Dining in Las Vegas: Part 1

[Shelby]

Has anyone eaten at any of the restaurants located in The M Resort in Henderson?

[ScoopKW]

I have only dined at the M buffet.

When it first opened it was the best deal in Las Vegas. They have since removed many of the high-dollar proteins (appx. two-thirds of the sushi menu) and it is not quite insane value that it once was.

I would still eat at the buffet, however. It's one of the few places in Las Vegas that offers free beer and wine (stick with the beer).

My favorite buffet is still the Sterling Brunch, Sunday morning, at Bally's. I doubt any resort will be able to knock Sterling off it's pedestal.

EDIT -- NO, it is not possible to stack restaurant.com coupons. One coupon per party.

Edited February 3, 2010 by ScoopKW (log)

[jsmeeker]

Shelby,

Are you staying at M? I visited M back in December, but I wasn't staying there. Just went down there to check it out on a Thursday afternoon. As is typical in Las Vegas resorts, not much is open at lunch. When we were there, just the buffet, the coffee shop, and I guess the deli counter at the sports book. I actually didn't eat at all there since I had a late breakfast at MGM Grand.

The M is a really nice place, though. They seemed to have a good number of places to drink, too. Of course, on a Thursday afternoon, they were pretty much all close. But the beer bar (32 Degree Draft) was open. That's a good place if you like beer.

ScoopKW,

The Bellagio was running a special Sunday Brunch at Jasmine (a Chinese restaurant that is typically only open for dinner). It was pretty high end, kind of like the Sterling Brunch across the street at Bally's. Wasn't quite as expensive as I recall. However, it looks like it's coming to an end soon, being replaced with Dim Sum.

[nextguy]

Would you guys say the Michelin experience is worth it? I am trying to decide between either Robuchon or L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy or the Guy Savoy bar. I realize they share the same kitchen (or at least I think they do) so what it comes down to I guess is the level of service. I have never been to a starred restaurant before so what should I expect as the difference? I prefer discrete service and don't really like to be asked every few minutes if I am enjoying my meal. Is that a hallmark of the Michelin experience? I like my waiter to know the menu but I guess that would also be expected of a waiter at L'Atelier or the Guy Savoy bar.

[jsmeeker]

I don't think L'Atelier shares a kitchen with the formal place next door. The L'Atelier kitchen is open to the restaurant and almost all of the seating faces it in a long bar that wraps around the kitchen. Maybe there are some shared spaces for prep and what not, but the dishes being prepared in the L'Atelier kitchen are going to people seated there, and I am pretty sure nothing cooked there is delivered to tables nextdoor.

I think L'Atelier is one of the great deals in Las Vegas to get creative food executed at a very high level in a easy going environment. I really recommend it, stars or no stars. I think I went the first time before Michelin was even rating Las Vegas restaurants.

[Shelby]

Shelby,

Are you staying at M? I visited M back in December, but I wasn't staying there. Just went down there to check it out on a Thursday afternoon. As is typical in Las Vegas resorts, not much is open at lunch. When we were there, just the buffet, the coffee shop, and I guess the deli counter at the sports book. I actually didn't eat at all there since I had a late breakfast at MGM Grand.

The M is a really nice place, though. They seemed to have a good number of places to drink, too. Of course, on a Thursday afternoon, they were pretty much all close. But the beer bar (32 Degree Draft) was open. That's a good place if you like beer.

ScoopKW,

The Bellagio was running a special Sunday Brunch at Jasmine (a Chinese restaurant that is typically only open for dinner). It was pretty high end, kind of like the Sterling Brunch across the street at Bally's. Wasn't quite as expensive as I recall. However, it looks like it's coming to an end soon, being replaced with Dim Sum.

Thank you, Scoop and JsMeeker for your responses.

Yes, I'm staying there during the first weekend of March Madness. I've read that they have a pretty great sports book.

[Aloha Steve]

Going again for two nights the beginning of March to celebrate my Mom's 80th. Its a family tradition to go to Lost Wages for Mom and Dad the last few milestone B-days for both. I cannot, no matter what kind of temper tantrum I throw, get them to stop going to Hugo's Cellar for the celebration meal ahhhhh, LOL. Of course I'd go to the Golden Arches, ammonia and all, just to keep celebrating their birthdays.

My question this time, is the other night, which restaurant at the Venetian get's the most votes for us to go to ? I did Delmonico a couple of years ago and its hard or me to eat meat out these days since I make a pretty good steak and rib roast at home. I plan on having at least a brunch at Bouchon or should I save that for my one dinner ?

Edited February 9, 2010 by Aloha Steve (log)

[Marlene]

Going again for two nights the beginning of March to celebrate my Mom's 80th. Its a family tradition to go to Lost Wages for Mom and Dad the last few milestone B-days for both. I cannot, no matter what kind of temper tantrum I throw, get them to stop going to Hugo's Cellar for the celebration meal ahhhhh, LOL. Of course I'd go to the Golden Arches, ammonia and all, just to keep celebrating their birthdays.

My question this time, is the other night, which restaurant at the Venetian get's the most votes for us to go to ? I did Delmonico a couple of years ago and its hard or me to eat meat out these days since I make a pretty good steak and rib roast at home. I plan on having at least a brunch at Bouchon or should I save that for my one dinner ?

You can't keep me away from Delmonico's when I go, and I do a mean roast and steak myself. I'd go for the parmesan potato chips alone. I'm picking Bouchon for brunch because I think there are better dinner options out there.

[jsmeeker]

Going again for two nights the beginning of March to celebrate my Mom's 80th. Its a family tradition to go to Lost Wages for Mom and Dad the last few milestone B-days for both. I cannot, no matter what kind of temper tantrum I throw, get them to stop going to Hugo's Cellar for the celebration meal ahhhhh, LOL. Of course I'd go to the Golden Arches, ammonia and all, just to keep celebrating their birthdays.

My question this time, is the other night, which restaurant at the Venetian get's the most votes for us to go to ? I did Delmonico a couple of years ago and its hard or me to eat meat out these days since I make a pretty good steak and rib roast at home. I plan on having at least a brunch at Bouchon or should I save that for my one dinner ?

If you did want steak, I would say walk a bit further, past Delmonico and into Palazzo. And then onto Carnevino.

Outside of steak? I can reccommend Enoteca San Marco. It's in the shops above the casino level at Venetian.

[Marlene]

We had dinner last night at Delmonico's, and while the steak was as outstanding as ever, there were several "misses" throughout the evening. The garlic parmesan soup with herbed brioche croutons I ordered, arrived sans crouton's and parmesan.

We had a bottle of Amarone, and three times they had to give us new wine glasses as the glasses were covered in lint.

The wine was not decanted, and the server poured the last of the bottle into our glasses, which contained a fair amount of sediment, rendering the last glass mostly undrinkable.

Service was extremely rushed, and we kept having to "slow the pace down". We were still in and out in just over an hour at that.

Parmesan truffle chips remain one of my favourite things there, and the bone in strip steak was particularly flavourful.

We are off to Okada tonight.

[Aloha Steve]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

[David Ross]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

I've dined there a couple of times and it was pretty disappointing. The last experience was probably two years ago, so I can't base my opinion on a recent experience.

There are other Italian places with better quality food and service at similar or lower prices that I would try before Zeffirino. Some people have trouble with the celebrity-chef places in Las Vegas, but Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, just a few steps from Zeffirino in The Venetian would be a far better choice with a more creative menu.

[Aloha Steve]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, just a few steps from Zeffirino in The Venetian would be a far better choice with a more creative menu.

Well David, one of my favorite musical groups is Blind' Faith' (I'm dating myself I know)

Zeffirino canceled and B&B booked

Many thanks for the info.

[ScoopKW]

B&B is great.

Last time I was there, I noticed that they play entire CDs, start to finish. So long as they don't put on that heavy metal disc Pat Boone made awhile back....

The food is excellent. But one of their pasta dishes was too salty. I ate every bite because it was still delicious, even if over salted. Mario is also one of the few people with the stones to put tripe and brains on the menu in Las Vegas. That's reason enough to go there.

[Aloha Steve]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, just a few steps from Zeffirino in The Venetian would be a far better choice with a more creative menu.

Well David, one of my favorite musical groups is Blind' Faith' (I'm dating myself I know)

Zeffirino canceled and B&B booked

Many thanks for the info.

We went to Bouchon for Brunch the bread was great, the bread pudding type French Toast ok, my Croque Madame and fries were very good, my MIL's corn beef hash with Egg, very good.

B&B's just finished about 1/2 hour ago, party of 7 celebrating my Mom's 80th. I tasted a lot of things, I ordered:

Warm Lamb’s Tongue with Chanterelles and a 3-Minute Egg, I liked the egg and the mushrooms, could not distinguish the taste of tongue in there. It was good.

Beef Cheek Ravioli with Black Truffles and Crushed Duck Liver. Small portion for the $$. Tasted good, sauce very good. Tasted the liver, did not taste the beef or the truffles. I think that I got so spoiled eating fresh, delicious truffle at Le Meurice, last winter that I cannot find it any place else. After all it could have been picked that morning and driven up to Paris. Whatever the case may be, I will not set my sights so high, thinking I will taste it like "that time". And you know that the say about the FIRST time, about a lot of things, maybe that's a factor too.

“Brasato al Barolo” with Horseradish “Gremolata” was my main or my secondi dish and, alas I was disappointed. It was described as a incredibly most, marinated over 8 days in a wine and then slow cooked, short rib off the bone. Yes it was good. However, this past Tuesday I ate at Alan Wong's, arguably the best restaurant we got in Hawaii, had the tasting menu, and the last dish before dessert was a small braised short rib. I was too full to eat it at dinner, so took it home, warmed it up the next day and it was fab and beat the one tonight by a mile.

Service was not quite on as well. 5 of us were seated, drink orders taken, the last two, came in 10 minutes later and were not asked for their drink order for 15 minutes. Perhaps the hostess did not tell the waiter, the rest of the table was now seated. But we did tell the waiter they were on the way, I think he could have been more attentive. We finally asked a busser if he would please send our wait person over, then after a while the other two drink orders were taken. I thought the service was slow, we had to ask for bread we were not offered any first. But hey, we were there at the busiest time of the evening so this should be taken into account. Did the guy earn the $100+. tip we left him?

This by itself was not really off putting as the next part.

I was very disappointed in this last bit here:

I may be off base here please feel free to correct me if I am. I let them know it was my mom's 80th at the time of reservations, at the time of seating and even joked with the waiter about fitting 80 candles in dish.

We were all too full to order dessert. What they did for her, was bring a pitiful little plate of tiny cookies and the chef? wrote in chocolate Happy B-day, I think. The plate was too small to really say and read anything. The bill before tip was around $550., one would think they could put a candle in a $10 dessert and say, if not sing Happy Birthday ! AND, what really was a bummer was two tables away, there was a cake with at lest 10 candles burning on it with about 7 staff were singing Happy B DAY to a person at that table, about 15 minutes before my moms little plate came.

Were my expectations too high, was I incorrect to think a real dessert with a candle was appropriate, to be comped ?

Edited March 7, 2010 by Aloha Steve (log)

[jmolinari]

We ate at B&B a few weeks ago and were also very disappointed. Don't feel like detailing, but quality was not in the right league for the price, and not even close to Babbo. It was also offensively expensive for the portion size and quality of food.

[jsmeeker]

Charlie Trotter's place at Palazzo (Restaurant Charlie and Bar Charlie) has closed. Last service was on Thursday night.

[David Ross]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, just a few steps from Zeffirino in The Venetian would be a far better choice with a more creative menu.

Well David, one of my favorite musical groups is Blind' Faith' (I'm dating myself I know)

Zeffirino canceled and B&B booked

Many thanks for the info.

We went to Bouchon for Brunch the bread was great, the bread pudding type French Toast ok, my Croque Madame and fries were very good, my MIL's corn beef hash with Egg, very good.

B&B's just finished about 1/2 hour ago, party of 7 celebrating my Mom's 80th. I tasted a lot of things, I ordered:

Warm Lamb’s Tongue with Chanterelles and a 3-Minute Egg, I liked the egg and the mushrooms, could not distinguish the taste of tongue in there. It was good.

Beef Cheek Ravioli with Black Truffles and Crushed Duck Liver. Small portion for the $$. Tasted good, sauce very good. Tasted the liver, did not taste the beef or the truffles. I think that I got so spoiled eating fresh, delicious truffle at Le Meurice, last winter that I cannot find it any place else. After all it could have been picked that morning and driven up to Paris. Whatever the case may be, I will not set my sights so high, thinking I will taste it like "that time". And you know that the say about the FIRST time, about a lot of things, maybe that's a factor too.

“Brasato al Barolo” with Horseradish “Gremolata” was my main or my secondi dish and, alas I was disappointed. It was described as a incredibly most, marinated over 8 days in a wine and then slow cooked, short rib off the bone. Yes it was good. However, this past Tuesday I ate at Alan Wong's, arguably the best restaurant we got in Hawaii, had the tasting menu, and the last dish before dessert was a small braised short rib. I was too full to eat it at dinner, so took it home, warmed it up the next day and it was fab and beat the one tonight by a mile.

Service was not quite on as well. 5 of us were seated, drink orders taken, the last two, came in 10 minutes later and were not asked for their drink order for 15 minutes. Perhaps the hostess did not tell the waiter, the rest of the table was now seated. But we did tell the waiter they were on the way, I think he could have been more attentive. We finally asked a busser if he would please send our wait person over, then after a while the other two drink orders were taken. I thought the service was slow, we had to ask for bread we were not offered any first. But hey, we were there at the busiest time of the evening so this should be taken into account. Did the guy earn the $100+. tip we left him?

This by itself was not really off putting as the next part.

I was very disappointed in this last bit here:

I may be off base here please feel free to correct me if I am. I let them know it was my mom's 80th at the time of reservations, at the time of seating and even joked with the waiter about fitting 80 candles in dish.

We were all too full to order dessert. What they did for her, was bring a pitiful little plate of tiny cookies and the chef? wrote in chocolate Happy B-day, I think. The plate was too small to really say and read anything. The bill before tip was around $550., one would think they could put a candle in a $10 dessert and say, if not sing Happy Birthday ! AND, what really was a bummer was two tables away, there was a cake with at lest 10 candles burning on it with about 7 staff were singing Happy B DAY to a person at that table, about 15 minutes before my moms little plate came.

Were my expectations too high, was I incorrect to think a real dessert with a candle was appropriate, to be comped ?

Not at all, your expectations SHOULD have been high--especially given the name over the door and the prices you were paying. And it is egregious given the fact that you were treated differently compared to another table in the dining room. That is simply unacceptable. That was not at all the experience you should have left the restaurant with. Not at all. Part of what sets Las Vegas apart is that it stakes its reputation on creating special experiences for people. Whether the party next to you was VIP's or not, it shouldn't matter and whether you made the notation of the birthday at the time of the reservation or when you walked in the door shouldn't matter. All guests should be treated special on a special occasion. I highly doubt you'll be back and I expect your words here will have an influence on others who may choose not to dine there when they travel to Las Vegas.

I'd recommend a detailed letter to the Management. It won't erase the bitter taste in your mouth, and it may only elicit a "we're sorry, please accept this gift certificate as a token of our sorrow," type of pitiful excuse for your poor experience. (You know, just the type of sad excuse and rebate you'll probably never use). But, in the end, you may feel better for getting it off your chest, and again, you are right for expecting more. Much more.

[Aloha Steve]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, just a few steps from Zeffirino in The Venetian would be a far better choice with a more creative menu.

Well David, one of my favorite musical groups is Blind' Faith' (I'm dating myself I know)

Zeffirino canceled and B&B booked

Many thanks for the info.

We went to Bouchon for Brunch the bread was great, the bread pudding type French Toast ok, my Croque Madame and fries were very good, my MIL's corn beef hash with Egg, very good.

B&B's just finished about 1/2 hour ago, party of 7 celebrating my Mom's 80th. I tasted a lot of things, I ordered:

Warm Lamb’s Tongue with Chanterelles and a 3-Minute Egg, I liked the egg and the mushrooms, could not distinguish the taste of tongue in there. It was good.

Beef Cheek Ravioli with Black Truffles and Crushed Duck Liver. Small portion for the $$. Tasted good, sauce very good. Tasted the liver, did not taste the beef or the truffles. I think that I got so spoiled eating fresh, delicious truffle at Le Meurice, last winter that I cannot find it any place else. After all it could have been picked that morning and driven up to Paris. Whatever the case may be, I will not set my sights so high, thinking I will taste it like "that time". And you know that the say about the FIRST time, about a lot of things, maybe that's a factor too.

“Brasato al Barolo” with Horseradish “Gremolata” was my main or my secondi dish and, alas I was disappointed. It was described as a incredibly most, marinated over 8 days in a wine and then slow cooked, short rib off the bone. Yes it was good. However, this past Tuesday I ate at Alan Wong's, arguably the best restaurant we got in Hawaii, had the tasting menu, and the last dish before dessert was a small braised short rib. I was too full to eat it at dinner, so took it home, warmed it up the next day and it was fab and beat the one tonight by a mile.

Service was not quite on as well. 5 of us were seated, drink orders taken, the last two, came in 10 minutes later and were not asked for their drink order for 15 minutes. Perhaps the hostess did not tell the waiter, the rest of the table was now seated. But we did tell the waiter they were on the way, I think he could have been more attentive. We finally asked a busser if he would please send our wait person over, then after a while the other two drink orders were taken. I thought the service was slow, we had to ask for bread we were not offered any first. But hey, we were there at the busiest time of the evening so this should be taken into account. Did the guy earn the $100+. tip we left him?

This by itself was not really off putting as the next part.

I was very disappointed in this last bit here:

I may be off base here please feel free to correct me if I am. I let them know it was my mom's 80th at the time of reservations, at the time of seating and even joked with the waiter about fitting 80 candles in dish.

We were all too full to order dessert. What they did for her, was bring a pitiful little plate of tiny cookies and the chef? wrote in chocolate Happy B-day, I think. The plate was too small to really say and read anything. The bill before tip was around $550., one would think they could put a candle in a $10 dessert and say, if not sing Happy Birthday ! AND, what really was a bummer was two tables away, there was a cake with at lest 10 candles burning on it with about 7 staff were singing Happy B DAY to a person at that table, about 15 minutes before my moms little plate came.

Were my expectations too high, was I incorrect to think a real dessert with a candle was appropriate, to be comped ?

Not at all, your expectations SHOULD have been high--especially given the name over the door and the prices you were paying. And it is egregious given the fact that you were treated differently compared to another table in the dining room. That is simply unacceptable. That was not at all the experience you should have left the restaurant with. Not at all. Part of what sets Las Vegas apart is that it stakes its reputation on creating special experiences for people. Whether the party next to you was VIP's or not, it shouldn't matter and whether you made the notation of the birthday at the time of the reservation or when you walked in the door shouldn't matter. All guests should be treated special on a special occasion. I highly doubt you'll be back and I expect your words here will have an influence on others who may choose not to dine there when they travel to Las Vegas.

I'd recommend a detailed letter to the Management. It won't erase the bitter taste in your mouth, and it may only elicit a "we're sorry, please accept this gift certificate as a token of our sorrow," type of pitiful excuse for your poor experience. (You know, just the type of sad excuse and rebate you'll probably never use). But, in the end, you may feel better for getting it off your chest, and again, you are right for expecting more. Much more.

Thanks for your comments David.

I was so unsettled that I called the restaurant that night, got the name of the GM and his email address. I wrote him how I felt, gave him the link to my post. I did not bother with a call to action to give me a rebate. He wrote me a long email in return saying: Service was during the height of the rush, which I knew and already told him in my email "I understood that". My family are not the model customers, some patrons are. Have you ever heard the comedy bit by Jackie Mason, how a jew orders his food ? He was observing my family when he wrote it. It is hilarious and as is the case a lot of the time, with bellyaching humor.

All EG's should listen, you will laugh so hard......but anyway

The GM wrote me to say he is sorry my experience was not what it should have been, I should understand it was the hight of the dinner service, told me please contact him when I'm next here, you will be taken care of and made sure to have...yada yada. AND that the restaurant's policy is, not to comp a $8-$12 dessert with a candle and that the table next us bought the cake themselves.

I'm not sure if really read my email. It was NOT inflammatory, accusatory nor contained any swear words. No reason not to have read it though. He did not address what was and still is my biggest 'problem' with dining there that night;

The table next to us had a birthday cake with sparkle candles, 7 staff members and thew rest of the table sang Happy Birthday to this gal, sought of "in front" of us. I had assumed she bought a cake, made arrangements for it to be served with all the fanfare. We did not pay for a cake, I did not expect a cake.

What I had a right to expect was for an expensive restaurant to have someone in the drivers seat during the Sat. night dinner service who could think on his/her feet! The the wait-person, host, management, whomever oversees customers, KNEW it was my Mom's 80TH. I told host at podium and hostess when they seated us, my mom had not arrived yet so I could talk openly. I joked with the waiter about it and he acknowledged my joke. When I made the reservation and confirmed the reservations told whomever I spoke with. EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR MY MOM. To present her, 10 minutes right after the celebrating at the table next to us, with a saucer size plate, with unreadable words in dark chocolate, with cookies the size of my fingernails is just plain not good business sense. At, almost $700 with tip, (remember three of us no alcohol and my mother in law ate one simple pasta dish period) for 7 people........is inexcusable for me to accept. Someone should have thought "hmmmm, how will the guest feel at the next table" "MAYBE, in this case, we should give them a decent dessert and make a little show, so she does not feel bad if she compared her celebratory experience with the guests next to her"

I do not think that the email which the GM sent me means the restaurant will comp me and a companion for dinner. We don't drink alcohol, so drinks and or champagne holds no allure for me or Ginger. But mostly, there are so many GOOD restaurants in that town now, I don't want to waste my time going back. I did not respond to the GM, but now that I have wrote this, if I did not round file his email, I will cut and paste it as my response.

Edited March 21, 2010 by Aloha Steve (log)

[David Ross]

Have reservations for Zeffirino one week from today.

Has anyone dined there and can comment on the experience ?

Mario Batali's B & B Ristorante, just a few steps from Zeffirino in The Venetian would be a far better choice with a more creative menu.

Well David, one of my favorite musical groups is Blind' Faith' (I'm dating myself I know)

Zeffirino canceled and B&B booked

Many thanks for the info.

We went to Bouchon for Brunch the bread was great, the bread pudding type French Toast ok, my Croque Madame and fries were very good, my MIL's corn beef hash with Egg, very good.

B&B's just finished about 1/2 hour ago, party of 7 celebrating my Mom's 80th. I tasted a lot of things, I ordered:

Warm Lamb’s Tongue with Chanterelles and a 3-Minute Egg, I liked the egg and the mushrooms, could not distinguish the taste of tongue in there. It was good.

Beef Cheek Ravioli with Black Truffles and Crushed Duck Liver. Small portion for the $$. Tasted good, sauce very good. Tasted the liver, did not taste the beef or the truffles. I think that I got so spoiled eating fresh, delicious truffle at Le Meurice, last winter that I cannot find it any place else. After all it could have been picked that morning and driven up to Paris. Whatever the case may be, I will not set my sights so high, thinking I will taste it like "that time". And you know that the say about the FIRST time, about a lot of things, maybe that's a factor too.

“Brasato al Barolo” with Horseradish “Gremolata” was my main or my secondi dish and, alas I was disappointed. It was described as a incredibly most, marinated over 8 days in a wine and then slow cooked, short rib off the bone. Yes it was good. However, this past Tuesday I ate at Alan Wong's, arguably the best restaurant we got in Hawaii, had the tasting menu, and the last dish before dessert was a small braised short rib. I was too full to eat it at dinner, so took it home, warmed it up the next day and it was fab and beat the one tonight by a mile.

Service was not quite on as well. 5 of us were seated, drink orders taken, the last two, came in 10 minutes later and were not asked for their drink order for 15 minutes. Perhaps the hostess did not tell the waiter, the rest of the table was now seated. But we did tell the waiter they were on the way, I think he could have been more attentive. We finally asked a busser if he would please send our wait person over, then after a while the other two drink orders were taken. I thought the service was slow, we had to ask for bread we were not offered any first. But hey, we were there at the busiest time of the evening so this should be taken into account. Did the guy earn the $100+. tip we left him?

This by itself was not really off putting as the next part.

I was very disappointed in this last bit here:

I may be off base here please feel free to correct me if I am. I let them know it was my mom's 80th at the time of reservations, at the time of seating and even joked with the waiter about fitting 80 candles in dish.

We were all too full to order dessert. What they did for her, was bring a pitiful little plate of tiny cookies and the chef? wrote in chocolate Happy B-day, I think. The plate was too small to really say and read anything. The bill before tip was around $550., one would think they could put a candle in a $10 dessert and say, if not sing Happy Birthday ! AND, what really was a bummer was two tables away, there was a cake with at lest 10 candles burning on it with about 7 staff were singing Happy B DAY to a person at that table, about 15 minutes before my moms little plate came.

Were my expectations too high, was I incorrect to think a real dessert with a candle was appropriate, to be comped ?

Not at all, your expectations SHOULD have been high--especially given the name over the door and the prices you were paying. And it is egregious given the fact that you were treated differently compared to another table in the dining room. That is simply unacceptable. That was not at all the experience you should have left the restaurant with. Not at all. Part of what sets Las Vegas apart is that it stakes its reputation on creating special experiences for people. Whether the party next to you was VIP's or not, it shouldn't matter and whether you made the notation of the birthday at the time of the reservation or when you walked in the door shouldn't matter. All guests should be treated special on a special occasion. I highly doubt you'll be back and I expect your words here will have an influence on others who may choose not to dine there when they travel to Las Vegas.

I'd recommend a detailed letter to the Management. It won't erase the bitter taste in your mouth, and it may only elicit a "we're sorry, please accept this gift certificate as a token of our sorrow," type of pitiful excuse for your poor experience. (You know, just the type of sad excuse and rebate you'll probably never use). But, in the end, you may feel better for getting it off your chest, and again, you are right for expecting more. Much more.

Thanks for your comments David.

I was so unsettled that I called the restaurant that night, got the name of the GM and his email address. I wrote him how I felt, gave him the link to my post. I did not bother with a call to action to give me a rebate. He wrote me a long email in return saying: Service was during the height of the rush, which I knew and already told him in my email "I understood that". My family are not the model customers, some patrons are. Have you ever heard the comedy bit by Jackie Mason, how a jew orders his food ? He was observing my family when he wrote it. It is hilarious and as is the case a lot of the time, with bellyaching humor.

All EG's should listen, you will laugh so hard......but anyway

The GM wrote me to say he is sorry my experience was not what it should have been, I should understand it was the hight of the dinner service, told me please contact him when I'm next here, you will be taken care of and made sure to have...yada yada. AND that the restaurant's policy is, not to comp a $8-$12 dessert with a candle and that the table next us bought the cake themselves.

I'm not sure if really read my email. It was NOT inflammatory, accusatory nor contained any swear words. No reason not to have read it though. He did not address what was and still is my biggest 'problem' with dining there that night;

The table next to us had a birthday cake with sparkle candles, 7 staff members and thew rest of the table sang Happy Birthday to this gal, sought of "in front" of us. I had assumed she bought a cake, made arrangements for it to be served with all the fanfare. We did not pay for a cake, I did not expect a cake.

What I had a right to expect was for an expensive restaurant to have someone in the drivers seat during the Sat. night dinner service who could think on his/her feet! The the wait-person, host, management, whomever oversees customers, KNEW it was my Mom's 80TH. I told host at podium and hostess when they seated us, my mom had not arrived yet so I could talk openly. I joked with the waiter about it and he acknowledged my joke. When I made the reservation and confirmed the reservations told whomever I spoke with. EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR MY MOM. To present her, 10 minutes right after the celebrating at the table next to us, with a saucer size plate, with unreadable words in dark chocolate, with cookies the size of my fingernails is just plain not good business sense. At, almost $700 with tip, (remember three of us no alcohol and my mother in law ate one simple pasta dish period) for 7 people........is inexcusable for me to accept. Someone should have thought "hmmmm, how will the guest feel at the next table" "MAYBE, in this case, we should give them a decent dessert and make a little show, so she does not feel bad if she compared her celebratory experience with the guests next to her"

I do not think that the email which the GM sent me means the restaurant will comp me and a companion for dinner. We don't drink alcohol, so drinks and or champagne holds no allure for me or Ginger. But mostly, there are so many GOOD restaurants in that town now, I don't want to waste my time going back. I did not respond to the GM, but now that I have wrote this, if I did not round file his email, I will cut and paste it as my response.

You are so absolutely right. I've been in a different end of the Customer Service business for over 30 years and this General Manager is making excuses, excuses, excuses. It didn't matter that the other guests bought the cake or not. It didn't matter that they were at the height of service or not. As you've so clearly pointed out--you left with having a horrible experience. In my business, if my employees--and by association me--if we leave our customers with a poor experience, we failed. When we we fail it doesn't matter if it's a busy day, night, weekend, holiday, whenver, wherever or at whatever time. It doesn't matter if all our seats are full or empty. If we don't meet the expectations we've set as a company, we failed our customers. And if that happens, the business fails.

The GM isn't realizing the point. The point wasn't the fact that the other table brought in the cake and all his staff did was adorn it with a few candles. The point would have been to do something special--to have a standard at his restaurant for a special occasion that, without a lot of cost, would have made your dinner end of a very special note like it did for the other guests. It would have been a matter of standard practice behind the scenes, a matter of employee training and extra care that would have simply made all the difference to you.

This past week some well-known Las Vegas restaurants abruptly closed their doors, in part due to experiences and excuses like you have been given. It's too bad they don't get it.

I'm glad you're one of the consumers who stands up and speaks for what was wrong with your experience. Maybe the staff will learn from what happened.

[David Ross]

Next time you are in Las Vegas, you might want to try Valentino located in The Venetian. Chef Luciano Pellegrino is a James Beard award-winner and his cuisine is superb. I've dined there a number of times, including a private white truffle dinner two years ago that was outstanding. The truffles were flown in fresh from Alba having been picked the day before. In fact the first shipment wasn't up to the Chef's standards so he called for a second shipment!

Tourists often rush to the newer places in town and I regret I didn't include Valentino in my earlier recommendation for you. Pierre Selvaggio owns Valentino and the flagship restaurant in Los Angeles and he is a James Beard winning restrateur. Combined they have decades of experience and Valentino in Las Vegas has withstood the test of time which is rare in that town.

[ellenost]

I recently returned from my annual visit to LV. I tried two new restuarants (Twist and CUT) and returned to my long-time favorite: Alex. We had very high expectations for Twist, and perhaps I ordered the wrong dishes, but I was a bit disappointed. The food is excellent, but a bit too fussy. There were a number of amuses; all were good, but none were memorable. I started with the foie gras degustation since I love everything foie gras, but this was a bit too much even for me. There were four different preparations, and probably one too many. The seared foie gras was a very generous portion and perfectly cooked and delicious. The foie gras terrine was another generous portion, but a bit too sweet. The foie gras croquette was cute. The foie gras custard with lentils didn't work for me--a bit too bland, and the lentils didn't add anything for me. I ordered the lobster tasting, which again had one too many components. All were tasty (although 2 of the dishes were very similar in taste). There was a funny tasting white mint broth that both my sister and didn't care for. While our captain was the model of professionalism, one of the waiters was a bit too casual. I was almost too full for dessert, but since I knew I probably wouldn't be returning any time soon, I decided on the Kerala: tandoori apple, caramel cinnamon ice cream and mango salad (yes, once again one too many components). The apple and ice cream were very good, but the mango salad didn't add anything. The wine list is very expensive. The German Riesling that we ordered could be had at Lotus of Siam for $100 less.

My return visit to Alex was perfect (as usual). This was my fourth dinner at Alex in the past 2 1/2 years, and every time is sensational! This time I ordered the tasting menu (which is not what is currently listed on the Wynn website). We asked our captain if we could change the foie gras preparation to a seared foie gras preparation since the foie gras preparation on the menu was made with pork and my sister doesn't eat pork. No problem. We started with some delicious amuses. Our first course was a scallop crudo with celery salad, purple rice and caviar that was a delicate way to start the evening. This was followed by poached lobster quenelles with cabbage, ramps and crayfish--another delicate winner. We then had the seared foie gras that was perfect. This was followed by the Amadai (I believe this is a Japanese fish). The Amadai was served with crispy sweet potato, littleneck clams, horseradish and a red wine jus. This course was delicious. My favorite (after the foie gras) was next: Japanese Wagyu rib eye (that was even better than the Japanese wagyu ribe eye at CUT). The beef was very flavorful, and the richest and most tender beef I've ever had. The beef was served with fava bean puree, hon shimeji mushrooms and snap pea salad. The palate cleanser was a coconut-ginger tapioca with calamansi gelee that was nice. The dessert was a vanilla napoleon with berries and mint oil, that was just what I wanted after a big and delicious meal. Service was flawless (as usual). Our parting gift was a package of the best macarons ever (yes, even better than those at Per Se). I look forward to many more return visits to Alex!

Our final dinner was at CUT at the Palazzo. We were shown to a large booth even though there were just two of us. Service was very attentive. The pretzel bread and foccaccia were marvelous! We skipped appetizers since we wanted to concentrate on the beef. My sister and I shared the American kobe-style rib eye and the Japanese wagyu rib eye that the kitchen split for us. We paired the beef with sauteed onions (great), sauteed spinach (also great) and the fries (very good). I preferred the Japanese rib eye, and my sister preferred the American rib eye. This was a great way to taste two different yet similar cuts of beef. The crust added a nice texture and great flavor to the beef. Even though I didn't need dessert, I chose the coffee semi freddo and donuts that were wonderful. Definitely plan to return to CUT on my next visit to LV.

In summary, great visit to LV (beautiful weather, great shopping, and great food!).

Edited April 29, 2010 by ellenost (log)

[Mjx]

This topic continues in Dining in Las Vegas: Part 2.