Vegas dining without breaking the bank
 

I'd like to eat at all the fabulous restaurants talked about in the forum, but $300 per person is outrageous! Can anyone recommend a nice dinner option that will only cost me about $100per person. Otherwise I see myself eating at a lot of buffets.

for some reason this won't post under Nevada, anyone know how to fix this?

Try the fine dining as (late) lunches, then just snack for dinner?

It posted on the United States Forum. There is no Nevada Forum. Nevada is only for the search engine. It is under Nevada when doing a search. ((b))

I've been thinking the same thing. We've more than spent our travel budget this year, and have an upcoming 5 weeks in California that is going to really do us in. Spending a lot of money on a couple shows in Vegas, so I'm not looking to do the $300 to $500 for two dinners each -- and there are a LOT of those in Vegas these days.

Here are a couple that seem more upscale than the usual budget places that I've noted thanks to some very good press they've gotten. I'd appreciate it if anyone has any comments. Both should come in around or under $100 for TWO including drinks -- or maybe I'm just dreaming:

Red 8 Asian Bistro at Wynn.

Diego at MGM.

And one we love, but probably just over the $100 mark, Oratanique between Bally's and Paris.

We're also thinking about the $36 three course plus included Bloody Mary or Mimosa brunch at Commander's Palace at the Aladdin.

We don't do buffets.

With your budget of $200 for two, there are a lot more options, even with a decent bottle of wine or a couple of drinks each.

We do not eat in buffets (I can serve myself at home is my theory !!) but you can eat at some of the nicer places for Lunch instead of Dinner.

I am pretty convinced either everyone who posts on Fodors is a millionaire or else they just like to let others think they are.

Of course you can spend $300-$200-$100/whatever a person to eat, but you can also NOT spend it -- that is the fun of Vegas.

Every hotel has a number of places to eat from fast food to coffee shops to deli's to restuarants with mid-range prices as well as their high-end places. You can eat moderately one night and splurge the next too.

Koala: I've always wondered how many courses people ordered and how many bottles of wine they had when they say they paid $300/person.
My husband and I did some fabulous dining in December in Vegas and our dinners would come to around $190 total (for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees (usually meat), 2 desserts, 1 glass of wine and a soda).
We went to dinner at Le Cirque at the Bellagio, Andre's French Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant.

Lori: LOL re: "I am pretty convinced either everyone who posts on Fodors is a millionaire or else they just like to let others think they are."

There have been times I thought the latter part of your sentence. ;)

We just ate at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School for lunch in West Vegas that was outstanding..
The Cafe Bleu serves dinner as well and has a full bar and the food for 2 with app's, entree, dessert, and espresso with 2 glasses of wine per person was about $35 and that included a 20% tip!
Had a wonderful time and it was about 10 minutes from the Wynn.
vegasculinary.com

caribtraveler, I'm more like you on the prices. But I'm curious how your bill could have been under $200 at Le Cirque which has a MINIMUM three course tasting at $98 per person. Even if you didn't add the wine or soda, I think the bill would have to be at least $250 with tax and tip. Are you sure you didn't mean Circo, the "cheaper" cousin of Le Cirque at Bellagio?

Impossible to confuse that circus decor with anywhere else!
But you're good Neopolitan! :-)
I had to go look at my trip report to figure out what was the deal. We actually did not pay for our appetizers (forgot about that). We originally did not order any because nothing appealed to us. But our waiter brought us some anyway (2 lobster salad), compliments of the chef. So we only paid for 2 entrees, 2 desserts, 1 glass of wine and 1 soda. Total including 20% tip was $190.

But wait, are you saying that Le Cirque has a mandatory minimum of 3 courses? That was not the case when we were there.

That was my impression yes. They call it a three course tasting, but I'd call it a three course prix fixe with a number of choices. But in any case you said you had two each of three courses. I was really under the impression that at Le Cirque you can ONLY do either the 3 course or the 5 course. Perhaps I'm wrong. Can anyone verify if there is a simple ala carte menu at Le Cirque?

I'd like to know. Both of us are reaching the point where three courses are simply too much for us. I generally prefer a starter and a main -- no dessert. Lee HAS to have dessert, but would prefer to bypass a starter. It would be nice if that were more possible at some of these places, but it seems more and more you are caught in their three course "trap".

Ooops. Didn't realize you had posted twice in a row and missed your first one. Actually Circo has very much a circus decor too, perhaps more than Le Cirque. Circo is on the main floor but also overlooks the fountains. Le Cirque is in the "basement", so to speak.

i know some of you will snicker at my response (as i did too before trying it myself), but the circus circus steakhouse offers a great meal at reasonable prices...juicy, tender steaks that were aged 21 days in their own aging room

i got the idea from other fodorites who gave glowing reports

It definitely was Le Cirque.
http://bellagio.com/pages/din_cirque.asp
Click on dining details, it says they offer a la carte and the 3 and 5 course option you mentioned.
I know what you mean about the 3-course meal. It can be a lot.

Daniel Boulud Brasserie (Wynn Las Vegas). The food here is fairly simple, but very good. You shouldn't have any trouble staying within budget. There's even a prix fixe special before 7pm for $50.

Lotus of Siam. This place is about a mile off the strip, but if you like Thai food, it's well worth it. It's located in a not too fancy shopping center, and its decor is no better, but don't let that fool you. Make sure to order the special Thai dishes, and you'll have a great meal - at $50 per person or less.

Rosemary's. Consider this place only if you have a car, and don't mind driving for almost 30 minutes. If you go, you'll be rewarded with a top notch meal well below your budget.

I know you have stated you hate buffets and I have to agree totally. My husband thinks they are GREAT! We did go to Bellagios Sat.night gourmet buffet. Much to my surprise I still rave about it to friends. It was totally awesome, and really did enjoy it very much. Also did the Wynns which was about the same. They ran $35pp plux tax and tips. I woudl suggest one of them-- just give it a try! I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

We haven't been to LV in a couple of years, but I can hardly believe that $300 pp is routinely charged for dinner.

We're from NY - and even in NY, $300 is not the average. And with all due respect, the food in LV can hardly be compared to other cities in the world, i.e., Paris, where you can eat very well and stay far below $600 for 2! Outrageous.

about the millionaire comment...LOL, but actually they're probably not all that wealthy- just adventurous, good budgeters, with travelling as a priority- after all, it's a bit startling to realize my parents could have done most things/vacations mentioned here....that is, if they hadn't had three kids that they chose to send through private school, as well as no desire to follow my dad's job to a big city (and they certainly aren't millionaires)

and this is my "deep" thinking for the day.....:)