise, as The Bakery Chef was trained in Paris.




The amuse, a very tasty “caviar” of apple with vodka granite, was surprising in it’s use of modern technique in the dish. Clearly Robuchon has lost none of his magic, but rather has kept his finger on the pulse of today’s culinary culture.



La Pomme: Caviar of apple finished with vodka granite

The combination of the apple and vodka granite opened the pores in your mouth and cleaned the palate and makes a very tasty combination.
The apple caviar is made by combining a mixture of apple juice and sodium alginate and putting drops of this solution into a calcium chloride bath to form the caviar.





Calcium Chloride




Ready for service






2nd Course: Le Caviar Oscietre
Oscetra caviar with haricots verts salad, lemon grass




This was one of my favorites of the night. I have not eaten Haricot Vert that was cooked better than this!! The Haricot Vert were dressed with sliced Parmigiano Reggiano, shallots and eggs mimosa (sieved egg white and yolk). The combination of caviar, crème fraiche and the Haricot Vert was heavenly.

3rd Course: Le Foie Gras
Foie Gras, mille-feuille of smoked eel with oriental flavors



The craftsmanship of the kitchen was front and center in this dish, and was one of my favorites of the night. The mille-feuille was perfectly assembled. The combination of the smoked eel, foie gras, and black truffle crème fraiche was decadent. Some of the inspiration of this dish came from Chef Tomonori Danzaki.

4th Course: Le Thon
Big Eye Tuna tartar, cold red bell pepper confit with bergamot and prosciutto



Robuchon has a home in Alicante, Spain where he spends a few months a year and this dish shows the Spanish influence in his cuisine. This is the first time that I have had tuna tartar with a Spanish flavor set and I loved it. The tartar was topped with a quail egg and and the yellow sauce on the plate is yellow pepper coulis.

Below are photos of this dish being plated. The attention to detail in Robuchon’s dishes is astounding.

The tiny matchsticks of prosciutto are cut every day.


No shaky hands in Robuchon’s kitchen!

The yellow pepper coulis being plated

5th Course: Le Truffe
Truffle in a hot pastry, onions, and smoked ham




I ate this in the height of truffle season and it was marvelous. Le Truffe was another of my favorite courses of the evening. This was essentially a black truffle pizzetta, and only JR serves up the truffles like this without abandon. Robuchon at the Mansion was going through 10 kilos of black truffle a week; YES A WEEK, during Truffle season. The shipments are so enormous that some of the Chefs in the kitchen have pictures of the truffle delivery as their screen saver on their phones.

6th Course: Le Parmigiano Reggiano
Parmesan and vegetable consommé with black truffle


The dish is presented covered.


The cover is lifted to reveal the black truffle speckled froth

At the bottom of the bowl was parmesan custard in a sweet onion veloute under an onion froth that is speckled with black truffle. We were instructed to eat the custard and the consommé together as one bite.

7th Course: L’Epinard
Mille Feuille of spinach, truffles and tofu, parsley coulis, Parmesan Tuille, Comte Foam



Tofu is not something that I seek out, but this was very good.

8th Course: Les Aromates
Medley of aromates in a mild spicy broth





This light chicken consommé contained ginger, herbs, diced tomatoes and noodles. I enjoyed the course and it was an excellent prelude to what came next.

9th Course: La Grenouille
Frog leg fritter with baby chanterelles



The finger bowl that accompanied this course

The frog leg fritter was amazing. It was so delicate and delicious with garlic and parsley coulis in the middle of the plate for dipping. This was one of my all time favorite frog leg preparations.

10th Course: L’Amadai
Amadai in a lily bulb broth



Amadai is Japanese snapper cooked scale on placed in a lily bulb broth topped with baby leeks. The fish was cooked perfectly with nicely crisped skin.

11th Course: Le Turbot
Roasted turbot “on the bone” with celery and truffle stew

The course was presented like this.



The turbot is from Brittany cooked on the bone with celeriac, truffle vinaigrette fingerling potatoes. The components of the dish complemented each other well. This was a great dish.

12th Course: Le Homard de Bretagne
Brittany lobster under a disappearing saffron hostie in a seafood bouillon


The Brittany lobster is under the hostie that is made from foie gras butter and mineral water.


The seafood bouillon is then poured in and the hostie melts



The rosemary twig that is wrapped up into a broom is then swirled in the cup. The rosemary twigs are wrapped up everyday before service.

The foie gras butter with the lobster makes this a luxurious broth.

13th Course: Le Canard
Duck confit with potatoes, truffled cappuccino



Hidden below the potato foam- Robuchon’s Pommes Puree and duck confit. Does it get any better???

If you have not tasted Robuchon’s Pommes Puree then it is hard to imagine heaven in a mashed potato, but believe me, this is it! This was so good. A lot of “yum’s” took place while eating this dish.

14th Course: L’Epeautre
Sault wild oatmeal, gold leaf, truffle vinaigrette





This wild oat meal from Sault was kind of like savory oatmeal.

Cheese Course:




Outstanding cheese selection all served at the proper temperature and ripeness. The highlight was a Vacherin-Mont D’Or {Haut Doubs}

15th Course: Le Coing (The Card)
Quince compote Amaretto, ginger ice cream, yogurt and Champagne Mousse



In this dish, the skill of Chef Guechida was evident. Champagne yogurt mousse with pearls of milk chocolate, green apple sorbet and two white chocolate cards that sandwich quince and apple compote. Eating the green apple sorbet was like biting into a green apple. The craftsmanship of the white chocolate cards was perfect.

16th Course: Le Chocolat
Warm chocolate, coffee perfumed cocoa morsels


The cup was placed down and then a warm chocolate sauce was poured over to melt in.


Very rich chocolate and the perfect way to end the meal…. but did someone mention Mignardises?




This was grander than any Mignardise cart in Paris. The table was awestruck.



On the plate from left to right, top to bottom: raspberry macaron, pistachio financier with amarena cherry, speculos cookie with hazelnut filling, passion fruit filled chocolate (or possibly pistachio), soft caramel, caramel filled chocolate, cannelé, opera cake, and mendiant (chocolate with dried fruit filling).

Other items on the cart: chocolate covered almonds, coconut macaroons, passion fruit pate de fruit, white chocolate/coconut truffles, dark chocolate truffles, mint chocolate sticks, crisp meringues with crushed French pralines, crisp sake meringues, orange macarons, red wine tuiles, cocoa nib chocolate tuiles, financiers, almond nougat, chocolate nougat, green apple marshmallow, black truffle dusted rochers, lemon cream filled chocolate cups.

The quality of the mignardises was great, but I could only try a few and dream about the next time...

Robuchon at the Mansion was better than any 3 star dining I have enjoyed in Paris. This was an amazing meal and I look forward to witnessing the evolution of the restaurant. The front of the house led by Loic Launay is attentive and informed without being intrusive. Chef Claude Le Tohic leads an impressive brigade of chefs in delivering the Robuchon experience to the American diner. Gamal Aziz deserves high praise for luring one of the great Chefs of all time to the United States. If the initial reaction to Robuchon at the Mansion is any indicator, then the sky is the limit!

Robuchon’s restaurants fall into three categories:

Fine Dining
China- Robuchon A Galera
Tokyo - Chateau Restaurant Joel Robuchon
Las Vegas - Robuchon at the Mansion

Middle Tier
Monaco - Joel Robuchon Monte Carlo
Paris - La Table de Joel Robuchon

Informal
Atelier - Paris, Tokyo, Las Vegas and New York.

Edited by molto e, 05 July 2006 - 04:21 PM.

[molto e]

When I was in Paris, I ate at L' Atelier de Joel Robuchon and I loved it. So when I went to Las Vegas, I wondered if it could possibly be as good and if there would be a difference in the Vegas version. The look of the Paris and Vegas restaurants are very similar.



This is the view of the entrance in the MGM Grand.



This is the view of the entrance on 7, rue de Montalembert in the Hotel Pont Royal in Paris.



This little guy did not make the trip to the USA as the rotisserie did not feature a pig as it did in Paris.



These are interior shots of the restaurant in Las Vegas.

The best place to sit at L' Atelier is at the counter so you can watch the "show" in a front row seat. This is like sitting at a sushi bar with your meal being prepared in front of you.





Those shots are from the Paris L'Atelier. While dining at the Vegas Atelier, I ate at a table rather than the counter. If you go in a big group sitting at a table is better for conversation.

The dining options at Atelier are either a tasting menu or the regular menu that is divided into "Small Tasting Portions", "Hot and Cold Appetizers" and "Fish and Meats".



The tasting menu that was offered that night.




We choose to order off the regular menus with a few addtions from the tasting menu. We let Diego Requena, sommelier/ Assistant General Manager, choose our wines and they were fantastic (a white from Portugal and a red from Spain-Mauro).


LE JAMBON escorte de pain toaste a la tomate



"Prosciutto" ham served with toasted tomato bread


Robuchon would prefer to use Spanish Iberico ham, but right now it is not permitted to be imported into the USA. I have a couple of photos from Paris L'Atelier that serves the Spanish Iberico from Joselito Brothers, which is also a favorite of Ferran Adria.




Notice in the Spanish ham how much marbling there is.

The next dish is one of the best dishes that I have tasted this year!

LA CHATAIGNE en fin veloute au fumet de celeri et au lard croustillant


Light chestnut veloute with caramelized foie gras and crispy bacon

The combination of the ingredients was divine. This was a dish that made you go Ummmmmm!

LE TOURTEAU releve d'un taboule a la vierge d'agrumes


Crab meat on top of a spicy semolina salad with a citrus dressing


L'ASPERGE VERTE en capuccino truffe


Truffled capuccino of Green asparagus

The star of the dish was the asparagus enhanced by black truffles.


LE FOIE GRAS Parfait de foie gras au sauternes, confit de poire, kumquat et gingembre


Foie gras parfait with sauternes, pear confit, kumquat and ginger

The Foie parfait was delicious stuffed with pear confit, caramelized kumquat, pear chip, pear gastrique sauce and chicken jus on the side.

LE THON ROUGE en ventreche mi-cuite aux rouelles d'oignons croustillantes

Lighty seared tuna belly with crispy onion rings

The tuna belly was seared rare on the Teppanyaki topped with fried onions, capers, olive tapanade with green peppercorns on the side.

LA POMME DE TERRE confite au jus, eschalote et truffe fraiche

Potato confit with shallots and fresh truffles

Any potato dish that Robuchon does is delicious and throwing truffles on top puts this over the top.

LE BOEUF en entrecote tranchee a la taille de votre choix


Beef rib eye (cut to size)

When someone orders this dish, a chef comes out with a huge cut of beef on a slab of marble and the diner picks how big the steak should be cut. The steak is served with the famous Robuchon Pommes Puree.


Pommes Puree from L' Atelier in Paris

L'OEUF cocotte et sa creme legere de champignons



Egg cocotte topped with a light mushroom cream

This bottom of the glass has pureed parsley topped with an egg steam cooked at 64.5 degrees Celcius for 45 minutes covered in a chanterelle mushroom cream and caramelized chanterelles with chives sprinkled on top. Robuchon feels that that method of cooking produces the perfect cooked egg.

LA CAILLE farcie de foie gras et caramelisee avec une pomme puree truffee

Free-range quail stuffed with foie gras and served with truffled-mashed potatoes

This dish was sooo good with the foie stuffed quail and truffle mashed potatoes things do not get much better than that.

LE RUMSTEACK en tartare et ses frites a l' ancienne

Steak tartar with old-fashioned fries


Steak tartar from L'Atelier in Paris

I love steak tartar and JR's version was great. As you can see from the photos of the same dish in Paris and Las Vegas, no matter which Atelier you dine in the quality is the same.

LES SPAGHETTIS a notre facon

Spaghetti carbonara served with parmesan shavings and black truffles

Spaghetti carbonara and black truffles is a match made in heaven!



LES TARTES de tradition



[b]GLACES ET SORBETS Ice cream and sorbet[/b]

[img]http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/1142681841/gallery_30892_2668_383652.jpg[/img]
[b]L'ECLAIR AU CHOCOLAT Classical chocolate Eclair[/b]

[img]http://forums.egulle...2668_463877.jpg
LE CHOCOLAT sensation, cremeux a l'Araguani, biscuit Oreo

L'Atelier is a great place to go and eat like a chef by tasting as many things as possible.

[Curlz]

I can't tell you how happy I am to see that I'm not the only one who spent big bucks at L'Atelier and found it disappointing.
The posts on this thread will fill you in on my experience...
And to this day, I never heard a word from them.