phieaglefan

Hi all,
You have helped me so many times in the past, so here I am turning to your superior knowledge again.

I am trying to book a dinner reservation for a Saturday night in late February for a group of 9 or 10 women. Average age is around 50.

The group wants a 'nice' dinner, but I keep looking at menus for the 'nice' places and they either have a very limited menu, or their prices look like we might need to take out a loan to pay for dinner.

I am looking for suggestions, but here is what I have come up with so far. Mon Ami Gabi at Paris has availability as does Trattoria del Lupo which is Wolfgang Puck's Italian place at Mandalay Bay.

The Italian restaurants seem to at least have the choice of pasta, chicken, steak and veal. Most of the steakhouses have mainly only steaks and seafood.

My concern is that with a large group like ours, someone out of the group might want a lighter dinner - perhaps just a salad or pasta.

We will probably not go the coffee shop route. I know that some of them are quite nice. Hubby and I had a very nice late dinner at the 'coffee shop' at the Bellagio. But not for this trip.

So....any suggestions? I would say our price range is anything under $50 or $60 per person. Also, we would probably like to stick with a casino restaurant on the strip. It's a short trip and a few of the group have never been to Las Vegas.

Thanks in advance for any input!!!
H

joesorce

Check ilfornaio.com for the menu at CANALETTO restaurant in the Venetian hotel. If there are more than 6 in you're party, they'll seat you in a private balcony section overlooking the canals.
"Sharing" is popular now that entrees tend to be so big, you shouldn't have any problem with light eaters sharing a salad and an appetizer and then having dessert.

Combine it with a visit to the Venetian, a must-see casino for your first-timers.

ChristieP

Honestly, a buffet might be the best choice for you. They have ahuge variety of menu items, and everyone can get what she wants. Even the pricier buffets, such as Bellagio, will still fall in your price range. I personally like the one at Mirage!

Lori

I frequently go to Vegas with a group of my friends and "nice" places with varied menus are not that easy to find as you are learning. Despite all the many places in town alot of variety on many menus does not exist. The so-called nice places do have limited menus, for instance Spago (Forum Shops) ... really not alot of choices there. Personally I do not like Mon Ami Gabi, it's ok for lunch I think, but I did not care for their dinner menu (or the food for that matter).

You actually might be better off with a nice buffet, that way everyone's tastes can be taken into consideration and prices are below your top limit. I am no buffet fan and avoid them most of the time, but with a group they are sometimes the best option. Perhaps the buffet at Wynn's. I attended a meeting at Wynn's last year and we had a catered buffet in our conference room and the food was quite good and nicely presented too. I have not eaten at their regular buffet tho but most people seem to like the variety.

For a fun place, and relatively inexpensive there is always PF Chang's (Aladdin, as well as several off-strip locations). Almost everyone I know likes that place (ok, it is not gourmet, I know that !!) and if you do not have one in your hometown it may be worth a visit. Food is good, portions huge and lots and lots of variety.

Lori

I might add that be really sure $50-$60 a person is ok with the entire group. I know from my own group experiences that sometimes it is easier to "go lower" and make everyone feel comfortable.

Another thought .. Maggiano's Italian. It's at the front of Fashion Show Mall, second floor. Their food is good, menu quite varied and with a group you can do the family style ordering. We did that with about 12 people last year and we had so much food we were at a loss to know what to do with it all (eat, eat, eat !!!) Again, with this concept you can find food to satisfy everyone's tastes without breaking the budget.

trippinkpj

Il Fornaio at NYNY might be a good choice. And my daughter and I did enjoy our dinner at Mon Ami Gabi a couple years ago.

Braunsky

Where are you staying? You might want to figure the cost of a cab or other transportation. I second the idea of one of the good buffets, although I recognize not everyone likes them. My recommendations for dinner are Wynns and Paris. Check out other threads on buffets, which have extensive comments by me and others. If you really want a communal meal without people getting up constantly to replenish their plates, a sit-down restaurant would be the thing. You might look at the Commander's Palace at what used to be Alladin, and by this time should be Planet Hollywood. I've not eaten there but it gets good reviews and comments and the menu looks interesting and a bit more moderate in price. With specialization in menus it is getting harder to find a happy medium in restaurants.

TahitiTams

Love Daniel Boulud Brasserie at the Wynn..great variety of menu choices, fits in your price range, food is outstanding and the water show is something else.
I have not been to the buffet at the Wynn but gets fave reviews.
Have fun!

wynnlasvegas.com

MelissaHI

The choices you list are totally fine! I'll just throw my 2 cents in for what it's worth. The buffet options are also pretty good!

I love Olives in the Bellagio. It's more "casual smart" than "casual" and the price is a little toward the more expensive side of your range:
http://www.toddenglish.com/Restauran...gas_dinner.htm

Or Bouchon, although I'd classify this selection as a little more limited:
http://www.venetian.com/dining/menu_bouchondinner.cfm

mmm good luck!
http://www.vegas.com/restaurant/

miku

Not sure if this is 'nice' enough for you but Grande Lux in the Venetian has a huge variety of things on their menu and it's all pretty good.

http://www.venetian.com/dining/dining.cfm?ID=9
http://www.grandluxcafe.com/aboutus.htm

socialworker

Bouchon is a good suggestion and Grand Luxe is also a much better choice than a buffet, IMO. Maybe it is just my own idiosyncracy, ( I do hate buffets for anything other than breakfast/brunch at Paris which is superb!!), but all the getting up and down involved in buffet eating is not my idea of a pleasant dinner out w/friends.

vegaslocal

This may not be helpful, but I think a buffet is also the best way to go. The last time I had a party of 8 visitors in town, I took them to the Spice Market Buffet at the Aladdin. Everyone got exactly what the wanted and everyone loved the food. Does anyone know if this buffet is still as good as it used to be?

Another option would be to consider a Sunday brunch instead of a Saturday night dinner. I don't know if it's still available, but the Verandah Cafe at the Four Seasons used to have a fixed price menu for $25 per person. Like everything else it's probably more now. The meal comes with a freshly prepared entree, and there is a full buffet of fabulous fresh items. You didn't mention the time of year you were visiting, but they do accept reservations for the brunch and if the weather is nice, you could request a table on the patio near the Four Seasons pool. And of course it's the Four Seasons - the food and service were top notch, the atmosphere was lovely and the price was right when I was last there. Has anyone else been there lately?

NeoPatrick

For the life of me I can't imagine why a buffet is a "good idea" for a group in which "someone out of the group might want a lighter dinner - perhaps just a salad or pasta."

What am I missing here?

trippinkpj

Neo has a good point. Which is why I suggested Il Fornaio or Mon Ami Gabi. At MAG, my daughter and I made a dinner out of soup, salad and an appetizer.

trippinkpj

Oh, the Grand Lux Cafe menu looks great fr your group. Although, I get bugged when they don't list the prices.

amwosu

I don't think the buffet enviornment would be condusive to conversation for a large group with all the getting up and down required.

My friend that I took to Vegas last year is not an adventurous eater and I knew we could find food on a buffet menu she would like. We went to the one at Mandalay Bay before seeing Mama Mia. I got sick sick sick in the middle of the night and continued to be sick the following day. Yes, I know it could have been something else but that did me in for buffets.

Neo has a great point- if someone wanted a light meal they'd still be forking over the same price as those who were prepared to eat LOTS.

I did take my friend to Mon Ami Gabi where she turned her nose up at all the entrees but enjoyed a salad and dessert. I enjoyed the atmosphere there very much and felt prices were fair for Vegas.

criminal

Hey,
I would suggest there are many web pages,
and there is one also with forum
which connect all fancy places to visit:
www.visitplaces.org
good luck

trivbeck

How about the Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba at the Fashion Mall. It's a Spanish Tapas restaurant and have a large variety of foods. You can order a bunch of tapas and people can eat as much or little as they want. There is also outside seating available. The sangrias are pretty good too.

tom42

I also question the buffet recommendations -doesn't seem to be what the poster is looking for.

The Palm in the Forum Shoppes at Caesar's might be a good choice. Although it is a steakhouse, it does have some pasta and chicken entrees, as well as some good appetizer and salad selections.

You may also want to take a look at Caneletto and Postrio (Wolfgang Puck's) at the Venetian.

Another option my be Mesa Grill at Caesar's. It is within your price range and does have a pretty extensive menu.

ethel

Certainly not one of the nicer places as it's a chain, but based solely on the need with a varied menu--I would suggest Cheesecake Factory in Ceasar's.

However, I know there are better,nicer options. I just suggest this as the menu is extremely varied.