Dining in Las Vegas: Part 1

[maxrev]

obviously you have had about 100 replies right now so you probably have lost interest but I would highly recommend a few restaurants based on many many visits.

Delominco steak house in the venetian: ask for Robert as your waiter and eat the bone in ribeye. This place has the best wine list for my tastes and gives the absolute best service with a personal touch based on the repeat customer.

Alex in the wynn: I just ate there and had one of the most splendid meals ever. Ask for micheal shigemoto as your waiter (one of the best ever) and if you can afford it have the semollier tasting menu. Holy cow it is about as good as it gets. I threw down the gaunlet and let them know that Picasso was my favorite resaurant and they smiled and glady met the challenge. I have to say that the cost easily reflected the product. It measures up and surpases several high end places I have eaten including: Citronelle in DC, Jean George in NYC, and Picasso in Vegas. It is everything that you could possibly look for in a top notch eatery. Just be prepared for a bill that is over 650 for two.... just save up. its worth it.

those are the best. avoid craft steak unless you don't mind the stuffed animal salesmen along the way. The Kobe beef is really good. I have a million others if you are interested but it seems you are already getting a lot if repilies, good luck

[maxrev]

picasso always pleases, the cost of the menu has only changed about 15 bucks in about 5 years and the menu has stayed pretty much the same ( a critique to some) the food always kicks ass and the service is about as good as it gets if you want silent professionals. They really know there stuff and are very consistant year over year. You should step up to the wine pairing and pay a liitle more but it is totally worth it to hear the cool speach about how it matches every nuance of the food. Good luck

sorry, this was in reply to someone mid topic tha tasked about picasso.

Edited March 12, 2006 by maxrev (log)

[maxrev]

11

Edited March 12, 2006 by maxrev (log)

[rjwong]

maxrev,

Welcome to eGullet!

For your information, there are several discussion threads about eating/dining in Las Vegas, from the high-end restaurants down the Strip (and beyond) to the dives of downtown (and more). This discussion thread has been around a while.

As for me, I always have a list of Las Vegas restaurants I need to try, when I have the time and money ... <sigh>

The place to go right now is Joel Robuchon at the Mansion, over at the MGM Grand. It got rave reviews and there is a separate discussion thread about this restaurant. FYI one of our own eGullet members works there ...

[Casey]

Lou, be sure to let us know where you dine and what you thought. I'm especially interested in your dining choice for Sunday--I'm traveling to a professional conference at the end of April, and while I'm likely to dine with friends on some nights, I usually need some "dining alone" time!

Casey

[Suzi Edwards]

Could I get some suggestions for steak in Vegas? I've seen a couple of votes for Delmonicos, would anyone push anywhere else?

Thanks in advance for advice!

[Macarons&Mozart]

For steak- I'd reccommend Prime (Bellagio) Nero's (Caesars Palace). Both do steak excellently, and the sides are wonderful. Nero's bone-in ribeye is the best in the city.

[rjwong]

I second Prime at the Bellagio. It was the best meal on my last trip to Las Vegas back during the 4th of July.

I haven't tried Craft over at the MGM or Smith & Wollensky's. They're on my short list for my next trip. Mind you, other restaurants have priority on my next trip ...

[Marlene]

I have just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. We've eaten at most of the steakhouses now in Vegas, so my list would be like this:

Delmonicos

Prime

S&W

Craft doesn't even make the list in my opinion. Maybe we were there on an off night, but our meal at Craft during this trip was possibly one of the worst we've had in some time. I hope to get around to writing up the various restaurants we visited this time around, and will include my impressions of Craft there.

[Marlene]

So, we're back from 6 nights in Las Vegas. Several restaurant experiences to recount.

Breakfast:

Breakfasts were at one of three places, Bouchon, Wynn's buffet, or the Grand Cafe Lux at the Venetian.

Bouchon was all I could have asked for and more. Hubby had the American breakfast with eggs, bacon and sausage and a choice of breakfast pastry and I had the brioche french toast. I could have eaten that French Toast every day for breakfast, it was that good. I also had a mimosa (for what is a vacation without a mimosa for breakfast) and they definately used a good quality champagne and very fresh squeezed orange juice.

Wynn's buffet gets high marks for very fresh, quality ingredients. While not as extensive as Cravings at the Mirage, they had several sections, Asian, Italian, American etc and everything was fresh. Omelettes were made to order and alongside the Prime Rib, was fresh smoked pork belly.

Grand Cafe Lux. For a place owned an operated by the Cheesecake Factory, I wasn't really expecting outstanding. Well it wasn't, but it was pretty decent. The steak and eggs featured a generous NY strip and three eggs, plus real shredded hash browns. Unfortunately, the place seemed to be understaffed at all times and wait times for food and checks could be a little excessive.

Lunch:

We didn't eat a lot of lunches. Between late breakfasts, and huge dinners, we didn't need too. Two of note, one again at the Grand Cafe Lux and one at the Pinot Brassiere both at the Venetian. The Grand Cafe Lux features some fried chicken that was pretty damn good. It looks like chicken fingers when it arrives, but this is real fried chicken. Served with garlic mashed potatoes, I asked for a side of gravy for the potatoes and got real wonderful beef gravy.

Dinners:

Dinners included, Craftsteak at MGM, Okada at Wynns and Delmonico's at the Venetian. Other nights we either had a show so grabbed a quick bite or were just way to full from a brunch had at 1:30 or 2:00 p.m.

Craftsteak.

I'd been wanting to try this steak place for some time after reading rave reviews of the place. They offer a Charcuterie sampler for an appetizer and I was intrigued enough to order this. I'd like to tell you what was on it, but the guy who served it to us didn't speak enough English to tell us well enough and what he did speak was rattled off so fast, that even though I asked him to repeat it three times, I still didn't get it. I know there was proscuitto and salami, and there were three kinds of mustard. The waitress promised to write it out for us, but never did. Nevertheless, it was pretty good.

Hubby ordered the ribeye and I figured this was my chance to try Kobe beef. American Kobe beef, but still, so I ordered the "platinum rib eye". Don's rib eye, was grisly, scrappy, and way undercooked, (read raw, not rare) and my kobe beef, while decent, wasn't as outstanding as I was expecting. In fact, the dry aged ribeyes I get at Whole Foods had more flavour and tenderness. When Don mentioned his displeasure at his steak, the waitress' response was, "Oh you ordered the grass fed ribeye? I'd never recommend that". Well, where the heck were you when he ordered it? Sides were roasted onions and green beans both of which were pretty good. They also have a very extensive Scotch list and Don could have happily spent the week at the bar, working his way through it. As long as he didn't have to eat there.

Okada at Wynn's.

I had wanted teppanyaki. Specifically, I wanted teppanyaki at the Mikado at the Mirage. Unfortunately, the Mikado, closed their doors permanently in Novemenber. So what was a girl to do? I most definately did not want Benihana's. Enter the Okada at Wynn's. The Okada is actually three restaurants in one. They have a sushi bar, regular japanese restaurant seating and teppanyaki. This is slightly upscale teppanyaki. Instead of the usual shrimp, they served baby scallops. Vegetables included some very fresh asparagus and fried rice was included. The beef tenderloin that I had was extremely tender and the chef didn't skimp on butter or garlic. They paid special attention to my mushroom allergy, making sure he cooked the mushrooms at the very end, after all my food had been cooked. When they served me a miso soup at the beginning with button mushrooms in it, they couldn't do enough to apologize. This is a restaurant that we will definately return to.

Delmonicos

I have written much about Delmonicos and how much I like it. This visit did nothing to change that opinion. Of all the restaurants, this is the only one I took pictures in, (hey, I was on vacation!). They have changed their menu slightly. The amuse boche was a potato ham croquette:

They've added a prime beef and beer cheese fondue to their appetizer list, served with fresh baked pretzel sticks:

They still make their wonderful parmesan potato chips:

Don had the rib eye:

And I had a bleu cheese crusted petite ribeye with buttermilk onion straws, served on mashed potatoes.

I didn't exactly need dessert, but I had to try this bread pudding:

Delmonico's remains my favourite Las Vegas restaurant and one of my top 5 steakhouses overall.

[molto e]

Could I get some suggestions for steak in Vegas? I've seen a couple of votes for Delmonicos, would anyone push anywhere else?

Thanks in advance for advice!

←

Suzi,

Charlie Palmers was just medicore, but nice place and quiet. I liked Prime at the Bellagio, which was good when I ate there.

Delmonico's, I have gone twice once in the dining room and once at the kitchen table and I am not a fan, but obviously there are those that like it.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[ada]

Hi,

I'm staying at Caesar's for three nights. We having dinner at Nero's tonight. Any other must haves at this hotel? We don't have to eat here every night, but since we are fully comped, it would ne nice.

Thanks

[nightscotsman]

Hi,

I'm staying at Caesar's for three nights. We having dinner at Nero's tonight. Any other must haves at this hotel? We don't have to eat here every night, but since we are fully comped, it would ne nice.

Thanks

←

Bradley Ogden for sure. Maybe not the best restaurant on the Strip, but easily the best at Caesars. Mesa Grill isn't bad.

[sand]

Hi,

I'm staying at Caesar's for three nights. We having dinner at Nero's tonight. Any other must haves at this hotel? We don't have to eat here every night, but since we are fully comped, it would ne nice.

Thanks

←

Bradley Ogden for sure. Maybe not the best restaurant on the Strip, but easily the best at Caesars. Mesa Grill isn't bad.

←

Mesa is open for both lunch and dinner. The lunch menu includes "brunch" items as well.

The Italian restaurant might be closed by now.

If you like seafood, 808 offers Hawaiian Pacific influenced fusion dishes.

Bradley Ogden is worth a visit, especially on a comp. Lots of posts on Bradley Ogden, if you want to get an idea about the place.

[Chris Cognac]

Hi,

I'm staying at Caesar's for three nights. We having dinner at Nero's tonight. Any other must haves at this hotel? We don't have to eat here every night, but since we are fully comped, it would ne nice.

Thanks

←

Bradley Ogden for sure. Maybe not the best restaurant on the Strip, but easily the best at Caesars. Mesa Grill isn't bad.

←

Bradley Ogden is amazing....Dave Varley and Bryan Ogden do such an awesome job....Dave makes a mushroom extraction broth that is so good I hhad them serve it to me in a wine glass so I could drink it!

I was lucky to have a 10 course tasting menu a few weeks ago w wine pairings by Bryan Ogden who is quite the expert in choosing great wines w courses...

They are very accomadating to diners food preferences also...I have a great photo from in the kitchen but dont know how to post them anymore.....

Say Hello to Gerald Chin for me and tell him that Bacon Martini at the "double down"was one of the most rancid things I have ever tasted!

[molto e]

Gerald Chin is at Robuchon now

[Chris Cognac]

Gerald Chin is at Robuchon now

←

Yea, I saw that Neil was there also...I got to check out the amazing kitchen at J.R.. those are some serious burners...Gerald said that the kitchen is almost silent during service....

His colleagues have said amazing things about his ability in the kitchen, I think we need to keep an eye on him for the not to distant future...

[ada]

We had a really enjoyable dinner tonight at 808. I've been there several times, and really do like the deconstructed tuna. The service was quick, maybe a bit too quick for me. We rushed because we had tickets to Celine Dion.Regretably the show was cancelled. We could have taken things a little slower had we known.

Anyway, we had the seafood tasting menu. It was fun.

Tomorrow night we have reservations at Bradley Ogden. Hopefully we'll have lunch at Mesa Grill before leaving for home.

Thanks for your help everyone.

[DeVeaux]

We ate at Bouchon when we were in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago - it was excellent.

[kai-m]

Has anyone here ever been to "Fleur de Lys" Las Vegas?

Thanks!

[Macarons&Mozart]

Has anyone here ever been to "Fleur de Lys" Las Vegas?

Thanks!

←

I ate at Fleur de Lys alst summer. The experience was quite enjoyable. While I would hesitate to consider it Vegas' top table, it is certainly one of the city's many highly pleasurable dining rooms. It is dimly lit and romantic, with some private booths with curtains. The only gripe I remember having was that the jazz music playing on the speakers was a bit too loud for the setting. Service was extremely warm.

I would describe the food style as contemporary Californian: fresh, vibrant flavors cooked with French technique, and influenced by Asian, Latin American, and other styles. The menu is organized by the type of dish, i.e. Seafood/Fish, Red Meat, Poultry, etc. You choose a 3, 4, or 5 course menu (the 5th course being cheese). We had the 5 course option. From my notes, here was what we ordered:

Amuse: Fennel Royale, Smoked Salmon Tartare, Olive Oil

1st: Ocean “Baekoff”, Lobster Busque, Crab Cake & Lobster Claw “Sandwich”

2nd: Roasted Salmon, Duck Confit, Black Truffle Vinaigrette

3rd: Veal Tenderloin, Seared Foie Gras, Carrot-Cardamom Emulsion

4th: Domestic and Imported Artisinal Cheeses- Napa Valley Chèvre, Tome de Savoie, Roquefort, Petit Basque

5th: Peach Mousse Cake, Champagne Sabayon, Toasted Brioche, White Chocolate Crème

Petits Fours & Coffee

I seem to remember being happy with the price/value.

[rjwong]

Besides the Robuchon restaurants, what MGM Grand restaurants should I try?

I'll be staying at the MGM Grand, and I''ll receive a $35 dinner credit for any MGM-owned restaurant (which exclude Robuchon). I'm leaving for Las Vegas this Friday through May Day.

Thanks in advance!

[molto e]

Besides the Robuchon restaurants, what MGM Grand restaurants should I try?

I'll be staying at the MGM Grand, and I''ll receive a $35 dinner credit for any MGM-owned restaurant (which exclude Robuchon). I'm leaving for Las Vegas this Friday through May Day.

Thanks in advance!

←

Nobhill or Shibuya

[nightscotsman]

Shibuya.

[iriee]

shibuya for sure. be careful of too mush sake though!