Las Vegas, Memorable Dining Experiences?
 

We would like to enjoy a great dinner during our upcoming trip to Las Vegas. We are not steak eaters, buffet types or sushi fans...enjoy unique foods and experiences with our last experience being Aureole & the wine angels . What is your favorite Las Vegas restaurant -- both in the way of food, decor, and service? Because we have dined at many excellent restaurants throughout the U.S., the full experience is what we are looking for. Friends had mentioned Olives outside dining but food reviews are very mixed....Picasso has a lovely decor, we have never dined in any of the Wynn or Bellagio restaurants, Joel Robuchon sounds interesting, etc. Thanks for your help!

If you like German food and beer try the Hofbrauhaus.
http://www.hofbrauhauslasvegas.com/
The food and service was top notch-the decor, not so much.
My DW and I had a great Christmas dinner there. The full beer stein holding contest was interesting. The entertainer also played the alpenhorn.

I am looking for a "fine" dining experience -- something gourmet. We have many German restaurants in my state and I did mention decor...by that I mean a very nice decor, something that takes your breath away, great view, etc.

Check out Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris Hotel, classic French Bistro, with fabulous views of the Bellagio fountains.

I would arrive at dusk and stay through dark for the full fountain experience. It's important that you be seated outside or near the windows if you are eating inside, otherwise it's a dark Bistro without an exterior view.

Menu below:

http://www.leye.com/files/Menus/MAG.Dinner.4.22.11.pdf

I'd suggest posting on the Vegas Chowhound.com board. Here's another great site with plenty of first-hand info on over 90 Vegas restaurants ... http://home.comcast.net/~lasvegasvac...rantGuide.html ... Larry's top three fine dining picks were Robuchon, Guy Savoy and Alex (which closed earlier this year), followed by Picasso.

Last year we dined at Robuchon three times (the main fine dining one, not L'Atelier) ... one meal was absolutely fantastic, as good as the French Laundry, Alinea or Per Se, but the other two had slight wobbles with the food (bit of chewy lamb, texture a bit off on the langoustine, etc) ... nothing killer, just that one course was not as good as the great meal. Robuchon would probably be my top suggestion for you if the price tag seems OK (we usually got the 4 and 6 course prix fixe meals; once had the degustation menu and didn't feel it was worth the extra cost).

Also dined at Alex and didn't especially care for it (maybe that's why they closed despite 2 Michelin stars), and also Guy Savoy, which was not as good as the best Robuchon meal but similar in quality to the other two meals. Savoy is more like what you'd get in France (heavy creams, luxury ingredients), Robuchon has a bit more oriental influence in his sauces. Both had/have Michelin 3* restaurants in Paris and Robuchon is the only 3* in Vegas (Savoy had 2 Michelin stars in Vegas).

If going back I think I'd also try Twist, which is a bit off-beat for French but the chef has a great restaurant in Paris right now.

Anyway, between Chowhound and Larry's site you should have plenty of suggestions.

See Las Vegas, Have a great meal and then quickly head to Bryce and or Zion National Park....They are awesome experiences....if you can squeeze it in!

One of the best meal we ever had in Las Vegas was at the "kitchen table" in Emeril's Delmoico.
Also at was is now Fleur in Mandalay Bay had a unique experiece in a special room that overlooks the main dining room. That's when it was named Fleur de Lys, so it could have changed since then.
Finally really loved a Spanish small plates restaurant in the new Cosmopolitan hotel named Jaleo.

kacollier, the best meal we have ever had in Las Vegas was at Emeril's Fish House in MGM Grand. The best overall experience was in the Eiffel Tower restaurant in the Paris Hotel. We had a quiet table overlooking the fountains and the strip. I am not a foodie but am a sucker for ambieance so I really liked the Eiffel Tower experience. Andre's French Restaurant in the Monte Carlo is also very nice. If you like historical pictures Gallagers steak house in New York New York was top notch, they have food other than steak.

A close friend is a classically trained French Chef that apprenticed when he was a teen for Joel Robuchon at his Paris restaurant.

The two places he made sure to dine in Vegas were Thomas Keller's Bouchon and Robuchon's place. (Not sure which of the two Robuchon restaurants he went to.)

They may not be Top Chef's, but I think if you polled the contestants, Keller and Robuchon would rank high on their list of Chef's to admire.

BTw, funny story my friend met Robuchon at an event in New York and told him that he worked at his restaurant as a teen. Robuchon asked him how long he was there and when my friend said he stayed the full three months, Robuchon told him he must be a really good chef if he was able to last more than two weeks in his kitchen.

<b>The two places he made sure to dine in Vegas were Thomas Keller's Bouchon and Robuchon's place. (Not sure which of the two Robuchon restaurants he went to.)</b>

Bouchon is more of an informal Paris bistro than a fine-dining restaurant, so while it's a fine place it's maybe not what you are after for this meal. The quality is excellent (we always have breakfast there at least twice very visit to Vegas) but its scope is more limited.

Keller has two fine dining restaurants that are usually rated in the top 5 in the USA, French Laundry in Napa and Per Se in New York, but the four Bouchons (Napa, NYC, LA, Vegas) are aiming for a more casual audience.

Larry has good write-ups on the Vegas Bouchon in the link I gave above, if you want to get a feel for the place.

I love Bouchon but I agree that it's not really "fine dining."

It's a bistro serving classic bistro dishes, not the kind of creative cuisine found in a high end place. That's actually one of the reasons I like it so much - it doesn't cost an arm and a leg but it's always good.

Mon Ami Gabi also does not come close to "fine dining." It's also a casual bistro, and a step down from Bouchon. I like breakfast there though, and it's nice to sit outside.

When I think fine dining in Vegas, I think of places like Joel Robuchon and Guy Savoy. And Picasso at the Bellagio, and Bartolotta at the Wynn.

http://travel.usatoday.com/destinati...vegas/143993/1