RamonaRamona

Hi

Can anyone recommend a nice (no chains, screaming kids or paper napkins) restaurant in Vegas where we (two 29 year old elopers) can celebrate without spending all of our black jack money?? I am hoping to keep it under $100 (not including drinks). Please include any dress code info with your recommendation.

Are there any places that have dancing (the fancy, grown up, old fashioned type, not the bump and grind club variety)?

Thanks very much

tom42

There are hundreds of restaurants in Las Vegas and without any guidance, you are likely to get a 100 different recommendations. Why don't you give us a little more information - where are you staying, what kind of food are you looking for - do you want dinner and dancing together?

cheryllj

Bouchon at the Venetian.

Nice French bistro, but the price tag is not enormous. You can easily eat there for under $100 for two, including an appetizer or dessert, maybe both. There is no dress code afaik, but I wouldn't wear shorts at dinner. They also have outside seating on a poolside patio.

RamonaRamona

We are staying at The Signature at MGM, but will have a rental car. We like most food. Crazy wheat grass tofu vegan places and those specializing in organ meat are probably the only places I would not eat. Was looking for something more upscale than burgers or pizza. Dinner and dancing together would be nice, but not required.

I was just hoping for people to share some places where they had a memorable/delicious meal. If you were passing through Vegas and had time to stop for only 1 meal, where would you go??

Will look into Bouchon, Thanks!

Bill_H

Larry G has an excellent write-up on 90-plus Las Vegas restaurants, from burger joints to the high end French cuisine places ... http://home.comcast.net/~lasvegasvac...rantGuide.html ... since Bouchon was mentioned I'd start on Larry's page with that one, which is his favorite for breakfast and a place where he's also had dinner twice IIRC. We had breakfast there twice in August and it was pretty good.

$100 per person would give you a lot of options, $100 for two people not as many for "a memorable/delicious meal" ... maybe check Larry's write-up on Lotus of Siam if you like Thai food, supposedly one of the best Thai places in the US.

Here's the page for the MGM restaurants if you don't want to drive (we usually don't like to drive so we can drink wine), we've dined at Joel Robuchon's twice and had great meals but it's expensive ... http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/ I think you can do Emeril's and a couple others there and stay within your budget, but in general at the big casinos the rooms are often cheap but the restaurants are not. Several of these places looked interesting from the outside when we were at MGM.

You might also find a special deal if traveling in a non-busy period. For example Wynn and Encore had "A Taste of Wynn" this summer with big discounts at most of their restaurants.
http://newsletter.visitwynn.com/taste-of-wynn/

Wouldn't worry about the dress code, even at the very best places where they 'suggest' men wear a jacket they will let in people in flip-flops and jeans.

ziggypop

Ramona, my wife and I ate at Emerils Fish House restaurant at MGM for our 30 anniversary, the food was spectactular. The restourant at the top of the Eiffle tower has good food and a unique view but the bill will be 100 each, if you have drinks.In the Forum shops there is a steak house called The Capital Grille that is hard to beat and will be in your budget. Vegas has thousands of restaurants so good luck narrowing down your list, ziggpop

RamonaRamona

Glad to know we will not get thrown out of restaurants for dressing like hillybillys. We are trying to pack light but will bring something fancy if there is room in the suitcase. The problem is not the dress clothes, it is the dress shoes. They take up so much room!

I appreciate all the recommendations. I did not want to choose blindly and end up with a real stinker of a meal.

A note on our budget: unless the portions are teeny tiny, we usually just order a main course at restaurants. Occassionally we will split an appetizer but that usually means we won't be albe to finish our meals when they come. We are not 3 courses each type of eaters.

Thanks.

Bill_H

A note on our budget: unless the portions are teeny tiny, we usually just order a main course at restaurants

If you like French food and are OK with small portions then I'd suggest L'Atelier by Robuchon, which is at MGM. They have a special 3 course menu called L'Unique for $49, kind of a pre-theater small dinner, but it's only offered for seatings before 6:45.

L'Atelier is currently rated a Michelin one-star restaurant, meaning one of the top dozen or so restaurants in Vegas (lot of people rate it fifth or sixth), and is relatively informal compared to the main Robuchon restaurant next door (which is the only Michelin 3-star in Vegas).

Larry really likes the place as you can see from his reviews ... http://home.comcast.net/~lasvegasvac...lRobuchon.html

You can view the L'Unique menu at http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/...estaurant.aspx

Here's the link for Emeri's, which has been mentioned a couple of times. http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/...estaurant.aspx

joesorce

Casa di Amorea is a Sinatra-inspired joint off the strip, if you call ahead they will send a limo for you, free of charge. www.casadiamore.com

Closer to the MGM, consider Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris hotel, you can dine with a view of the Bellagio fountains. AFterwards, Fontana Lounge at the Bellagio has great bands and a nice dance floor. You might want to call first to see what the band is, sometimes it's jazz, sometimes contemporary, pop etc.